A Day in the Life Of...
Karen Levy, Biochemistry Major
My Monday Dec. 3, 2007
7 a.m.
Wake up and check email.
7:30 a.m.
Eat breakfast and review notes for my exam later today.
8 a.m.
Drive to school. Go to my research lab in White Hall and to tend to my cultures of Shigella flexneri, a pathogenic bacterium that causes dysentery, that are in the incubator from the weekend. I am working on a project in Helen Wing’s laboratory in which I am trying to determine where in the human body a certain protein called IcsP, involved in Shigella’s ability to be virulent, is produced by the bacterium. To do this, I have designed a set of experiments that emulate the conditions encountered in various regions of the GI tract of the human body. For example, I am testing anaerobic conditions because certain areas of the gut are known to be without oxygen and I am also testing the protein production at low pH because they encounter stomach acid during the infection process. Using the same logic, I am also testing conditions of high bile salts, low iron, and high osmolarity. I have received a generous year long undergraduate research award from the National Science Foundation and EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) to fund my work on this project.
8:30 a.m.
Continue to study for my exam at 10:00 a.m.
10 a.m.
Quantitative Analysis exam III (Chem 355) covering redox titrations, electrochemistry, and EDTA titrations. Quantitative Analysis is known to be a challenging course because it requires a thorough understanding of what various chemical compounds ‘do’ and the application of mathematical principles to solve problems. The test was difficult, but I had been studying for a couple of weeks, so I am confident that I will receive an "A."
11:30 am.
Attend Biochemistry I lecture (Chem 474). An introductory biochemistry course covers the basics of what proteins do on a molecular level. We cover protein structure, function, a few case studies on specific roles that proteins play, enzyme kinetics, and we end the course with metabolism. It’s always been interesting to me how the basic reactions involved in metabolism are universal to all organisms from bacteria to humans. Associate professor Ron Gary is very talented at relating these molecular processes to current research and every day life. This lecture covered the electron transport chain in depth, and it was fascinating to learn in great detail a proton gradient can be used to drive the synthesis of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
12:45 p.m.
Walk to the new Moyer Student Union to assist with a blood drive. This was a community service activity for Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED), the honor society for students who are pursuing a preprofessional (medical, dental, veterinary) career. AED hosted a blood drive to help with the serious deficit of blood available for patients requiring transfusions in the southern Nevada community. I was going to donate blood, but today my iron count was too low, so I volunteered to stay and assist the other donors for a while.
2 p.m.
My group study partners and I ate lunch together and discussed what to study for the Quantitative Analysis final exam.
3 p.m.
Back to campus- check emails. I wrote a proposal for an oral presentation that I plan to offer at Maryland College in March for the McNair Scholars Program. I have already been selected to present at this conference, but I needed to compose a short proposal of my presentation and submit it by the 5:00 p.m. deadline.
4:30 p.m.
Back to the laboratory- I set up overnight cultures of my stock strains of Shigella flexneri for the growth curve and β-galactosidase assays that I will performing later this week. When I do a growth curve on this bacterium, I am looking to see at what hour during growth the bacterium is growing exponentially and when it reaches a growth plateau, known as stationary phase. Once these time points are determined, I can track the expression of the virulence protein IcsP by coupling the expression of this protein with the enzyme beta galactosidase. Thus, when IcsP is produced by the organism, beta galactosidase is as well. Then, I re-grow cultures to the determined time points of exponential and stationary growth, and I can track the production of IcsP by mixing the culture with a substrate of beta galactosidase. When the substrate is cleaved by the enzyme, it causes a color change, and we can track the quantity of production as a function of the optical density of this color change. Having the ability to ‘observe’ these molecular processes that are orders of magnitude smaller than anything we can visualize on a microscope is actually quite a fascinating process!
5 p.m.
I am still at work in the lab. I spent time downloading literature from Academic Search Premiere about choosing the appropriate electron acceptor to use in my experiments. I am currently testing whether my bacteria are fermenting under anaerobic conditions or are performing true anaerobic respiration, as is seen by the difference in growth rates with and without an available electron acceptor (NO3-). The purpose of this part of the project is to see whether IcsP is up-regulated under the anaerobic conditions observed in many regions of the human gut and intestines. This is a great way to work up an appetite for dinner.
7:30 p.m.
My study group reconvenes in the Lied Library. We review the last minute homework assignments for Quantitative Analysis and discuss what may be on the final exam. We share notes and practice collaborative learning in a study room where we quiz each other on homework problems and work together to understand various biochemical pathways.
12:30 a.m.
The time flew by. We are finally done studying for the evening- time to go home.
1 a.m.
Check emails and respond- I needed to submit a quote to the Amgen corporation for its press release about the Summer Scholars Program. I was one of handful of students across the nation selected to participate in this research program last summer. I also spend few minutes reviewing my notes for my classes on Tuesday.
1:30 a.m.
Lights Out
The College of Sciences offers research opportunities, including laboratory experience working side-by-side with professors.