Week 10

This week marked the conclusion of my Senior Project and thus my time at BNI. In retrospect, Week 1 seems like an eternity ago, but the project itself went by unbelievably quickly.

My hypothesis about the primers was correct, as I ran a gel on Friday's PCR products and finally found success on Monday, which meant I could resume the transcription process.

On Tuesday, I did exactly that and also attended a seminar about ongoing research in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1).

On Wednesday, I ran a gel to verify the RNA products of the transcription process, but still didn't get anything beyond the one type last week (of four desired types). If I had more time, I would definitely try again next week.

Lastly, I spent Friday training and instructing another high school student who will be conducting research in Dr. Chang's lab over the summer.

All in all, the entire experience was fantastic and a worthwhile exposure to research. If you want to hear more of my thoughts about it, please come to the Senior Project presentations on May 6th!

But even if you can't, thanks for (virtually) accompanying me on this scientific journey. I promised myself I wouldn't get emotional, so...

Signing off,
Raj

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