by the CA Biotech class

In the past few weeks, my biotechnology class has been working on cloning the Herpes Simplex Virus 1 origin of replication using the pUC19 ampicillin resistance plasmid vector with UNC Chapel Hill’s Griffith Lab. This experiment will aid researchers in the field trying to find a way to prevent the replication of different variants of HSV responsible for causing Herpes, Kaposi’s Sarcoma, Mononucleosis, and Cervical Cancer in some cases.

We also conducted independent projects to develop CR assays to diagnose rare genetic diseases including DiGeorge’s Syndrome, Sickle Cell Anemia, and even Alcoholism (using the gene coding for alcohol dehydrogenase); we designed our own primers to amplify the gene in question in order to determine if there were any mutations. We will be doing more independent projects in the future, so if you want to see us in action, drop by U211 during E block!

But we are not always hunched over our lab benches trying to make sense of spectrophotometer readings: on Fridays and birthdays, Dr. Todd brings us donuts to celebrate. We bend glass using Bunsen burners to create custom bacterial culture spreaders, and we often take field trips to facilities conducting cutting-edge, life-saving research as well.

Here are some insights from my classmates:

“A great combination of lab skills and problem solving.” – Jessica McCoppin (’17)

“It was encouraging and fun because we all grew equally in skill. There was never a separation in ability, you could have a failed experiment one week and then come back and the next week be almost perfect. We quickly learned to laugh it off and try again pretty fast.” – Brooke Harris (’17)

“This class has taught me valuable lab skills and the content is super interesting and fun to learn about!” – Danielle Carr (’18)

“In biotechnology, I’ve learned so many different lab techniques including the ability to extract and manipulate human DNA.” – Aly Halferty (’17)

“I especially enjoy both the complex topics learnt and the hands on lab work.” – William Fowler (’17)

“We are given a lot of freedom to learn and study areas of personal interest.” – Ari Kaufman (’17)

I am glad that this class has given me the opportunity to delve into my own interests in genetic engineering and diagnostic assays while working with some amazing people. I think all upperclassmen should considering taking this class because it’s unlike anything else offered in other science courses. Please reach out to me (divya_vijayakumar@caryacademy.org), Dr. Todd, or anyone else in the class if you have questions.

 

 

CA Biotech Class