Internship IPOL

Katherine Anderson, Gabriel Contemprato, Alexandra Lasu

& Brandon Tran

*Note: Pictures of animal testing at the VA are omitted from the presentation due to legal reasons

UCSD Biomedical Sciences

On Campus Laboratory

Researching caveolin and the effects it has on

organisms (cells and tissues).

VA Medical Center
Research Center

Primary laboratory for caveolin studies.

Animal research is conducted here.

The Team
(From left to right)
Meghna, Gabriel, Alexandra, Brandon, Katie,
Mehul and Joe

What is Caveolin?
A protein found in the membrane of cells that allows
for cellular communication and transportation of
molecules.
There are 3 types:

Caveolin-1: found in nervous system & embryos

Caveolin-2: found in the digestive system
Caveolin-3: found in muscle tissue*

*Note: This strain of caveolin is found only in vertebrates

Project #1: Nematode Memory Assay

Working with C. elegans who express caveolin to
see how caveolin will affect their memory.

Bleaching all nematodes and sparing eggs.

Several caveolin groups are starved and are given the option
to go to a spot on a plate with ethanol and a spot with
butanone.
Nave group doesnt associate butanone with food.
Zero Hour group is fed E. coli while smelling butanone.
One Hour group is fed E. coli while smelling butanone then
rests for an hour without butanone smell.

Wild Type
(N2)
Origin

Ethanol

Butanone

Naive

0 Hour

1 Hour

Final Results

N2

Nave

0hr after

1hr after

36

18

Present at A (EtOH)

Present at B (Butanone)

113

117

Total number of worms

54

122

205

Present at Origin

Cav1/2-

Cav2+

Nave

0hr after

1hr after

Present at Origin

Present at A (EtOH)

Present at B (Butanone)

25

14

Total number of worms

25

59

14

Nave

0hr after

1hr after

43

Nave

0hr after

1hr after

27

23

Present at B (Butanone)

14

23

43

Present at B (Butanone)

17

89

21

Total number of worms

45

25

75

Total number of worms

61

93

43

Present at Origin

Present at A (EtOH)

Cav2-

Present at Origin

Present at A (EtOH)

Project #2: Pre- Western Blot (The sample preparation process)

What is the sample preparation process?

Bradford Assay - Proteins (Only from animals)
Why do we do this?
What are standards?
Y=MX+B
Normalize (Dilute)
Graphs / Fluorescence Value

Color Gradient / Standards

Spark 10M

Western Blot pt. 2 (Running the Western Blot)

Preparing the gel

Loading the gel
Running buffer
Gel electrophoresis
Whats happening?
Preparing the membrane
Transfer proteins from gel to membrane
Transfer buffer

Western Blot pt. 3

Blocking
Washing process
Primary antibody
Secondary antibody
Chemiluminescent
Detection on computer (UVP)
How to read the western blot
Loading control protein

Project #3: The VA

Conferences
Multiple Projects

Traumatic Brain Injury

The Echo

Preparation (The Skull)

Procedure (The Hammer)
Outcome (The Brain)
Preparation (Hair Removal)
Procedure (Scanning)
Outcome (The Heart)

Kris (R1 Alpha)

Electron Transport Chain

Measuring Rate

Mentor Quotes #1: Dr. Hemal Patel

Dr. Patel is the vice chair of research at the Biomedical
Science Building
I learned to work against deadlines, Im a natural procrastinator, I dont
know if thats a good or bad thing, I mean I was supposed to work on this
grant six months ago and Im barely putting it together now. I thrive
under pressure and theres this negative gratification that you getI tend
to develop stuff faster and better when Im under stress
I think that the future of the world is STEM.
Me me me science never works. There are some ego driven scientists
Ive seen in my time, and they are good at setting up competition, and
competition is how we move forward sometimes. But I think the real
path forward is working collectively.

Mentor Quotes #2: Meghna Mehta

Meghna is the laboratory technician at the
UCSD Biomedical Center.
The cool part about being involved in
research is that for a new medical machine
or drug to come into play, theres years of
research that goes into it. So when you come
into work and do experiments that are small
in scale, they have a great impact because it
will eventually be applied to patient care.

Mentor Quotes #3: Mehul Dhanani

Mehul is a laboratory technician working at the VA
and UCSD Biomedical Center.
I think for me, its just learning all the different techniques. Everytime
I learn a new technique, Im extremely proud because thats one more
thing I can add to my resume, and its actually a lot of fun learning
something new.
You should never let other people affect you. It doesnt matter how
they think of you or what they do, even if they are good friends or not.
If they think something about you, they have the right to have their
own opinion. They can say what they want to say, but you live your life
the way you want to live it.

Photo Essay #1

Interns recording information on our project

Photo Essay #2
I remember when I first started working here,
it was super overwhelming and I was always
looking up to everyone as though they were
higher than me because they had a bunch of
knowledge on what we were doing. Now when
the new students come in, they ask me
questions. It feels like I have learned something
over the past few years. Even still I get the
feeling that I dont know as much as someone
else. Youll always feel like that. But you do
know that you learned something when you
have people coming up to you and asking
questions on techniques and protocols and stuff
like that. - Meghna

Photo Essay #3

Our workspace after completing a memory assay

Photo Essay #4

Standing outside the building

Final Thoughts
Alexandra Lasu
Internship answered my questions:

Am I cut out for laboratory work?

Is this something I can see myself doing in the future?

Gabriel Jose Contemprato

Internship thoughts:

Have I grown?

Is science and research what I want to do?

College

What DO I wanna do?

Left some questions too:

What would I be researching?

What do I major in?

Find something that interests you and that youre passionate about so you can give
it your one hundred percent and be successful at it. -Meghna

Brandon Tran
Internship Thoughts:

What has this internship taught me?

Is laboratory work something I want to do?

Could this be a possible career in the future?

Questions that this internship left me with:

If I decided to do this, what would I be researching?

What would I major in?
Doctor or Researcher?

Katie Anderson
Internship Thoughts and Questions:

Do I prefer medical sciences or aerospace sciences?

If medical, would I prefer research or doctoral work?

Colleges

Future Internships

Ph.D?

Final Thanks
Big thank you to...

Dr. Hemal Patel

Meghna Mehta
Mehul Dhanani
The UCSD Biomedical Center and the VA Hospital

Thank you for Listening

Any Questions?