Jul25
Posted on Jul 25 by
Georgia has been loving research! Her first summer has been going by really fast, but she has made some good progress. She has been imaging with AFM (atomic force microscopy) a lot and the instrument seems to like her more these past few days. She has also been working on her state of the project presentation. It has made her look back on all of her previous experiments and made her realize how much she has done. Although summer is almost over, she is excited to have a little break before the academic year starts up again. She’s excited to present what she has done this summer, and to plan for what comes...
Jul25
Posted on Jul 25 by
Summer research is almost done (even though it feels like it just started)! Juan is currently conducting his last experiments of the summer, working on his distinction in the field proposal, and the state of the project write-up. This summer has been so busy, and much has been done! Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to image multiple samples, the usage of fluorescence to detect calcium has been explored and multiple fluorophores are used, experiments involving the fluorescence microscope have been tested, and the amount of collagen on the surface of the quartz crystal was calculated. With summer research coming to a close, Juan can’t wait for the first semester of his senior year to...
Jul16
Posted on Jul 16 by
A new part of Marissa’s research involves using a liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS) instrument. Not only is she looking for the detection of her ligands at concentrations in the micromolar range, but also for the concentration of them within her samples. As the summer progresses, she has been trying to quantify the number of ligands on her gold nanoparticles, and hopefully reach her mineralization experiments. She is also looking forward to attending the Clare Boothe Luce Program Women in STEM Conference that is taking place in a few weeks in...
Jun26
Posted on Jun 26 by
After a chaotic spring semester, Dennis is excited to join GRAB Lab as a part-timer! This will be his first (and last) summer in the lab, and it is already half-way done. He will be carrying on Donalissa’s work with nanoparticles and DNA aptamers. The progress was overall smooth sailing, but it all changed when the plate reader software decided to expire right before his mineralization experiment! It is not fully a bad thing since it will give him more time for his side project of synthesizing bigger nanoparticles and perfecting well plate preparation. Other than that, he has enjoyed his time in the lab so far, learning how to use various instruments, techniques, and experimental protocols. Outside of the lab, Dennis has been exploring what food Boston has to offer during his lunch break and fighting his way through the T or...
Jun24
Posted on Jun 24 by
Georgia has just joined the GRAB Lab as a rising sophomore! Research this summer has been amazing for her, and it is so surreal that she gets this opportunity to learn and grow! She has taken over the DNA Origami project from the wonderful Hailey Young, and it has overall been going well! There have been some setbacks with the thermocycler, but she is confident they will be resolved within the next couple of weeks. Some achievements include getting mineralized origami to show up on TEM, making arrays with different concentrations of magnesium and calcium, learning how to use the AFM instrument, and using the RealTime PCR instrument (see the picture)! She hopes the rest of the summer goes...
Jun13
Posted on Jun 13 by
Summer research has finally begun and is already almost halfway done! Juan’s time with the GRAB Lab is coming to an end soon, and this will be his last summer of research at Emmanuel College. Although there have been some small set-backs (which involved switching to a different QCM instrument), the summer has been busy and much has been accomplished. Some small achievements made this summer include exploring the detection of calcium using fluorescence, the use of AFM for surface characterization, determining the thickness and amount of collagen being applied, and much more! There are so many goals set for this summer…hopefully he can accomplish them...
