My fellow TSRI intern Max Cantor at Glamis sand dunes
My name is Will Plantz and I’m doing my Pinternship in addiction and neuroscience this summer in the George Lab at The Scripps Research Institute.
The drive over from Colorado was an adventure to say the least. We (fellow Pintern Max Cantor and I) decided to drive the whole way to La Jolla in a single push, a fourteen-hour drive through the deserts of Arizona. We found ways to entertain ourselves: blasting Max’s “2010s Smash Hits” playlist and belting the lyrics to “Call Me Maybe” made the long day somewhat manageable. The favorite roadside distraction of the trip was the Glamis Sand dunes, which we stumbled upon in the dying light of the day. We ran like maniacs around the dunes and watched the day fade into night.
We arrived in San Diego at around 11:30 p.m. at the home of Lora and Tom Fischer, our hosts, and promptly passed out. Over the next few days we became acquainted with the city of La Jolla. Due to some communication conundrums, our Human Resources appointment was mis-scheduled, so we didn’t get to start at the lab until Thursday. So, since we couldn’t work, we took the time to explore the wonderful beaches of La Jolla. Max and I borrowed some surfboards and wetsuits from a family friend in the area and spent much of those first few days in the warm sands and cold California waters. Although an injury prevents me from surfing, I’ve found that open ocean swimming is a fine substitute in the quiet light of the sunset.
After our initial days of exploring and getting lost, we were finally able to get into the George Lab,
Me and Max (left) with Karolos and Rio
which is a neuroscience lab working with rats to find the neurological and physical roots of addiction. Mostly we are working under Marsida Kallupi, PhD. and Giordano De Guglielmo, PhD. as our mentors.
The incredible community of the George Lab, full of boisterous personalities and wickedly sharp minds, welcomed us immediately. Along with us, there are two other interns from the San Diego area doing the same program, Rio and Karolos. On the first day, we mostly poured over lab reports that the lab had published in the past, trying to become familiar with the terminology, procedures, and the parts of the brain we would be studying.
In the lab with Max
At the end, we got to go to the wet lab and check out some brain scans and make bacteria culture with Sierra, whose main job at the office is designing viruses. We got to see what the Immunohistochemistry brain imaging looks like (pictured), which is accomplished by targeting and dyeing calcium concentrations in the brain to find active neurons.
The next day we actually got to handle some rats, which sounds gross but is quite fun. These rats were in a test studying the effects of cocaine on the brain, so they were understandably a little jumpy. But after you calm them down they are very nice and sweet. We had to handle them carefully, though, because of the jugular catheters in their backs through which the drugs are administered. We were then taught how to do the job we would be doing the most: cleaning the poop out of the rat cages. Max and I also got to work in the wet lab with Sierra to extract DNA from bacteria cultures we made (pictured), which felt very scientific.
Regardless of how gross the job may be, the people doing it make it worth it. Marsida and Giordano, our mentors, are fiercely smart and have been incredible teachers. They always have an answer to any of our questions and foster a community of curiosity, skepticism, and excitement in their lab. I am more than excited to be working with them while we are here.
We were then tossed into a long weekend with four days off due to the fourth of J uly, most of which were spent enjoying the beach and having fun hanging and the house with our host family. Lora and Tom are incredibly generous and kind people and we are so lucky that they are helping to take care of us. La Jolla has been so fun and welcoming, I am psyched to keep working and exploring in this beautiful community and landscape.
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