Mar11
Posted on Mar 11 by
As Noah begins his final semester of senior year, he continues to build on the research skills and experiences he developed last semester in the lab. Currently, he has been working on preparing tissue samples for thin sectioning using a microtome, a crucial step for examining demineralized samples under fluorescence microscopy. The image shown captures Noah in the process of attempting to section the samples, which will allow for detailed visualization of structural and mineral changes following demineralization treatments. These observations are an essential step to future experiments aimed at promoting remineralization, where insights gained from microscopy will help guide the application of mineralizing scaffolds. As he balances coursework and research during his final semester, Noah is continuing to develop his technical skills while moving the project toward more clinically relevant applications of...
Feb13
Posted on Feb 13 by
Ann-Lee is taking a small break from mineralization experiments for the semester in order to learn about a new project! Gwyn has been teaching her all she needs to know about carbon-nano dots. This week they’ve performed such an easy microwave-based synthesis! In the future, we hope that we find a way to characterize these and understand their emissions. For now it is great to see that they...
Feb11
Posted on Feb 11 by
After a rejuvenating winter break, Lana was eager to get back into her chemistry classes and labs this semester. The other research students seem to feel the same, as everyone has been jumping straight into new projects, whether that be an experiment or making DIY lab decor. Lana is especially excited to finally move beyond control experiments and start experimenting with DNA aptamers again. Feeling inspired by everything in the lab, Lana hopes to channel that creativity back into her...
Feb04
Posted on Feb 4 by
Happy New Year from the GRAB Lab! The whole group is back at it to continue working on experiments this semester, to prepare for the ACS conference in Atlanta, and for end of year celebrations. Georgia is getting back into research, even through epic Boston snow storms. After submitting our manuscript on the mineralization of DNA origami (more to come later on this once published), she got back comments from reviewers, and she is now doing experiments to address those comments and improve the manuscript. Currently she is working on a kinetics experiment with the plate reader, and she is trying to optimize the experiment so we can get good results. She is also going to redo some more up to date controls on TEM grids. Overall, she is excited to wrap up experiments for the paper and...
Dec11
Posted on Dec 11 by
The entire research team took a well-earned break to end the semester with the time-honored tradition of a trip to Tasty Burger! It was a working lunch – Dr. Gerdon, per usual, made sure everyone shared three successes of the semester and three goals for next semester. We also enjoyed some tots, kids meals, and delicious burgers. Congrats to the whole team on awesome experiments, big successes and learning moments, and on continuing to move forward. Now we focus on exams and then regroup in the new year to keep progress...
Dec11
Posted on Dec 11 by
Micro-credentialing is a recent method for instilling skills into students and workers to ensure that they are prepared for the field they are trying to enter. It was my duty to create a protocol using micro-credentials that could test students’ knowledge in gas chromatography mass spectrometry. A mixture with a known pollutant was prepared and given to the students to analyze with GC-MS. It will be their job to use the instrument on their own and isolate this known pollutant with the protocol that I prepare for...
