This week, I started my internship at the North Shore University HealthSystem Research Institute in Evanston, Illinois. Specifically, I will be working in the Crawford Lab, which specializes in studying prostate diseases and cancers.
The view of Chicago from the river
My internship began with me flying into Chicago O’Hare and settling in with my host family, the Steinbacks. They are a lovely couple who have lived in the Northern Chicago area for a long time, and I was able to meet their son and his family for a dinner on the first night. Over the weekend, they showed me the surrounding region and allowed me to settle in.
That following Monday, I became introduced to the laboratory and my coworkers. They are an incredibly diverse group, ranging from all over the world, and I was able to learn from their vast knowledge through conversation and by observing them go about their tasks in the lab. I was quickly stunned by the complexity of what we study here.
North Shore University HealthSystems Research Institute
After going through the paperwork and receiving a badge to access the building, I was explained the protocol of properly caring for and, should they become confluent, splitting the cell cultures, all while maintaining a sterile environment that would prevent contamination. Throughout the week, I would be given the opportunities to complete these procedures myself, and I soon became accustomed to exchanging the medium, a mixture rich with nutrients that contains penicillin and provides a stable environment, aspirating the petri dish, and handling the delicate pipettes.
On a bike trail close to Lake Michigan
Furthermore, I was introduced to protein quantification through a Western Blotting Test, which we can use to determine whether a treatment has altered the concentration of a specific protein within a cell line. The important aspect of this is assuring that you have the same total amount of protein, as well as making sure that you have been as precise as possible in the numerous steps the procedure entails. After gel electrophoresis and the application of two antibodies, we were able to determine whether the treatment lines differed from each other and the control group.
I am excited to begin working on my own project this next week.
Adrian,
That is a pretty amazing blog post. Sounds like a lot of research time in a lab, and that takes a very special person. Patience, detail, smarts and intuition. The world will be a better place because of people like you!