Last Week - Finally got rid of dimers

Hi this is Harry Zhang, and I just finished my 5-week lab work with Dr. Ballatore at UPenn. I participated in Dr. Ballatore's current project of making and categorizing carboxylic acid isosteres.

Methylation and LDA alkylation both failed to get rid of the CPD dimer, so Dr. Ballatore suggested another possible factor: the concentration of the starting material. If the starting CPD is too concentrated, it would be easier for it to attach to itself and form dimers. Using the rest of the new batch of CPD, I ran the same alkylation, again with LDA, but this time added more solvent so the starting CPD was ten times more dilute. Since this was the last week, I really hoped that this would work because we have been tackling this problem for almost the full duration of my stay and I would not have really contributed to the making of model compounds if this method did not work. Thankfully, after a work up and column, the LC-MS graph showed only our desired product's mass, and no dimers. That basically concluded my work with Dr. Ballatore and he said that he would send me more data once he finishes the whole project.

Although I have really only made one new model compound (the unmethylated CPD isostere was already made before and I only did it as a practice), I got a taste of what it is like to work with a scientific problem in real labs. By working at the issue in different angles, accompanied with constant testing, we were able to solve the persistent dimerization problem.

Overall, I think the 5 weeks at UPenn showed me what it is like to work in the field of scientific research. It consists of both logical and creative thinking, a lot of cool technology, but also a lot of repetitive work that sometimes even drives Dr. Ballatore crazy.

Week 4 - In the process of solving the dimerization issue

Hi this is Harry Zhang, I'm working at the Ballatore lab at UPenn and this is the 4th week that I've been working with Dr.Ballatore on making carboxylic isosteres (model compounds).

Towards the end of last week, I made another batch of protected CPD for the new LDA alkylation. Making the LDA was also a tedious process, and that was why Dr. Ballatore preferred using KHMDS. The making of LDA was mostly done by him and I was responsible for the alkylation. Since I've already done at least three alkylations, the process was familiar and I didn't make any mistakes so the color of the product was more "right", according to Dr. Ballatore. After working up the product and doing an HPLC, we still found the existence of the dimer. Dr. Ballatore collected samples for NMR to further analyze it while I made more methylated CPD.

I think after three weeks of practice, this week's lab work felt a lot more manageable and I actually had confidence that I wouldn't make a mistake like spilling dichloryl methane or making a cloud of silica powder. I felt that I was able to get a lot more done without the help of either Dr. Ballatore or the post-doc Bryant.

This was also the last week of the stay at Peddie. Over the weekend I moved to a hotel 2 blocks away from the lab to make life a lot easier (no more 3 hour commutes every day).

Adam Levine and Kelly Clarkson come to celebrate my last week at CHOP!! (kinda)

Overall my time at the Falk lab at CHOP this summer was really enjoyable. Though my stay was longer than expected, I got exposure to a number of techniques and had the opportunity to give a presentation to the entire genetics department at CHOP. It was definitely nerve racking at first, once got into my presentation it was very easy for me to talk about my project. Because I was going to present to  all the other PI's and lab members in the department I gave a few practice presentations to Dr. Falk. After spending a lot of effort of my powerpoint and doing a couple run throughs, I built my confidence. Rebecca and Fred, undergrads in my lab, also gave presentations on their projects. I really enjoyed my time at CHOP and also the commute through Philly since I feel much more comfortable with the city than before. Walking through CHOP everyday was also a humbling and eye-opening experience because I got to frequently see ill children and it reminded me of the difference CHOP makes in so many family's lives. On one of my last days at CHOP, Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Kelly Clarkson came to visit and I got to see them give an interview in the Ryan Seacrest Media Center. I managed to snap a picture too!!

Computer Networking Lab Week 9

Hi this is Sohan checking in for the last time. I finished working in a computer networking lab this summer at Columbia University.

I finished on August 1st after Varun left for India for the rest of summer. I did more of the same kind of work: ran tests on the orbit lab, processed the .pcap files using the Python scripts, and then graphed the data using the MATLAB scripts. This week, however, I spent most of my time debugging parts of the MATLAB script. Some of the nodes in the Orbit-lab create .pcap files and .txt files that are different that those of the other nodes. They include extraneous information that the MATLAB script cannot process. My job was to create a code where the script could automatically detect the defective file, delete it, and then move on to the next in tact file. 

On August 1st, Josiah, the visiting undergraduate student from North Arizona University presented his end project. He did a very good job and even after working with him and performing the same tasks as him, I got the chance to clarify some aspects of the work we did, and gained some insight into the changes he made to the scripts as well. 

Lastly, I held off writing this post since Varun had wanted to come back and present my work and research to the lab group. Unfortunately, the curcumstances did not work out and he had to stay in India for a little while longer and thus I was unable to return. Nonetheless, I greatly enjoyed my time working under Varun and alongside the other members of Dr. Zussman's group.