Hello everyone! I hope you are all
having a wonderful summer. My name is Mark Douglass and this summer I am
working in Dr. Ren Sun’s lab in the Molecular and Medical Pharmacology
Department at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. My direct mentor is associate
professor Dr. Ting-Ting Wu, and all of our group’s projects focus on the molecular
virology of gammaherpes viruses. I have been working in this lab since March,
and things are really going well now that I get to dedicate so much time here
this summer. My specific project focuses on understanding the molecular
function of open reading frame 73 (ORF73), a specific protein expressed during
the latent stage of infection. This is important because the latent stage of
infection is linked to oncogenesis. We use Murine Herpes Virus 68 as a model
for the human pathogens Epstein-Barr virus and Karposi’s Sarcoma-Associated
Herpes virus.
I have been using basic methods
such as the polymerase chain reaction, gel electrophoresis, cloning, and cell
culture to develop a recombinant virus; which will allow me to study the
molecular interactions of our gene of interest using co-immunoprecipitation and
mass spectrometry. The overarching goal is to identify possible target
mechanisms and molecules for antiviral treatments.
The weeks I’ve dedicated thus far
to the lab, and the MARC program, have been very rewarding. I am beginning to
comprehend what it’s truly like to be a scientist. The workshops and seminars
that we are supplemented with have been invaluable; they have offered guidance
and brought awareness to the possibilities within the STEM field. I have also
enjoyed living in the dorms, meeting people from all around the country, and
going on group trips to the Getty and the Griffith Observatory.
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