For MISTI Taiwan this summer, I conducted research at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences under Academia Sinica in Taipei. I did research on anti-PEG antibodies and liposomes, specifically engagers to target EphA2 signaling in cancer cells. From this lab, I gained a lot of laboratory experience, as I learned how to do ELISA, protein purification, MTT assay, etc. My project was to perform MTT assays under various conditions (different anti-cancer drugs, anti-PEG engagers, etc.) to see the effect on cell proliferation. Performing these assays helped me learn how to design experiments, whether it was becoming better at calculating concentrations or timing experiments. Another part of being a summer intern at Academia Sinica was attending group meetings. Unlike group meetings I went to in my past UROPs, the PI made us evaluate each speaker. Each meeting consisted of a progress report, journal club, and short journal. From these meetings, I had greater awareness of what consisted of a...
I am sitting at my desk in the lab, still mad and frustrated that I can’t even pipette properly. My cell counter results are dismal. I don’t know why I am getting such poor percentages for cell viability – I should be getting at least 90%, not 47%. I followed what my supervisor did an hour ago: perform a serial dilution four times, pipette trypan blue into each of the four wells, then pipette a bit of sample into the cell counter plate. Fortunately, my supervisor came into the cell room to check on me and helped me with pipetting for the cell counter step. He got 89%, close to the ideal threshold. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. I could sense that his voice was tinged with frustration, which I understood. I was also mad for not having an answer. What exactly was wrong with my pipetting technique? Did I pipette too quickly, or did I not press the plunger correctly? The whole cell counter incident frustrates ...