Here We Go Again…
…by Katherine / from Canada / PhD Biomedical Sciences 2015-2018
The weather in Edinburgh was gorgeous last week! I was so mesmerised by the sun that I completely forgot to take a picture of George Square Gardens before leaving! Thankfully my friend took one for me from our office when I was already on board a plane to Montreal! (Thank you Amy!)
Lab stuff
Getting back from India was rough… The jetlag was unpleasant and the weather-which was cold and rainy (I brought the monsoon back with me you see) was unbearable. Luckily it started to clear up right before I had to pick up and leave again.
I got back from India and spent 2 weeks in Edinburgh before jetting off again to go to a conference (more on that later). I was back in Edinburgh just enough time to have a barbecue in the Meadows and repeat an experiment that hadn’t worked. I had stained and imaged a few cells right before going to India in January. Unfortunately, something went wrong with my staining and I couldn’t see my protein of interest. I repeated the experiment when I got back and I think it has worked this time. At least I could see the staining with the microscope, so that’s a good start. I’ll start on the analysis this week. I spent the rest of my 2 weeks analysing the data I had collected in India. Despite the little hiccups, the data look good. I met with my supervisors to show them my results and they are pleased with the work that I managed to do. It was a bumpy road, but all in all it was a great experience and it is a bonus that data actually did come out of it.
CAN meeting
I only spent 2 weeks in Edinburgh, because then I had to rush back to Montreal for the Canadian Association of Neuroscience (CAN) annual meeting. I’ve been away from Canada for almost 4 years, so it was good to see what research is being done and catch up with some old professors. I presented a poster that was very similar to what I presented at SfN. Although there were no synaptic vesicle recycling experts who came to my poster (there aren’t really any in Canada), I got the chance to explain my work to lots of people who weren’t familiar with my protein of interest or my imaging technique. It was really good to get a new fresh perspective on my work. People would ask questions that may have seemed naive but they made me question things and change my perspective on my research. Overall it was a really great conference. I want to thank CAN and IBRO for awarding me with a travel grant to attend the conference.
I now have 2.5 weeks off at home to relax, get over my latest bout of jetlag, analyse some images, start writing a paper, start thinking about my thesis and apply for another travel grant. A week in the life of a PhD student…
