Lab – CA Work Experience Program

5/27: First Day in the Lab!

It’s my first day in the lab! I’ve included some pictures below that are cool, but even those don’t quite encapsulate how interesting of a place North Carolina Museum of Natural Science is. It’s very a interactive place and really very beautiful, if you’re someone who loves science.

I had a bit of a hard time parking because I’ve never parked in the city by myself before, but I eventually found some public parking that will hold me over for the day. The lab is made of glass, kind of like the study rooms in the library at CA, just bigger.

Tergus Day 4

We worked with one final department today–the Analytics department. These teams verify the methods that are given by clients or created in-house at Tergus. They do this by following the listed steps on a method while changing a few parameters ever so slightly. If the method is satisfactory, then it should hold up under the stress testing. We firsthand saw the precision at play–for example, the scale goes up to an amazing 5 decimal points! On the other hand, we witnessed the specific chemicals that were used for the lab setup. For example, acetonitrile, or ACN, was used to break down the gel of the topical solution that was being tested. That way, the molecules of the active ingredient would better distribute themselves throughout the mixture.

We were also given a walkthrough of the HPLC, or the high-performance liquid chromatography technology. This piece of equipment allows seperation of each component in the prepared mixture. When the active ingredient passes through the micron-sized column, it should create a specific peak at a certain time point on a graph. If the retention time of the peak matches that of the predicted peak, then the method is good to go.

I learned a lot at Tergus this week and had tons of fun working with Tergus’s lab technicians.

ILS Day 4

From morning to afternoon, today was a day filled with data analysis. We began the workday at 10:00 AM sharp by analyzing the 4 fake patient samples–unceremoniously tagged as 6001, 6003, 6007, and 3184–against both the immunoassay and mass spectrometer results. For most of the patients, the immunoassay results were as expected: they matched the patient prescriptions, giving us a sigh of relief. However, some of the results showed that patients were potentially alcoholic (a presence of ethyl sulfate, or EtS values) or opiate addicts (a presence of morphine despite a lack of a prescription). One of the lab technicians told us that around 30 or 40% of tests don’t come out as per what is expected, so even though our patients were fake, I still believe that this mock test speaks volumes about North Carolina’s ongoing prescription drug abuse crisis.

We were interrupted by a new shipment of quality control samples, which are run on the mass spectrometers to make sure they are in working order. We took advantage of this moment to examine the proper lab procedure for unboxing new lab chemicals, and we shadowed one of the technicians as she meticulously unpacked the refrigerated box, carefully labeled the samples inside, and stowed them away inside the refrigerator.

As this was our last day, time seemed to pass faster than ever, and before we knew it, it was time for a lunch break. Panera Bread was the choice for the day, and a few rounds of foosball suppressed our growling stomachs for the moment.

After a Cuban Sandwich and a comforting bowl of Mac & Cheese, it was time to get back to work. Likewise, we did further mass spectrometer analysis, but this time, it was on a different piece of software. Although we had to leave before we were finished with our analysis, Adam showed us the results, and we were quite accurate! Not bad at all for a second time.

We spent some time giving some heartfelt goodbyes and last words, and we walked out of the doors of Integrated Laboratory Solutions for the final time. This week, I met many bright, creative, and amazing minds, and I would like to thank Dr. Zhong, Adam, Ashleigh, Krystel, Jelani, and Dr. Jay for all the good memories from these past few days.

ILS Day 3

After only shadowing for the last couple of days, Om and I were itching for a hands-on experience. Today was that day. In the morning, we worked with Adam in his lab, where he processes patient samples from Dr. Taylor’s clinic. Adam guided us through prepping patient samples, and we carefully followed his instructions as we pipetted urine samples, control solutions, enzymes, and buffers in various order. We were nervous, and our shaky hands caused the occasional cross-contamination. Fortunately, we weren’t testing on real patient samples, which reassured us a little. Before injecting the enzyme and buffer mixture, we heated the samples in an incubator for 35 minutes. After adding all the constituent parts together, we spun the wells in a centrifuge at a mind-blowing 4000 rounds per minute for 15 minutes. Finally, we booted up the mass spectrometer and let that instrument have a go at analyzing the sample wells. We haven’t figured out how to navigate the complex software utilized to control the mass spectrometer, so we left that part up to the experts. We’ll find out the results of the mock drug screenings tomorrow, and I couldn’t be more excited.

We took a quick lunch break, and the Chick-Fil-A cookies and cream milkshake was a great way to cool down from the lab environment.

In the afternoon, another lab technician (who prefers to remain anonymous) led us into a different lab, which processes samples from clients, such as providers, hospitals, and clinics not under the wing of Dr. Taylor. Again, we performed the mass spectrometer drug screening test, but in contrast, we utilized proficiency testing samples this time. These are samples of urine donated from hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals and combined together to be averaged into a “normal” urine. Then, the state testing agency spikes the urine with certain drugs and drug metabolism products, such as oxycodone. The reference lab is only allowed to continue operations if it can correctly detect these drug presences within test samples. The process was much the same as it was also a mass spectrometer test, but we got to be mix (dangerous) chemicals such as methanol, which was exhilarating.

