Stephanie Wu | Week 4 | Imaging and Exploring Philly!
06.26.17 - 07.02.17
I started this week off with slicing and mounting the last two brains on my list of 24. It felt great to finally finish all of them and move on to imaging the slides.
I moved on this week to imaging my slides on the Olympus imaging microscope. I first turn on all the machinery and then open the CellSens program that images the slices. Putting the slides under the lens, I use the FITC setting because the brains I'm working with all involve the use of GFP. Using the x and y plane I move around on the slide and use the live button to view the injections' effects on the synapses of the brains. Because I cut through the brains at different depths, I'm able to see it's effects over a wide spectrum. Depending on where Felicia injected the virus, whether it be NAc (nucleus accumbens) or DS (dorsal striatum), I cut the brain accordingly to view the injection site properly during imaging. I typically take an overview image (at 4x) of the brain slice with a lot of labeling, after adjusting the exposure and focus. After that, I switch to the 10x lens and take a close up image of the labeling at that specific point on the brain. I then save these onto Felicia's hard drive for safe keeping and for future use/reference. The following brain slice images are from the same N1C experimental mouse with labeling in different areas of the brain:
The sites apart from the NAc (where she injected the virus) that display the green fluorescence are the afferent sites. What Felicia is trying to do with these slices is to make sure that the Delta-Cre and GFP-Cre viruses are working properly. From the images I got from the slices however, it's possible that the GFP-Cre virus isn't expressing how the lab expected it to. Basically Felicia's project is focusing on Neurexin-1, which is pre-synaptic, and the effects of the viruses that may or may not get rid of it, depending on the type of virus. And by getting rid of Neurexin-1, it eventually leads to enhanced rotarod behavior/learning in mice.
Besides lab work, this week also consisted of trying a lot of food. I spent some time outside with my graduate student Felicia as she brought me to the food trucks and also a Japanese restaurant for lunch. I also went with Pang to a hot pot place for dinner. The food was all really good and I really enjoyed eating out this week (after having made my own lunch for the past three).
Aside from that I also spent some more time helping Felicia wean her mice as well as clip them for genotyping. How clipping works is that Felicia uses a number system for identifying the mice and clips their toes in accordance to the number they are. I then take the toe and put them in small tubes for PCR and genotyping which is done by the lab technician, Ning. I would also write down the type of strain they are and record the mice and their parents for Felicia. I was also able to watch Ning, split cells. This would be used later on for Felicia's project.
On Friday I also went out to lunch with Dr. Peretz, Mr. Sham, and the other EXP students in Philadelphia. We went to the White Dog Cafe and it was delicious! I got the shrimp tacos, and really liked them, although next time I might try the burger (it also seemed really good).
On Saturday, Pang, Elle, and I toured parts of Philadelphia. We first went out to get brunch, and afterwards visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Brunch was really good, we ate at the Urban Farmer at The Logan and I got the french toast. Afterwards we visited the art museum, and I really enjoyed it. There were a lot of exhibits such as the Wild exhibit which showcased a bunch of photography featuring chimpanzees, tigers, hippos, elephants, and people in the wild. I also really liked the modern art exhibit and saw a lot of pieces I really enjoyed in particular and reminded me of my own art style. Afterwards, we headed back and stopped by a famous doughnut place as well as had some bubble tea. It was great spending time with Elle and Pang, I had a lot of fun!
On Sunday, I met up with Felicia and Kyuhyun to play tennis, and invited Pang along as she plays tennis too. At first there weren't any courts available so instead we went out to brunch at Ants Pants Cafe. There I ordered the Maple Bacon (Felicia recommended it to me) and really enjoyed it! I would definitely go back if it wasn't so far away from the apartment... Afterwards Pang and I headed back to the tennis courts to see if there were any available, and after waiting a bit we were able to get a court! We played for about an hour and a half, and the fact that we hadn't played for 8 months was pretty obvious... It was also really really hot outside, but I enjoyed it since it's been a while since I last picked up my racket. Afterwards we headed home and got Japanese food for dinner. I'd already went to this restaurant with Felicia during lunch one time, and really enjoyed it then.
Overall I've been really enjoying my time here in Philadelphia, and I can't wait to do even more with my lab and with my friends in the last four weeks I'm here!
