The Happy Professor

Friday morning we mixed the packaging reaction for Melissa's experiment and then went with Dr. Ghirlanda to the Biodesign building. A colleague of hers has an ELISA reader. We had to take photo IDs to get in and the labs are locked just as they are here in the Bateman Physical Science Center. The difference is that there is glass separating the labs from the hallway. We went into the immunolgy lab which is where the assay reader is. It was interesting and re-assuring to see that I'm not the only one who struggles with a computer! (Although she did not struggle long in finding the correct program to retrieve the results.)


But when she saw the numerical results of the assays we did the day before, Dr. Ghirlanda was very pleased to say the least. When we came back Dr. Ghirlanda said to put the results into an excel document, determine averages for each of the three proteins and graph the results. In our afternoon course the day before time I just happened to play around with the excel program's chart inserts--what luck! Melissa guided me through it from time to time and at 12:20 I finally finished. I'm not sure how to post the results here on a blog. But here are the photos of the ELISA project. I'm eager to see the comparison to Dr. Ghirlanda's and then get her interpretation of the experiment and the results--after all she was practically walking on clouds on the way back from the Biodesign building!

ELISA

Dr. Ghirlanda decided to do a piggyback experiment with the g120 protein and involve Anna and me. We are lucky to have the additional experience!

The big question is do Cyanovirin (CVN) mutants bind to the gp120 protein? (The gp120 protein is an envelope protein in the HIV virus.) We know from previous research that they do and the binding with CVN creates an anti-viral activity. The previous research has set the stage for current research by other scientists to investigate CVN as a microbicide to prevent HIV transmission. To gain more understanding about this you can read Dr. Ghirlanda's journal article: A Monovalent Mutant of Cyanovirin-N Provides Insight into the Role of Multiple Interactions with gp120 for Antiviral Activity, Biochemistry 2007, 46,9199-9207.

The experiment we are doing with her now is to help clarify why some of the mutant binding is weaker than what is desired. So we are setting up to groups of ELISA assays. One (Anna's and mine) is being carried out at room temperature. The other tray is kept at 4 degrees C. You can read more about this assay technique which is used in the medical & other industries too by clicking on ELISA.

I'll be posting pictures and videos of both the experiments we are working on in the lab soon!

Week 2--"Take 2"

Last week Melissa was working to build her library of mutant monomer Cyanoviran protein. She put us right to work in the lab which was really exciting for me. We made phage, we mixed LB broth and agarose, added enzymes to DNA, combined E.coli with media and while doing all this became familiar with how to use the autoclave and pipettes.

We had a little trouble with accuracy in pipetting, so we practiced a lot! Pipetting needs to be precise. It involves first calculating how much you need and then setting the pipette to the proper setting for the prescribed amount. (This can be tricky if you happen to pick one up that is "missing the last zero" on the setting indicator! And this is where we use math in the lab as well as the metric system--the ability to convert from micro to milli (and vice-versa)quickly is helpful! Drawing the fluid into the pipette is fairly easy; you just push the button down (only to the first "catch") before dipping into the solution. Then you release the button while holding the pipette steady. Next you release the fluid from the pipette into the new container. Depending on the container and the substances you are working with this can be tricky--I was having trouble because I kept getting air bubbles in the pippette and sometimes not able to release the total amount. Another problem was that I kept shaking upon the release when I was realising into a test tube. This is not a problem with just one solution but if you have multiple solutions you risk contaminating the container of original solutions. When you do this you have to discard the pipette tip and get another one.

Friday was supposed be a big lab day; however, before we arrived at 8:00 a.m. Melissa realized that the lack of "clear spots" in the petri dishes we had prepared Wednesday afternoon was due to a missed step in the process. She had gone back to her manual and re-read the protocol finding that she had not put in an enzyme to dissolve the binding on the DNA used for building the library. So we started the process again this week.

It is now Thursday morning. Melissa is again baffled because there are even fewer clears spots (indicating phage) in the petri dishes.


I have a new digital camera and have been collecting photos on it and my phone...I'm going to become a real techy this weekend and learn how to upload phone and cameras to my computer and then post them here.

I Am Learning--Intro

This blog is about my learning experience at Arizona State University this summer as a Math & Science CRESMET Fellow--and soon to evolve into my teaching experience at Casa Verde High School in Casa Grande, Arizona.

One of my goals as a teacher is to help my students learn how to think critically. I hope to guide them to a pathway to"learn how to learn" and use what knowledge they do have to make decisions (be it for their ongoing sucessful education or for a healthful and happy life). Another goal is to help my students have meaningful and hopefully enjoyable experiences in the educational process that will inspire them to become life-long learners. To achieve these goals, I have decided on strategies which are based on research and my experience as a student and educator that will help me reach my goals. Some of the strategies include increasing the following:

• Use of technology in the classroom. Since I have been a "technology idiot" and very dependent on others while using the computer or other electronics, my goal is to learn how to do something new with technology every week and continue to practice using the technology thereafter so I don't forget. This fellowship is helping me with that goal tremendously! Today we brainstormed about what kinds of computer applications that will help us in our jobs. Friday we will have 5-minute previews of these applications and decide which ones will benefit us the most as a group. We will then have mini-workshops on these applications. The great thing about being in my position is no matter which ones get voted on by the group I will definitely learn a lot!
• Use of visual aids in the classroom. I'll say more about this in a future blog.
• Use of hands-on activities. Ditto
• Use of Inquiry method. I took a PBS course last summer specifically for biology teachers to learn how to implement inquiry in the biology classroom. This course helped me a lot--of course! But I realized also that my teaching style typically is already oriented toward inquiry. My students confirm this regularly with questions like, "Why do you ask us so many questions?" and "Aren't we the ones that are supposed to ask you the questions?" I find that my students get frustrated (as evidenced by comments like "This makes my brain hurt.") So I want to find ways to help them be more comfortable with trying to help them be thinkers and not just cut & paste learners. Any suggestions?
• Helping them understand the value and real-life applications of what they are learning. More about this later too....

Tomorrow I will blog about my lab experience which is super-exciting! I would have been happy to be on any of the research projects involved with our fellowship, but I was hoping for something "body related" as my biggest interests are in biochemistry or physiology. Lucky me--and Anna Hicks from Casa Grande Union High School are with Prof. Giovanna Ghirlanda’s group using de novo protein design to obtain novel functional proteins in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Laboratory for Studies of Protein Design. Her assistant Melissa has already taught us how to use a lot of lab equipment in just two mornings! I was so excited about being in a real laboratory after more than 20 years I went back after our afternoon class to help her mix up more STBDL (solutions to be disclosed later) for research that will hopefully lead to prevention of HIV infection!! Very exciting stuff!

For now I have successfully learned how to blog! Thank you Dr. RobertCulbertson and Dr. Janet Bond-Robinson!