science – CA Work Experience Program

Intuitive Day 1 – Rohen and Tymur

Today we began with a tour of the office, starting with their workshops and testing spaces for mechanical and electrical engineers. We saw how their surgery robots worked and the designs they had used, including the evolution of their technology since the 90s. We learned how to control the robots and we were able to use on to perform tasks that are used for testing, such as tying a wire.

The robots are extremely simple to use, it only took a few minutes to get used to the controls and start doing more complex functions. Afterwards we toured their refurbishing facility where they take older generations and turn them into the new robots.

WEP Day 8 @ Lindy Biosciences

Today was the last day of the work experience program. This morning I helped dilute some client samples and sat in on an internal research and development meeting. I went to Chipotle for lunch. In the afternoon I learned more about the drying process and watched a makeshift fluidized bed being made and constructed. Overall, today was really interesting. I am really sad today was the last day of the work experience program.

WEP Day 7 @ Lindy Biosciences

Today was rather relaxing. In the morning I helped prep some SEC samples and I helped clean the lab. Cleaning the lab didn’t take as long as I expected, and was surprisingly relaxing. This afternoon I learned about chemical engineering, and messed around with dry ice.

I’m very excited to see what will happen tomorrow, but I also wish the program was longer. So far I have really enjoyed work experiencing at Lindy Biosciences. I have learned a lot about science and product development, as well as the business aspects of the start-up.

WEP Day 6 @ Lindy Biosciences

Today was really interesting. I rehydrated and analyzed the ovalbumin I microglassified using the UV spectrometer, and tried using the Karl Fisher machine. I also got photographed as part of the documentation of the work experience program. In the afternoon I was able to compare the UV spectrometer data from the microglassified ovalbumin to the data from rehydrated freeze dried ovalbumin. As part of this analysis I learned about standard deviation and how to add it to excel graphs. I also learned about calculating error and how errors propagate through equations. Today was really cool, as I was able to learn about the different tools researchers and scientists use to analyze data.

Day 6– Duke Work Experience

This morning, I started my day in the stem cell lab, watching the thawing of MSCs (Mesenchymal stem cells) for a trial that the department is currently doing. The thawing took around thirty minutes, although the actual work with the cells only took around 15 minutes. I learned that after testing the sample for viability and number of cells, multiple signatures were required to allow for it to be infused into the patient. These cells did not take as much time to thaw as the cord blood cells because they only require dilution before being ready for infusion.

This was the image for the test for cell count– Live cells versus dead ones

This was the final product in the lab, all they have to do now is sign the papers

In the afternoon, I shadowed Dr. Kurtzberg in the outpatient clinic. Most of the patients were here for follow-ups and a couple had been transplanted many years ago. It was wonderful seeing Dr. K interacting with her patients, many of them who now have had her as a doctor for many years. The check-ups mostly involved asking patients questions about their latest concerns. I learned that asking the right questions to get the answers that a doctor needs is very important. While today was my last day in the clinic, I will be able to learn more about the more technical side of medicine in the next two days.

All In A Days Work – Day 6

Today I decided to get the true experience of what the doctors and nurses go through and I woke up at 5am so I could get there by 6:20am. Boy oh boy was that quite the change for me. I must admit, I hit a bit of a wall about 3 hours in, but the interesting cases kept me going!

Now that I’ve been shadowing at the Cary Skin Center for a while, I’m able to help out a bit more because I know the routines and what needs to be done. Whenever there is only one nurse in the room for taking a layer, I run the layer up to the lab while the nurse blots, cauterizes, and bandages the wound. When we have a little down time, I run up to the lab, check for slides, and page Dr. Flynn if there are any for him. Whenever he clears a patient, I erase the layer number on the whiteboard and write “clear” in red. It’s been super fun and gratifying to help out everybody and I feel like I’m part of the staff!

