Maylen's Summer in Puerto Rico!

Hello Everyone!

I spent the great majority of this summer as an REU Summer Research intern on the El Verde Frield Research Station in the El Yunque National Rainforest in Puerto Rico. I left June 6th, and returned August 8th. The two months I spent over there were an amazing oportunity and experience.

My mentors were Dr. Jorge Ortiz and Debora Figueroa. Dr. Ortiz had much work to do, so Debora was really my full-time mentor. I had so much fun working with her on a project designed to quantify the carbon quality in urban rivers in Puerto Rico. The first week I arrived was a nightmare! I had to leave early, before spring quarter ended, so I still had papers to write and finals to take. That first week I had to finish all my school stuff AND do all the research for my summer project because we had a research proposal to turn in and present the next week. After that initial hectic struggle, the rest of the time was pretty well managed.

My field work began right away. I was sampling two rivers, and it was tiring work. We had to wake up during the wee hours of the morning and struggle our way through the brush in order to reach the rivers. Then we set up our equipment and took several water samples for analysis. It was dangerous at times, we even suffered an iguana attack in the middle of a deep pool. It just flew out of the brush and ran straight for us! We survived that and many, many hours of scorching hot sunlight on our backs and necks, which eventually led to a very interesting project.

Aside from work, my roomates (4 other girls) were very nice people. We all came from different parts of the US, and one of them was a native of the island. We took several large group trips to see more of Puerto Rico. We visited the Guanica dry forest, which was at the other end of the island, we visited the city of Old San Juan, which used to be a Spanish fort town in the past. Everything was beautiful and the food was delicious! I think I made some pretty amazing bonds with the other interns that I would have missed out on if I had not taken this oportunity. I was so impressed with my experience at the UPR, that I even started to consider doing my PhD over there.

Finally, after all the field work was done, we had a little trouble with the analysis because machines didn't want to work, and some tests were not sensitive enough, but eventually we got it all done. At the end, I gave a short oral presentation about the project to the rest of the interns and mentors. It was very rewarding because I was complimented on my work.

I thought this was one of the best experiences I've had because I got to live in a setting completely different than LA. I was in the middle of the rainforest, listening to frogs croaking at night and rainfall. It was a beautiful, spiritual experience as well as a priceless learning experience. I recommend to everyone that an internship in another country will be a rewarding and life-altering decision. I hope you all had fun this summer too and I can't wait to see you this quarter!

paola castro SPUR 2008

I'd like to tell you a grasp of my summer experience. This summer 2008 turned out better than I expected.Not only did I get to work in a lab full time. I also got to attend my first scientific conference, thanks to the MARC program, I have a better understanding of what it is like to work in a team, and grew as a person. The scientific conference I attended took place in Wisconsin. The lab I became part of this summer studies aging. Shilpi, my graduate student mentor, and I study aging in the Caenorhabditis elegans model. The all the research presented at the conference I attended was concentrated on this worm. As a result, the conference was a great opportunity to get to know my model even better! Furthermore, Shilpi and I got to meet other researchers that pursue similar studies to our own from other universities.

This summer I got to start on a project that I will continue on fall quarter and that I will get to tell you all about when we get together just before the start of this fall quarter. The main purpose of the project is to investigate the effects that Vitamin C has on the longevity of the C. elegans. Almost all plants synthesize Vitamin C. Our lab is currently investigating whether the worm makes this important antioxidant. The inconclusive results suggest that the worm does not synthesize it. If in fact, the worm doesnt synthesize it, it would be interesting because humans are on of the few vertebrates that do not synthesize vitamin C and must obtain it by dietary intake. I hope to obtain more results this fall quarter and share them with you all!

