Luis Gonzalez, Summer 2014, Blog Post 2

Hello everyone it is Luis again and I just wanted to update everyone with what has been going on since the last time. I was able to use the b-galactosidase assay, shown below, to show that there is in fact a direct interaction between a-tubulin and g-tubulin. I was also able to identify a domain within g-tubulin, which is essential for this interaction to occur. The varying intensities of yellow correspond to the various versions of g-tubulin used to carry out the experiments.

This is the last week for the students who are only here for 9-weeks and therefore we are had our symposium on Wednesday and Thursday. Everyone had a great presentation and poster session and I really enjoy hearing about the research they conducted throughout the summer. It was an amazing experience and opportunity to meet everyone from the SSRP 2014 cohort, shown below, and I know for a fact that it will not be the same when I am here alone at Kairos the following week.

This summer was fantastic and I enjoy all of the group activities we had, which included a scavenger hunt in San Francisco, movie nights, barbeques, and social gatherings. I hope everyone had a great summer experience and cannot wait to meet all the new members of the MARC program.

Luis Gonzalez, Summer 2014, Blog Post 1

Hello everyone this is Luis Gonzalez a rising senior studying Biochemistry. I am currently funded through the HHMI EXROP program and I had the great opportunity to conduct my research at Stanford University and through their on local summer program SSRP. SSRP has great community of students and we have the privileged to be housed at Kairos, which houses all 33 students of our cohort.

Although it can get rowdy in afternoon, everyone single individual of the cohort is dedicated to his or her own respective research project. As for me I have the opportunity to work with Dr. Tim Stearns who is part of the departments of biology and genetics. The Stearns lab, which is found in Lorry Lokey shown below, focuses on understanding how the centrosome and primary cilium control cell function and influence development, and how defects in these structures cause a remarkable range of human disease, ranging from cancer, polycystic kidney disease, and obesity, to neurocognitive defects including mental retardation, schizophrenia, and dyslexia.

My specific project for the summer is studying microtubule nucleation and specifically to identify the proteins necessary for this event to occur. So a little background on the topic, microtubules are dynamic tubular structures composed of a/b-tubulin heterodimers, which are constantly undergoing periods of polymerization and depolymerization in order to alter their length in order to achieve their various roles. Microtubules play essential roles by providing structural integrity, transportation of vesicles and proteins, and most importantly the formation of the mitotic spindle, which is essential for the proper segregation of sister chromatids during the cell cycle. The organelle responsible for the formation of the mitotic spindle in eukaryotic mammalian cells is known as the centrosome, which is composed of a pair of centrioles, which are encompassed by pericentriolar material (PCM). The surface of the PCM is coated by ring complexes known as the g-tubulin ring complex (gTuRC), which based on structural studies of microtubules and the gTuRC have proposed microtubule nucleation to occur by a direct interaction of g-tubulin and a-tubulin. However the interaction between g-tubulin and a-tubulin has never been experimentally confirmed. Therefore the objective of my study is to definitively show that g-tubulin and a-tubulin interact and additionally to identify the residues involved in this interaction.

For my experiments, we decided to use Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which are grown in tubes shown above, as a model organism to conduct our studies due to the fact that all our genes of interest are conserved across all eukaryotic species. I made use of a technique known as the yeast two-hybrid system followed up by a b-galactosidase assay to quantify the strength of interaction between our proteins of interest, a-tubulin and g-tubulin.

Before I let you go I wanted to share a few images of the Stanford campus because it is a beautiful campus and bike friendly.

Benni Vargas, Summer 2014, Blog Post 2

Hi everyone! The CARE SEM SPUR Program has just ended and I have thoroughly enjoyed both the program events and the lab experience. I was very grateful for the seminars and workshops we have had. I took copious notes during those events because I knew that later on I will be asking myself, “What was that important thing they said during that workshop?”

In lab, we finally got our CFSE technique to work! After weeks of experiments that never seemed to work, we finally figured out that the concentration of CFSE dye that we have been using was too high. It was strange that our CFSE concentration was too high because in one paper we read, the authors used the same concentration and their experiments worked fine. We then used a lower concentration of CFSE and our experiments were working the way they should be.

