This week I got to explore the city of San Francisco while also establishing routine in my lab. My commute is surprisingly easy, taking only 30 minute shuttle to arrive at UCSF's Mission Bay Campus. The short bus ride takes me from a residential neighborhood to a hub resembling Downtown/ Tribeca, New York.
On the first day I arrived to the UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute building at 10:30 in the morning. I was overwhelmed by the size of the building and had to get my picture taken to enter the offices. I met my PI in his posh office with glass windows and a great view. We discussed my project, which diverges from the research I had done during the year. I am going to be performing the rat sector of the T Cell experiments in my lab. This sector is used for further data and observation to test id Cardiac disease has an immune response. The reactions necessary to carry out the experiment include PCR, gel purification, and cloning. This is similar to biotech; however, my samples are much more fragile and are to be done on a greater and more specific scale.
Lab Work--First I had to allocate and dilute buffers and primers to set up my own lab station. I also observed a postdoc in the lab doing the reactions to understand the many components going into it. All this prep would aid me in completing my own PCR reactions (a three hour process). I started my own PCR reactions on Friday with Human peripheral blood samples. They were successful :)
On Friday, my lab along with a neighboring lab hosted a small party for two students going off to grad school in UCLA. It was a nice get together to meet others and get to know the people in my lab in a more social way.
The view is average in San Francisco
PCR Machines
My lab bench and setup
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