Mar21
Posted on Mar 21 by
As Emma continues with the affinity project at the tail end of her senior year, she is reminded of one of the first lessons learned in research. There is no such thing as a failed experiment. Emma is now trying to further explore the selectivity of the DNA aptamers by running mineralization experiments for set amounts of time. The mineral produced in those experiments can then be tagged with the DNA aptamers, hopefully identifying the form of calcium phosphate present. As these experiments are being tried, the method has to evolve as problems arise and are then...
Mar12
Posted on Mar 12 by
As his days of undergrad are coming to an end, Jake is working on side-projects related to his previous work. He is analyzing the secondary structure of the G-quadruplex that forms in the DNA aptamers in the presence of different cations. Based on literature and previous results, he hopes to find some trends that correspond to the mechanism that will be presented in a publication that is soon to come. To analyze the folding of the secondary structure, Jake will use Circular Dichroism at the Instrumentation Center at Boston University. Collaboration between labs is very beneficial in undergraduate research as not all instruments are available at hand. Becoming more collaborative is a very useful skill and will serve Jake well as he leaves college and starts a new job after...
Mar05
Posted on Mar 5 by
Aimee Sanford ’16 is popular these days! Another visit comes from GRAB lab alumni Jason Miech ’18 while on a visit to Georgia Tech.
Feb25
Posted on Feb 25 by
Alumni of the research group have been spotted on campus recently! Dr. Gerdon has had recent visits from Tom Cicuto ’14 and Bobby Tzepos ’19, both talking about exciting new job opportunities. Krista Meserve ’18 enjoyed some time with Aimee Sanford ’16 during a visit to the Chemistry Graduate Program at Emory University in Atlanta. It is great to see amazing alumni doing amazing...
Feb21
Posted on Feb 21 by
Sometimes the best way to learn and best way to teach is to make a mistake! At least that’s what Dr. Gerdon is telling himself. When the gold electrode on a QCM crystal needs to be cleaned to produce a hydrophobic surface, we often use a mixture of chemicals called piranha (Caution! This is needs to be done in a fume hood very cautiously!). It helps to give the QCM crystal a cursory clean before using piranha, otherwise you can end up depositing insoluble material on the surface that just won’t seem to come off (see the picture above). Now we have good example of what not to do when cleaning QCM crystals! Dr. Gerdon hopes to get back in the lab...
Feb14
Posted on Feb 14 by
Research isn’t the only fun extracurricular that GRAB Lab members are involved in. When Kassidy isn’t in the lab making collagen hydrogels, she is spending her time working towards entering the medical field. Research is a great opportunity to learn and expand your knowledge. It also looks great when applying to graduate programs. Kassidy has recently passed her written EMT exam and is planning on saving lives this...
