This week, we started diving into more lab work and learning new techniques. I got a chance to do a couple of surgeries and try a viral injection. Although I have performed those before in a different lab during my undergrad, the equipment we used was completely different, so it’s a bit of an adjustment. I also got to do some tissue work — specifically, slice some paraffin-embedded brains on a cryostat. Here, I experienced similar emotions: I’ve only used a cryostat a couple of times before, and the rest of my undergraduate I only worked with a vibratome. It’s curious to approach those familiar-but-not-quite techniques with better awareness. I am beginning to notice just how much improvement can take place even with something you think you’re somewhat comfortable with, and how many little hacks you can learn from other people. For example, someone mentioned using biopsy punches for marking the location of a future cranial window. This wasn’t something I thought of before, but it worked pretty well!
We also got to attend the lab meeting where one of the students in the lab practiced their A-exam. I haven’t seen an A-exam before, so it was informative to see what is typically being prepared, what the format is, and what the ratios of background and experimental content are.
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