I hope everyone had a great summer!!
I've attached some pictures. One of me and my poster and the other of cheese hats for sell at the Wisconsin airport.

sincerely,

Paola

Erin Jimenez and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Being an “URP” at CSHL was an extraordinary and unique opportunity. I had the pleasure to work in Dr. Dave Jackson’s laboratory under the guidance of Dr. Robyn Johnston to investigate phyllotaxy, the specific geometric arrangement of leaves and flowers around the plant stem. I investigated maize mutants with altered phyllotaxy to better understand the mechanisms controlling leaf initiation. Working in Dr. Dave Jackson’s laboratory challenged me to think about the scientific process in a very different perspective. For the past year I have studied mitochondrial protein import in yeast at UCLA. Coming from a lab using a different model system and different techniques, I was thrown out of my element. I had to learn and master techniques I never used before quickly. I immersed myself into my project desiring to learn every aspect of it. From the very beginning, my post-doc gave me the independence to make her project my own. Finding myself like a real scientist, I designed elegant experiments to find the answers to my questions. Working in a plant biology lab was extremely challenging and at times frustrating. CSHL and Dr. Dave Jackson challenged me to become more self-reliant and assimilate the knowledge my project demanded in a short amount of time.
I had the opportunity to meet other passionate student researchers from different universities around the world and discuss what it was like to be a young scientist. We gathered weekly to hear faculty discuss their research and had the opportunity to exchange ideas. Our weekly meetings refined my public speaking skills and challenged my intellectual development as a critical thinker.

In addition to gaining new insights in the laboratory, the summer was filled with activities from dinner with the infamous Jim Watson to kayaking around the harbor. I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the URPs. The URPs made my summer extra memorable and I miss them tremendously. I will never forget all the laughs we shared, venting, and even volleyball.

Summer Wrap Up

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a enjoyable and productive summer where ever you went. I stayed at UCLA, as mentioned in my previous post, and I had a great time and got lots of work done. I will pick up from where i left off last time in my previous post.

My work on T. brucei focuses on understanding the regulation of flagellar motility. Briefly, my goals were to identify components of the dynein regulatory complex using a relatively new crosslinking method and also to identify post translational modification and protein differences in regulatory mutants. Unfortunately the work with in vivo crosslinking has been so far unsuccessful and may not work at all if the trypanosomes do not recognize the photo-amino acids as such. It appears that the trypanosomes do not grow in the presence of these photo-amino acids but they still may be taking them up. I am running one last test; hopefully it works! If not I will try some different DRC solubalizing methods to see if I can make regular IPs more successful.
My other project is progressing nicely. I recently received mass spec results on our flagellum isolation preparation and have spent the past couple days pouring over the data, trying to organize it and make it presentable. We have had the help of Dr. Wohlschlegel here at UCLA with this project and he and his lab have really done an excellent job! The preparation contains 951 proteins so I have my work cut out for me. Once we analyze it I will probably begin looking at uncharacterized proteins which are likely to be flagellar and target them with RNAi and tag them for localization experiments. I have a lot of work ahead for me in the Hill lab and I am very excited to keep going.

I look forward to meeting you all soon as well

Jason Melehani

Overview of Summer Research

Finally, I get to see Melinda work in the clean and pristine Mugu Lagoon ;)

Although my work is on the micro-scale, my lab is pretty interesting to be around. During the summer, I worked closely with Emilio (my lab mentor) on his quest to obtain a Ph.D.
I guess I should recap what we actually aimed to accomplish. Most organisms have a sophisticated regulatory system for the sensing and subsequent absorption of iron. Loads of people, especially rich Europeans (iron disorders pretty common for them), are interested in understanding more about the iron-sensing mechanism, and how it is regulated. Presently, only in vivo (mouse) models exist. So our task is to recreate an in vitro (human cell line) model for the iron-dependent regulation of hepcidin (hepcidin is the regulator of iron absorption). Although that was my main objective, I was able to learn lots of other stuff along the way, as well as help my mentor with other experiments, and learn lots about other members' stuff in lab. Anyhoo, during the beginning few weeks, as I was getting acquainted with the experiments and stuff, we got results, and I was like, "Sweet! I am getting great results!" My mentor, Emilio, and my faculty mentor Dr. Ganz, were always less enthused. I wondered why, but I slowly began to realize the results from one single experiment are not enough to convince the scientific community, so you have to be a skeptic about your own experiments. This lesson, for me had a lot more significance than face value, I guess. I became more concscious of the histoy involved in each experiment (previous results and stuff), and what's more, I found it a lot easier to think of experiments as I was performing them. It's weird, because I actually want to know the answer to a question that no one knows the answer to, but I don't mind finding out for myself--I actually enjoy it :)
I digress. Aside from lab work, I really got to know my lab mates quite well, as every week, we did something together, like a walk through the gardens, visiting the new lab (it's friggin' crazy, like "Saw" looking, but new and clean, haha), and parties where we (at least everyone else) brought homemade food. My faculty mentor, Tom Ganz, is an extremely busy guy-- running his own biomed science business, the new lab, and going out of the country to give speeches-- but almost every day he was at the lab, he would stop in to ask how I was doing, and made me feel so part of the lab. Emilio and I are really great friends now, and I seriously cannot wait to get back to UCLA!
Left: Me Right: Emilio