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| (sunrise from the balcony of my apartment) |
I started this week off with slicing and mounting the last two brains on my list of 24. It felt great to finally finish all of them and move on to imaging the slides.
 |
| (my work space during slicing and mounting) |
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| (my microscope box after slicing and mounting all the brains) |
I moved on this week to imaging my slides on the Olympus imaging microscope. I first turn on all the machinery and then open the CellSens program that images the slices. Putting the slides under the lens, I use the FITC setting because the brains I'm working with all involve the use of GFP. Using the x and y plane I move around on the slide and use the live button to view the injections' effects on the synapses of the brains. Because I cut through the brains at different depths, I'm able to see it's effects over a wide spectrum. Depending on where Felicia injected the virus, whether it be NAc (nucleus accumbens) or DS (dorsal striatum), I cut the brain accordingly to view the injection site properly during imaging. I typically take an overview image (at 4x) of the brain slice with a lot of labeling, after adjusting the exposure and focus. After that, I switch to the 10x lens and take a close up image of the labeling at that specific point on the brain. I then save these onto Felicia's hard drive for safe keeping and for future use/reference. The following brain slice images are from the same N1C experimental mouse with labeling in different areas of the brain:
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| (rAAV2 GFP-Cre N1C. 112 nucleus accumbens overview) |
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| (close up of the nucleus accumbens labeling) |
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| (rAAV2 GFP-Cre N1C. 112 anterior commissure overview) |
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| (close up of the anterior commissure labeling) |
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| (rAAV2 GFP-Cre N1C. 112 amygdala overview) |
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| (close up of amygdala labeling) |
The sites apart from the NAc (where she injected the virus) that display the green fluorescence are the afferent sites. What Felicia is trying to do with these slices is to make sure that the Delta-Cre and GFP-Cre viruses are working properly. From the images I got from the slices however, it's possible that the GFP-Cre virus isn't expressing how the lab expected it to. Basically Felicia's project is focusing on Neurexin-1, which is pre-synaptic, and the effects of the viruses that may or may not get rid of it, depending on the type of virus. And by getting rid of Neurexin-1, it eventually leads to enhanced rotarod behavior/learning in mice.
Besides lab work, this week also consisted of trying a lot of food. I spent some time outside with my graduate student Felicia as she brought me to the food trucks and also a Japanese restaurant for lunch. I also went with Pang to a hot pot place for dinner. The food was all really good and I really enjoyed eating out this week (after having made my own lunch for the past three).
 |
| (bubble tea from lunch outing with Felicia) |
Aside from that I also spent some more time helping Felicia wean her mice as well as clip them for genotyping. How clipping works is that Felicia uses a number system for identifying the mice and clips their toes in accordance to the number they are. I then take the toe and put them in small tubes for PCR and genotyping which is done by the lab technician, Ning. I would also write down the type of strain they are and record the mice and their parents for Felicia. I was also able to watch Ning, split cells. This would be used later on for Felicia's project.
On Friday I also went out to lunch with Dr. Peretz, Mr. Sham, and the other EXP students in Philadelphia. We went to the White Dog Cafe and it was delicious! I got the shrimp tacos, and really liked them, although next time I might try the burger (it also seemed really good).
 |
| (shrimp tacos) |
On Saturday, Pang, Elle, and I toured parts of Philadelphia. We first went out to get brunch, and afterwards visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Brunch was really good, we ate at the Urban Farmer at The Logan and I got the french toast. Afterwards we visited the art museum, and I really enjoyed it. There were a lot of exhibits such as the Wild exhibit which showcased a bunch of photography featuring chimpanzees, tigers, hippos, elephants, and people in the wild. I also really liked the modern art exhibit and saw a lot of pieces I really enjoyed in particular and reminded me of my own art style. Afterwards, we headed back and stopped by a famous doughnut place as well as had some bubble tea. It was great spending time with Elle and Pang, I had a lot of fun!
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| (brunch featuring Elle and Pang) |
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| (french toast) |
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| (at the museum) |
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| (posing like Rocky) |
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| (photograph of a tiger from the Wild exhibit) |
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| (donut place) |
On Sunday, I met up with Felicia and Kyuhyun to play tennis, and invited Pang along as she plays tennis too. At first there weren't any courts available so instead we went out to brunch at Ants Pants Cafe. There I ordered the Maple Bacon (Felicia recommended it to me) and really enjoyed it! I would definitely go back if it wasn't so far away from the apartment... Afterwards Pang and I headed back to the tennis courts to see if there were any available, and after waiting a bit we were able to get a court! We played for about an hour and a half, and the fact that we hadn't played for 8 months was pretty obvious... It was also really really hot outside, but I enjoyed it since it's been a while since I last picked up my racket. Afterwards we headed home and got Japanese food for dinner. I'd already went to this restaurant with Felicia during lunch one time, and really enjoyed it then.
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| (all of us with our food) |
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| (maple bacon) |
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| (crossing the river on our way back from tennis) |
Overall I've been really enjoying my time here in Philadelphia, and I can't wait to do even more with my lab and with my friends in the last four weeks I'm here!
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