Research

I have received some gentle feedback regarding the fact that I haven't posted in awhile (ahem, sorry Brain Trust).  Well, besides the fact that I've been on active surveillance recently, things have been heating up with my research.  I've been spending a lot of quality time in the lab learning about cell lines, how to manage them, and new definitions of sterile technique. 

When I started my research year, I decided that it would be about expanding my mind in as many ways as possible--professionally and personally. Professionally, that means diving head first into the deep end of the pool of basic science research with nary a life vest in sight.  What I've learned thus far, is that it's actually a lot like learning to operate.

There's a myriad of terminology to learn, and an alphabet soup of acronyms to go along with it.  There's a whole new set of equipment to play with (I'm doing my best to not blow up a centrifuge by unbalancing it).  And best of all, there's a great new group of people to learn from and collaborate with.  It reminds me a lot of being a third year med student and learning the ropes of the OR.  There's some gentle ribbing and chiding, but ultimately, a lot of truly generous hands-on and on-the-fly learning.

It's fun to be part of a creative process.  Each day I try out one thing a few times, if it doesn't work, I troubleshoot it, or ask the deepest question of science..."why?"

The one big difference between the OR SFS and the lab SFS is that I realize I'm impatient.

The OR is all about instant gratification--see the tumor, cut it out, on-the-spot results.  I spent all week growing up some cells, and then all yesterday afternoon performing an assay, hoping it would work, and after running it on the flow cytometer today, I found out it didn't.  My initial excitement at doing the experiment was mildly dampened when I realized it was going to take another week before I could try this again. 

But...when the stuff does work, and there are results, it's one of the most amazing feelings.  All I want to do is proudly post that hard-earned graph on my refrigerator and say, "I did that."