Katie Pumayalli, Neuroscience at Ye Lab, Scripps Research Institute (Week 1)

Hello, my name is Katherine(Katie) Pumayalli and I will spend six weeks interning at the Ye Lab at Scripps Institute in San Diego, California. I will be working with my amazing mentors Cailynn Wang and Zhengyuan (Ben) Pang. I started my mentorship on Monday, June 17th, and fell in love with the lab and all of the people. My mentor’s research focuses on using a technique called clearing-assisted tissue click chemistry (CATCH) to track hallucinogenic drugs within brain tissue. CATCH involves making brain tissue slices transparent by removing lipids (fats) from the cells, while still preserving the overall cellular structure. This allows them to precisely visualize where these drugs bind within the brain.

Host families cat “Cutie”

My first day began with attending the weekly lab meeting, where members discussedthe paper of the week. Afterward, I spent the day familiarizing myself with the materials we’ll be using in the future. This included researching common labchemicals and their proper handling, as some are hazardous. Additionally, I learned about the intricacies of pipetting in preparation for

Tuesday’s hands-on experience.

Practice Pippetting

On Tuesday, I delved deeper into hands-on learning in the lab. After getting safety clearance with Ian, a fellow pintern in the Ye Lab, from our lab manager, I spent the day applying my pipetting research to practice. I followed procedures using water to simulate future tasks. 

Coronado Island with Siena

Since Wednesday was a lab holiday for Juneteenth, Siena, my fellow pintern and housemate, and I seized the opportunity to explore Coronado Island. After our fun day out, I spent some time researching the drug we’d be administering to the mice the next day.

Harvested mouse’s brain.

Thursday was the most hands-on day of this week. My day began by weighing ten mice and marking them with their corresponding identifiers. Next, I assisted my mentor, Cailynn, in setting up the vaccines for administration to the mice. Finally, I observed my mentor perform transcardiac perfusion on each mouse, which allows us to harvest their brains in order to image them later on.

Midsummer celebration in the lab

Sliced brain tissue

At the beginning of the day, I reviewed the procedures we conducted yesterday to prepare for performing them myself in the future. Finally, on Friday, my lab celebrated Midsummer at La Jolla Shores by enjoying traditional Swedish food and making flower crowns.

Thank you for reading in and can’t wait to update you all next week!

Katie Pumayalli