Hi and welcome back everyone!
In my last post, I stated how my on-site Senior Project advisor was sick and this week I found out that his flu turned into turned into bacterial pneumonia causing him to be sent to the hospital and preventing him from being present at the lab. Fortunately, I was able to go to the lab this week and finish my lab orientation with one of his lab assistants. I am excited because I am now able to begin my experiment at the lab now that my training is done; however, I am also a bit nervous and slightly intimidated because I’ll be doing my project under the supervision of lab assistants (Seniors at ASU) when my on-site advisor is not there. Honestly, I really don’t know how I feel about doing my project alongside other ASU students while they are doing their own thing, but I guess I will just have to wait and see how things go.
Unfortunately, I found that concerns will be raised with every step of progress that I make. I planned to have started my experiment week 1 but I experienced some unforeseen delays (the irony of being delayed by bacteria while I’m working on them). The delays were a serious concern for my project because of the amount of time my project needs and so I decided to talk with my BASIS advisor, Mrs. Nath, to see what I could do about the problem. We decided that I would need to cut off the last two thirds of my project (the parts where I test out how efficient my new bacteria is at degrading plastic) and just focus on the first part (the part where I try to create the bacteria). I can’t say that I didn’t see this coming because my project was very ambitious and I anticipated that I would have to cut out a lot of parts because of the time constraints.
Access to materials is another concern that was raised this week. I found out that the lab I am working at does not have the plasmids (the DNA I will use) or competent cells (the bacteria I will insert the DNA into) that I need for my experiment. I was able to find where I could buy the competent cells but I was unable to find where I could get the plasmids that I needed. I might have to completely change my experiment to another one that is currently available at ASU if I am unable to find the plasmids that I need soon. Hopefully, these problems will be solved by the end of next week.
I will see you guys next week and thanks for stopping by!
- CJ Pimentel
I'm sorry to hear you're running across problem after problem with your experiment, but it looks like you've got a strong hold of this and I'm excited to see what you'll discover once you get to the lab! Regarding your concern with working alongside seniors at ASU, don't worry; when I was BNI, the seniors from ASU and UofA were truly the most helpful people there. I think your project is still really significant even though you are only completing the first 2/3 of what was planned so I wish you the best of luck, CJ!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about all the problems that have arisen. I'm sure it will all work out, just keep a positive outlook. Look forward to hearing about any new things that arise in your favor. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I really do hope that you're able to find the plasmids that you need for your experiment. I'm sure that you'll be able to find whatever you're in need of. I hope you have a great week at the lad, I look forward to hearing more about your progress.
ReplyDeleteThat's unfortunate that you're running across problems in your project. I really hope everything will turn out fine and even if you have to change your project I know you will continue to impress us with your work no matter what. Wish you the best!
ReplyDelete