I like to joke with the staff that because of HIPPA, most of my blog posts are “Today I saw people with spots on body parts and we removed those spots at their various locations” which is actually fairly accurate. Today was the first time it came to my attention that some older patients have cognitive problems and how scary it must be to have someone cutting into you and you suddenly forget where you are!

I included a fun little image of doctor humor, mocking the bad handwriting of doctors.

Oh The Stories You Hear! – Day 5

Today started bright and early, just like every other. Thankfully I’ve adjusted to the time shift though. The morning was quite the success. With multiple patients cleared in 1-2 layers and even more with lesions so superficial that no reconstruction was needed, I was done by 10:30. I had a 2 hour lunch break, so I went home to see my mom on her day off and talked with her for a bit before lounging on the couch to enjoy a single 42 minute Netflix episode before returning to work.

In the afternoon I met two patients who were great grandparents! One thing I love about all of the patients being around 70 or older is that they have so many interesting stories to tell!! Today I learned about the largest embezzlement scheme in Illinois, the Missouri University mascot is a tiger, standing desks are all the rage in corporate offices now, cow manure is worth quite a lot of money as fertilizer, and that people used to rub baby oil and iodine on their skin when they were my age and younger to try and get tan. It amazes me just how much I can learn from not only the brilliant doctors and nurses I follow around, but also these sweet and outgoing patients!

I also got to help out today a bit more and I was in charge of running the layers up to the lab to be frozen, sliced, and dyed for later inspection by the doctor. It wasn’t much, but I was glad to help out in any way I could!

One thing doctors need to think about even though they aren’t in an operating room is being sterile when doing a procedure such as a reconstruction. When doctors take layers and nurses assist them, they both use gloves from a box on the wall. These gloves are clean, but not sterile. When the doctors and nurses are doing reconstructions however, they take individually prepackaged gloves in their preferred size to put on for the procedure.

WEP Day 5 @ Lindy Biosciences

Today, I finally got to try Microglassifying a protein. I mocroglassified ovalbumin, a protein found in eggs. It was really cool, but a little stressful. Afterwards I was able to look at the microglassified protein under a microscope.

I also found out why teachers tell you to never measure liquids with a beaker or flask. One of the large flasks in the lab (it was a 4 liter flask) had completely wrong volume lines. Although the 2000ml mark was correct, the following lines were completely wrong. Overall today was very exciting and filled with new experiences.

Day 5– Duke Work Experience

I started my day by attending a weekly meeting in the Duke OCU building. In the meeting, there were several patients that were discussed and a team in Florida called in as well. After the meeting, I rode over to the Children’s Health Center with Dr. Page to shadow Dr. Martin, one of the attendings. In the clinic, I observed follow up visits for three patients and then learned to read their lab results.

In the afternoon, I headed over to North Pavilion and observed in the Carolina Cord Blood Bank. There, I watched the freezing of cord blood as well as the various tests that the lab did on the blood to make sure it was viable. Similar to the stem cell laboratory, sanitation was very important. Lab coats were a must and shoe covers were also very important. As seen in the picture, all the lab technicians would work at lab stations with hoods to keep the blood sample as clean as possible. Seeing the whole process of the cord blood transplant really allows me to value the work of those that often are not recognized.

This is the cord blood that is being frozen in preparation for transplant

This is one of the machines that the lab technicians were very excited to have. It helps test the viability of the sample.

WEP Day 4 @ Lindy Biosciences

Today was pretty exciting. I did more UV spectroscopy as well as gas spectroscopy. I also learned about the columns used in size exclusion chromatography and how the different dimensions (length and width) affect the resolution and length of time it takes to analyze a sample. I really enjoyed practicing the things I learned previously and learning new information about the equipment in the lab.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first week at Lindy Biosciences. I have really enjoyed learning about all the different pieces of equipment and processes that are used in their lab. I also really like learning about the business and marketing side of research. Even though there are not many people at the company, I feel like I have been able to learn a lot about all the different parts of start-up companies as well as product development.