This week in the lab was all about building my drug plate. This drug plate is how I will be able to test my botanical compounds for their potential therapeutic activities on the bacteria. I couldn’t just throw all of the things on the plate, say run, and magically have my data and answers. I had to get all of my ducks in row.
The botanical extracts had to be weighed out and dissolved into solution. To ensure that they dissolved, I placed them in a sonicator to break apart some of the more stubborn chunks. During this process all of my samples took an accidental swim outside of their designated carrier which turned into a fun game of how quickly can I grab tubes the size of the tip of my pinky. After this swim, I had to redo all of my lists to make sure that they were in chronological order. This was important when it came to planning out my drug plate. All the compounds needed to be entered into the planning spreadsheet that would act as my map and calculator for the experiment.
My samples in the sonicator (pre swim).Once all the prep was done I was finally able to start putting things together. The spreadsheet told me the exact amounts that needed to go into each of the 60 wells I was using. About halfway through the plate, I realized that two of my compounds were out of order and therefore were getting entered in the wrong space at the wrong amounts. Even though this mishap happened, I felt confident I could address and move on from it. I was able to look at the bigger picture of the plate and say that while it isn’t ideal, the measurements are off by at most 1.5 microliters. I ran my plan by Dr. Wlodarchak and was able to execute my solution, which was to fix the spreadsheet and move on from it.
Me in the bacteria hood working on building my drug plate. From there, the plate building went on smoothly thanks to my newest lab help “The Robot.” The Robot is a fancy piece of machinery that puts solutions and water into the drug plate for me. The coding and engineering that went into this robot is incredible, and I had so much fun watching it work. Watch my new copilot, “The Robot,” assisting me to fill my drug plate.
The lab was only half of my bigger picture. This weekend with the help of the Cornell College’s alumni board, my family was able to host a Colorado Alumni networking event. Nearly 50 Cornellians all came over and were able to connect and share their own Cornell experiences. I was able to meet a former Phi Omega who is an occupational therapist and discuss how life after college went for her and how she was able to achieve all that she has. It gave me a more realistic perspective on what my next steps might look like post-graduation and how the Cornell education is going to set me up for success.
As much as I enjoy meeting new people, this event also turned into a mini family reunion. I am a legacy as my dad was a member of the class of 1997; along with him, I also have two uncles and a cousin who went to Cornell College. We were able to sit and swap college stories. It’s always incredible how similar the Cornell experience is for everyone, how the classes, the culture, the events, and the friends we all made are what helped shape us into the people we are today.
I loved being able to talk about my experience thus far at the University of Colorado, how this internship is going to give me a leg up when it comes to applying for medical school and for future jobs.
Overall, this event was such an incredible opportunity to talk to so many people and see how Cornell helped them, and it makes me even more excited to be going into my senior year to see how I can bring Cornell with me into the world.