Melinda's Summer in the Fong Lab

Hello Everyone!

I'm Melinda, a first year MARC trainee, third-year Biology major.
This summer’s research has gone by so quickly!!! I am in Dr. Peggy Fong’s lab in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. I got the opportunity to help with several projects ranging in topics from nitrogen-fixation/denitrification, the effects of algae on food web, to upper marsh vegetation and alternative stable states. I worked primarily with Sarah Bryson, who is looking to show salt marsh vegetation and salt pannes are alternative stable states. I also helped out Lauri Green with field work in the mud flats. I have been out in the field at least once a week starting the first week of the summer program. The field site is Mugu Lagoon, located in Ventura County Naval Weapons Air Base. Both the research with the salt pannes and research in the mud flats are conducted in different areas of the lagoon. I must say, this field site is AMAZINGLY beautiful. The favorite part of my summer, and perhaps the most tiring, was collecting samples from the field.

Collecting mud cores for chlorophyll analysis.
I know it looks like we are trying to catch something in the water, but unfortunately we are approaching a dead brown smooth-hound shark.
Another undergrad and I trying to smile for the camera, but that shark was quite heavy. This is also seconds before the guts fell out onto our pants!
A slightly better view of the shark.

A far more flattering picture of me at the SPUR Poster Session.

I hope everyone enjoys the last few days of summer!!!

-Melinda Hernandez

Ekeoma and the Big Apple! (Well, 60 mi FROM it)

Hello everyone! 

I am Ekeoma, and I spent 6 weeks of my summer in Upton, New York, at the Brookhaven National Labs (BNL) with chemist Dr. Diane Cabelli. She studies various chemical properties of the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), which is the same enzyme that I work with in my lab at UCLA. My mentor Madhuri, preceptor Joan (Valentine) and I thought it would be a good idea for me to go to Dr. Cabelli's lab, and that it would provide a good experience for me, since I would have the opportunity to work in industry as opposed to academia. And I must say that it was quite an experience! 

During my time there, I got to work on a different part of SOD research than I usually do. I got the opportunity to learn pulse radiolysis, a technique which uses a machine (called a van de Graff, shown in the picture below) to generate superoxide radicals. It's a method used to measure the activity of SOD, and indirectly measure its inactivation. (To learn more, you will have to hear my talk during the symposium. ;)

I got some interesting data, but I did not get to work on the specific project that I was supposed to work on while there. In trying to prep for my intended project, I kept running into problems. Because the lab I worked in was a chem lab and not set-up for biochem-type work, I had difficulty preparing the enzymes that I needed, and when I asked my mentor at home to send me the needed enzymes, we incurred one obstacle after another. We, Diane and I, eventually had to tweak the project, but we made the best of what we had available. 

Aside from research, I had the opportunity to meet students in some of BNL's summer programs. Honestly, it was great to meet other students like myself that were also interested in scientific research! And I got to learn from some of the other students and other BNL researchers about a field in chemistry, the field of ionic liquids, that I am now taking particular interest in. 

Also, I met my (half) sister, Daria, whom I had never before met! It was great! I met her side of the family (sister, brother, mother, cousins), all reside in Brooklyn, and they took to me better than I could have imagined. We went to Coney Island on the fourth of July with her family, I took her to meet our cousins in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, and we spent time with each other throughout my stay.  

