Cath-tastic.
Eat. Sleep. Chemotax. iGEM ♥
Jun 26th, 2009 @ 11:47 pm
Team HL-60!
Friday marks the end of two weeks into UCSF iGem, 2009. Even today, the last day of bootcamp, I learn an immense amount of information related to chemotaxis. My brain does feel heavier, and I am more psyched for Jamboree than ever! Though I must admit, I’m pretty exhausted…
The morning started off with a text from Ryan, saying he was running a bit late. What a relief, seeing that I got up late as well. Typical Friday. Today is an exciting day, because Ben and Oliver are going to reveal the teams for the summer and the results of the presentations. So what’s the project for the summer? This year, we’re focusing on three components: a GPCR screen, GPCR localization, and PIP3 modulation. The first two will be applied to the neutrophil-like mammalian cells, and the latter to dicty. Looks like it will be HL-60 vs. Dicty! …which translates to Ben, Katja, Hansi, Aynur, Cathy, Ryan L, Iowa, Eric, Jason, and Jackie vs. Oliver, Ryan Q, Allen, Ethan, Delquin, Edna, David, and Alex. More specifically, I will be working with Aynur and Ry-lye! Let the cloning begin!
Before the teams separated for further brainstorming, Wendell brought up an important issue to keep in mind: we have a mere eight weeks to complete this project, so we must be smart about how we use our time with respect to our experiments. This really got my blood running. Right then, I realized how much time I would have to contribute to iGem, in addition to the standard 9AM to 5PM. I mean, the Chromatin team often worked until 9PM on average. But this year, I should plan on working late even more often [not to mention, much less down-time during the day]. The thought is alarming. Wendell wasn’t kidding about full-time dedication. But if that’s what it takes, I’m sure the team is ready to take on the challenge.
Ben addressed the two parts that make up Team HL-60’s portion of the project. For the GPCR screen, we will clone approximately a total of thirty different receptors into the HL-60, and look at the behavior of the mammalian cells via transwell assays. As for the “forced” localization to GPCRs, Ben presented of a number of constructs that could be attached to GPCRs. We decided to continue Journal Club for now, since there was much more information, relevanct to our project, to read up on. After lunch, the meeting resumed in the Lim Lab lunch room, followed by a tour of the areas we would be performing wetlabs in. One of the more intriguing rooms was the Tissue Culture room, in which we looked at some HL-60 cells under the scope.
Hella legit! W’SUPPPPPPP!
I spent the afternoon getting acquainted with Team Dicty’s portion of the project. I want to make sure I knew what was going on with the project as a whole. Last year, I was struck with tunnel-vision and was too focused on my work, and only my work. This year will be different! Must not make the same mistake! Fortunately, Jacinto is always willing to share and explained Gateway cloning. A bit later, I payed Oliver a visit and queried about the parts they will be using for PIP3 modulation. Turns out, the team has been cloning some localization and catalytic domains. While Ryan completed his yeast transformation, I payed yet another visit. This time, I sought out Aynur for further explanation regarding the GPCR screen and localization. I can always count on her for an extremely complete explanation. I was not disappointed this time around. I learned even more about HL-60, GPCRs, and chemotaxis. I look forward to wetlab and working with team HL-60! By the end of the summer, our brains will be the size of Einstein’s! Kidding. But everyone will definitely know a lot more and develop really good lab technique. I want results! And SUCCESS :]
