The labwork...

(<- this is the intense and intimidating Dr. Hayden)The lab work is going well! It feels so different from last summer where everything was new and experiments didn't work out and I spent so much time problem solving. Now, things are going smoothly, which is a strange phenomenon in scientific research. I work with two people, Kun from China and Dagmar from Austria. Both are postdocs and brilliant, nice people to work with. Dagmar and I are developing a stably transfected cell line that overexpresses caspase 6 so she can test out some capase 6 inhibitors. Caspase 6 resistant mice dont develop HD, so it would be wonderful if we could find a good drug to work as a caspase 6 inhibitor and hopefully delay the onset of HD. It's exciting work, and sometimes I lose sight of the big picture and just how exciting it is. With Kun I am running western blots like I did last summer, however my favorite part about what I do with her is dissecting mouse brains. I am getting a little bit better at picking out the tiny structures in the brain!

I have a goal for my work in the lab this summer. I am surrounded by brilliant people and I am not taking advantage of this opportunity. Rather than just doing the labwork and going home, I am making it a goal to read papers and talk to people in the lab; to ask questions and present ideas and learn from them. I am often a little reserved and shy when it comes to things like this, its much easier for me to watch from the background and learn, but I want to put myself on the line, develop more confidence, and completely utilize the resources I have at my fingertips: dedicated people who know lots about HD! This is my goal; any ideas on how to accomplish it?