I must say, even though I enjoyed my stay in New York, and enjoyed meeting up with friends I met during my last visit there, meeting my sister, and meeting new people altogether, I actually, for the first time in my life (that I can recall), got home sick! Yes, home sick! Upton itself is actually not very exciting and is about 60 miles from the city. So, as you may be able to imagine, getting to and from the city was not the easiest task, nor was it the cheapest! We, the other summer students and I, made the best of what we could. Though, there is nothing like home, family and friends that you are most familiar with. Seeing as how I really wanted to go to graduate school on the East Coast, I will now have to seriously consider that option. I enjoyed my experience away from home, but there is no place like home! 

I'm glad to be back! =) 

...but now, I'm thinking about when next I will go back and visit...funny how that works. =)

Take care, and thanks for reading! 

 

Alberto and Berkeley MCB REU program

Hi everyone!!! Greetings from the Lone Star State! I'm Alberto and I hope that all of you had a great summer research experience and that all of you are enjoying of the short summer break before going into full throttle. I finally decided give an update: I worked in Prof. Michael Levine lab at Berkeley (for those that don't know he's a fly geneticist) studying the role of a stably bound (or paused) polymerase at genes during early embryogenesis.
To give you a little background, starting the moment the fruit fly egg is laid, the embryo goes through super fast nuclei cleavage along with hundreds of signaling cascades that leads to the patterning formation of the syncytium blastoderm. All this is highly regulated at the level of transcription through transcriptional cofactors and chromatin remodeling complexes. Not long ago was discovered that genes that are turned on during early stages of the fly embryo have a 'stably bound polymerase', meaning that it remains at the promoter region of the gene without the help of transcriptional cofactors. In other words, the polymerase just sits there and is 'ready to roll'. With that, the graduate student and I hypothesized that a stalled Pol II is to enhance synchronous activation. I specifically looked at how genes with paused Pol II are turned more synchronous and less stochastic vs. genes with non-paused Pol II.
The REU program had a similar agenda to SPUR (seminars, workshops, interviews, GRE, etc). As any other summer research program, hours in the lab were long but that did mean I couldn't relax and see interesting things around campus, like the protest to save a grove of redwood trees from 'Guantanamo Berkeley'. I'm glad I came back to the Bay Area because I was able to go around visitng friends and spent some quality time with my family.
Well, I think that's it for the update and see you all at the MARC symposium!
Con gusto,
-Alberto Ponce

Huong's New York update

After ten weeks of being in NY I realize that I really miss California. I wish I had done more for my project this summer but due to lack of time finishing was impossible. I met great students from other schools like Chamanade U in Hawaii and Manhanttan College. NY is a great place to be especially with my sister being here. I was in lab most of the time running columns but there was still time to do other things. I went to a Yankees game, Coney Island, BBQ at the park, and many other fun things. I really like the subway system because of its convenience. I like exploring the different neighborhoods around Manhattan on my spare time. Ny will be missed but California will always be my number one state. =)

This is the building where my lab is located (near Washington square park). I am on the second floor in the window. There would be NYU tours on the street everyday and they could always see me work. I felt like a fish.This is one of the great little things I found while walking around the city. I had a great summer but I can't wait to start my senior year at UCLA.

UCLA - Summer in the Portera Lab

Hi again,

After 10 weeks in the lab through the Amgen Scholars Program, I am happy to say I had a frustrating (ie little data..), yet enjoyable summer experience. I'm not done yet, though.. I'm here for a few more weeks! :) Basically, I worked full-time in the lab and participated in programs provided by the Amgen program and MARC, such as the MARC journal club. Social events with fellow student researchers made the paper- and poster-making processes less stressful. :) Either way, the SPUR poster session was pretty fun! I thank my fellow student researchers and lab for their support at the poster session and for the entire summer. Although I was never able to get my intended summer project to work, I think it may pan out eventually and I am currently reading a lot to see if I could try another project. I'm motivated to continue to work just as hard and I look forward to various MARC events in the coming school year. :)

My awesome roomie, Vicky, from UIndy!

The UCLA Amgen scholars at the Amgen HQ in Thousand Oaks.

My post-doc mentor and I at the SPUR poster session.