When I first imagined becoming a scientist, I dreamed that I would be a master of the elements. I would be lord of the cells – and the lab would be my domain. But as soon as I started working in biology labs, that dream was shattered. As a scientist, your day is ultimately shaped by the experiments – and the cells – you need for your project to proceed.
Every day begins with a set of basic chores and preparations. If I’m working with my cells, I need to start the ventilation on the tissue culture hoods and sterilize the work area with ethanol. Also, because cells are temperature sensitive, I need to warm up any tissue culture media I plan to use ahead of time. Then, I make any reagents that I need for other experiments during the day. As I learned over the past few years, preparing your materials before you need them saves both time and stress.
After everything is prepared for the day, I start with my experiments. For the most part, running experiments is like baking – you follow the directions and hope for a nice (but probably less tasty) end product. Also – like baking – most experiment setups rely on the precise measurement of ingredients. However, some experiments require special procedures that deviate from the normal pipetting routine. Recently, I’ve been working on a co-immunoprecipitation (IP) to see if the protein I’m studying (CD226) is associated with another well-characterized protein (LFA-1). Because proteins are often subject to degradation, most of the protocol needs to be done in the cold room where enzymes work at slower rates. When I initially committed this fellowship I was a little concerned about the Durham summer heat, but the past few days I’ve had to wear layers to keep from freezing!
Although I don’t always get data from experiments the same day, I try to end each day by reviewing what I’ve accomplished and what I need to accomplish in the short and long term. While I’ve realized that I may never be lord of the cells, I’ve learned that planning can help accomplish anything.
While some days in the lab are certainly more exciting than others, ultimately every day – and week – goes quickly. I can’t believe that I’ve already finished half the days of this program!