I can’t believe that tomorrow is going to be my last day at Integrated Laboratory Solutions. I certainly have had a great time so far, from conversing with the diverse community of employees even within a lab workplace, to the great lunches. Without a doubt, my last day tomorrow will be just as interesting.

ILS Day 1

If you drove past Integrated Laboratory Solutions, you wouldn’t be able to tell that the unassuming facade in quiet Southern Pines was actually a state-of-the-art testing facility. So color me a shade of suprised when our guide for the day, Dr. Sean Zhong, whisked us through rooms brimming with humming and whirring machines that I still can’t probably pronounce the names of.

After, of course, donning personal protective equipment–lab coats and glasses–we embarked on our first adventure for the day: a high performance liquid chromatogarphy (HPLC) machine. Dr. Zhong explained that this fine invention is utilized to process urine samples from patients, separating the constituent parts and checking them with a list of common prescription medications. This process is twofold: one, it can make sure that complex compounds are being metabolized and excreted correctly; two, it can ensure that certain addictive medications like opiates aren’t being abused, leading to patient accountability. At the same time, we stared in awe at the fully automated process–the robot arm of the HPLC could even close the drawer filled with patient samples!

Our second quest involved scrutinizing the mass spectrometer (MS), which was a big box with tubes entering and exiting like the veins and arteries of the heart, along with a dashboard of blinking lights. It really seemed like something out of Star Wars. Dr. Zhong performed a demonstration some hemp samples on hand–ILS also works in conjunction with Integrated Hemp Solutions to create medical hemp products–and pointed out how the MS calculates the proportion of compounds within a given hemp oil sample.

After a quick lunch at a local bakery, courtesy of the Dr. Zhong and the other great folks at ILS, we headed back to our workstations as the mass spectrometer was finishing up. Fortunately, the sample we saw being tested was legal because the MS detected a less than 0.3%–the legal threshold–of THC, or the part of the cannabis plant that leads to the “high.” Dr. Zhong pulled up some linear regression curves to model the compound concentrations, which I understod thanks to what I learned this year in ADV Stats (shoutout to Mr. Lazarski)!

I had a great first day and I’m looking forward to what will unfold in the next 3 days! Dr. Zhong had to leave today for a conference in California, but I’m sure we’ll meet some more awesome scientists over the coming few days.

Day 1: Introduced to the Lab

Getting to the “CARL” building where my supervising post-doc works was a pain this morning. I had actually come to the Duke Medical Campus in Downtown Durham earlier in the year, so I was acquainted with the tortuous paths, high-rising brick buildings, and construction sites. Needless to say, I still got lost. Knowing that I’d get lost, I came to the lab one hour early, wandered around for thirty minutes, and (surprisingly) ran into my supervisor, Dr. Masoudi. Promptly, he directed to me to the lab’s manager with whom I signed some confidentiality paperwork. The lab is tucked at the top level of the building, where a plethora of groups are working on biochem projects. My specific lab, the Lefkowitz lab, deals with G-Protein Coupled Receptors that act as intercellular communication devices in eukaryotes (animal cells). These critical receptors come in thousands of different forms but they all work by wrapping around the cell membrane seven times. A “binding site” occupies the end of the receptor outside of the cell while a G-protein – a protein composed of three primary parts that can be ejected to communicate intracellular messages – is connected to the receptor on the inside of the cell. Whenever a unique body binds to the receptor outside of the cell, a “conformational” change occurs where the positioning of the macromolecule slightly alters and releases the G-protein. This complex process is the same process that cells undergo for nearly 40% of our prescribed medicine. The G-protein coupled receptor plays a colossal role in human health, and I can’t wait to get started in the lab!

Today’s labwork began with the expression of beta-2 adrenergic receptors in insect cells. The cells were placed in a solution that expedites receptor formation. The flasks holding these cells were put in a massive centrifuge – a device that spins vessels at high speeds to separate insoluble particles. We poured out the solution, extracted the cells while stabilizing their pH with a buffer solution, and labelled each of our solution-filled flasks. Dr. Masoudi emphasized that everything in the lab must be labeled. We used a smaller centrifuge (going at 4000 rpm!) to separate the insect cells from the buffer solution. Using ethanol and dry ice (the lab ran out of liquid nitrogen), we flash-froze our vessels and later placed our rack of flasks in a massive freezer. The cells in these flasks will eventually be used when the receptors are needed for X-ray crystallography. After our lunch break, Dr. Masoudi and I went over to a lab-wide meeting where different project leaders explicate the results from the past week. Besides X-ray crystallography, other researchers only a couple doors down use cryogenic electron microscopy to better understand the structures of these receptors.

Everyone in the lab is incredibly kind. One researcher called “Bullet” gave up his set of pipets so I could use them later on in the internship. Dr. Masoudi works with another researcher, Li Yin, who was kind enough to give up her work bench and desk so I could use it for labwork. Overall, the lab’s atmosphere is positive, but what I found to be most surprising is that this space is highly diverse; a large majority of the researchers here are first-generation immigrants. Dr. Masoudi just so happens to be a first-generation Iranian immigrant like my mom! It’s been such a phenomenal experience so far, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to witness some crucial work in the field of biochemistry. Can’t wait for tomorrow!