There were many things I learned in my lab experience and one of them is time management. Reading scientific articles, analyzing data, preparing for the next day’s experiment(s), writing my research paper, preparing my poster and poster presentation, and all while working full-time in the lab has sharpened my time management skills. Seeing how my fellow lab members were constantly working hard made me want to constantly work hard too.

Although my summer research program and dorm residence contract have ended, I am currently commuting back and forth to the lab. I am looking forward to see what we will discover next.

Sam (my direct mentor) came to support me at my SPUR poster presentation!

 [³H]thymidine incorporation assay!

Richard Flores, Summer 2014, Blog Post 1 & 2

Blog 1

What's up everybody?! Me llamo Richard Flores and I'm a fifth year neuroscience major/theater minor. For my final summer as an undergraduate, I left sunny LA and flew across the country to take part in some exciting research in Dr. Michael Scott's lab.

Working for Michael Scott this summer has been a wonderful experience that has me excited for grad school. I do not know if I can say this but it felt similar to what a rotation in grad school might be like. Mike came up to me and ask me to pick up a project that no one has ever done and try to make it work. It's exciting to me to acquire a project that may not work, but if it does, would be a great new tool in the lab's arsenal.

I was attempting to develop a protocol for getting mice to smoke nicotine. Plenty of studies currently exist on the negative health effects of nicotine, the issue is that in most of those studies the nicotine is injected via a jugular catheter. This of course does not mimic the way humans utilize nicotine so developing a protocol that more closely resembles human smoking habits is needed.

Blog 2

In addition to this unique lab experience, I had the opportunity to meet great folks from all over the world. We were slow to link up at first but then ended up bonding strongly. I now have friends in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and even random States like Ohio. The obvious advantage of knowing people from all over the country and the world is that if you ever find yourself in that state, say for a conference, or even if you feel like visiting that location, you have a friend there. Many of these good people I can now call my friends. I’ve already been asked to come visit Puerto Rico and Venezuela. The fact that I can visit those without having to pay for lodging is fantastic. Not only that, I’ll know somebody there that can intellectually stimulate me. Many of the nights that we all hung out we’d inevitably discuss science in one form or another. Even if we jokingly place restrictions like “no research talks allowed,” everyone knows we love science, and you obviously talk about your passions no matter what.

I have lived in Virginia before. When I last left, I vowed never to return. But this time was different. Because of my fun project and the variety of people I met, I see this place differently. I actually find it quite alluring now. In fact, I find myself considering the east coast as a potential location for grad school and life beyond that. This summer has indeed been eye opening.

When in Rome, you eat as the people of Charlottesville do!

You can beat the wild life of Virginia.

The scenery is almost too beautiful.

You really can’t beat the wild life. Just look at the colors of this cool little lizard!

Possible vampire lab

Our good ‘ol 3^rd President’s house. TJ also founded UVa, UVa Law School, and is the author of the Declaration of Independence. . . .No big deal.

Yea, I got to watch the Bruins play @UVa!!

Bruin spirit was alive and well!! (UCLA alumni 2005)

Mark Douglass, Summer 2014, Blog Post 2

Mark Douglass

08/29/14

Marc Summer Blog #2

This summer has been a whirlwind of excitement, productivity, and growth. I was able to learn so much from dedicating myself completely to lab life. I am more excited than ever to understand viruses on the molecular level. I worked independently, struggled though many troubleshooting phases, and as a result became a much more confidant researcher. I was able to synthesize a recombinant gammaherpesvirus with a tagged ORF73. This will allow me to transition towards experiments that will identify the molecular function of ORF73 within the context of a latent infection.  I hope to have significant results by the time I present at the SACNAS conference here in Los Angeles.

Within SPUR I thoroughly enjoyed the seminars and workshops we were exposed to this summer, and greatly appreciated the career opportunities that were showcased to us outside of the field of academia. I was able to gain much insight into my possible future as a future MD/PhD. Because of this program I was able met some incredible people, receive excellent guidance, and I was able to make some lasting friendships with future colleagues. I could not have asked for more.