Scott Higgins, Week 4/5/6

Hey guys! I have decided to combine these three weeks in one blog post because I really only go into the lab space two or three times per week, with the rest of my work being done at home. So the reporting on actual lab events is a little scarce. These past three weeks have definitely been interesting. After the big grant was completed, there has definitely been a major shift in the lab’s environment, a lot less tense and overall a better energy. Week 4 started off with a lab meeting involving me, my post-doc Kayla, another student Nick G, and our lab’s PI Nick T, all had a meeting about this metabolomics project. I have been preparing for this meeting essentially for the past three weeks and was ready to discuss. Yet within the first 5 minutes of the meeting, it was clear that the goal of this project was actually changing, which sort of threw me for a loop. But in our project, which is still in its conceptual phase, things are ever-changing. I found out about this document for a proposal for a new medical center that was started last summer, but never completed and left for dead :(. Yet Nick T. saw potential for us to revamp the document and include a portion about metabolomic research. And that is exactly what we have done! Through meetings and working on a document sharing platform called Overleaf, we were able to have completed the document’s revamp and have sent it off to the IRB, who will either approve or suggest changes in the document. That was pretty exciting to be a part of. Doing this put our main project on the back burner because this proposal had to be sent off first. I have also been informed that I should learn Python, the coding language. This took me by surprise considering I had asked prior to the start of the summer if there were any special skills or training that I should complete before I come in to the lab, and was told no. But, I am rolling with it and trying my best to complete this online course in order to learn Python. That’s usually what I’m doing when I’m at home and at the lab, working on that course, and also reading to prepare for our metabolomics proposal that will start later. I have continued to enjoy our weekly lab meetings, which also have had a new format. At the start of the summer, each lab meeting took place on Wednesday and ranged from 2-2.5 hours long. Now, they have become split in two. On Tuesdays, we have a journal club meeting in which one person presents for around half an hour on novel methods that are being used in the computer science community. Then Wednesdays serve the purpose of having one lab member present their work that they have done since the last time. As I have indicated before, these lab meetings are hands down my favorite part of this experience so far. It is so interesting to me to heart different member’s work, and the feedback that member’s of the lab offer. Problem solving is done right then and there, and no one hesitates to stop the presentation to point out a flaw or offer a suggestion. On the screen this could translate as scary or weird, but since everyone is open and willing to constructive criticism, it really fosters growth in these people’s projects. My job at the lab has really been assisting Kayla in the projects that she is doing, except those which involve private hospital data, which brings me to the end of week 6. I have been reading every single day, new pieces of primary literature in order to expand my knowledge of the subject. I have been in multiple meetings with my post-doc, the PI, and the student to further the research done on the metabolomic front and personalized medicine. I have been involved in the completion of an IRB proposal for a new translational specific medical center. And at the end of the week that was supposed to be my last, I sat down with Kayla and asked if I could stay longer. I wanted to keep working on my coding course, keep applying what I had been learning through the reading I have done, and work on the next proposal for the actual metabolomic research I have prepared for. So I’m taking a little break since I was supposed to go on vacation the week after I should have finished, and then coming back! They are super flexible and eager to help so I am just going to come in on Wednesdays since my family didn’t budget for any more trips in and out of the city (at least $32 a day :0) That’s the scoop on that.

On the ~city life~ side of things, commuting in and out is time consuming, but honestly very therapeutic and makes for some great people watching. I sat next to an aspiring artist that drew everyone sitting across from her without their knowledge. I couldn’t tell if that was beautiful or creepy. Maybe it’s somewhere in between. I also made the executive decision to stop drinking my favorite beverage, Diet Coke, completely! It has been 27 days since my last glass and I am living my best life. The lab goes out to lunch on Tuesdays, and I continue to take in the different stories of different lab members and how they arrived at Nick’s lab. It’s fascinating to heart the different paths of these people that all lead them to the same place. One of the lab’s members, Tal, celebrated his last day at the lab and we all went to a Dominican restaurant. This experience has surely been an interesting one, and I will be sure to keep you updated!