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March 29, 2024, 01:11:52 am

Author Topic: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey  (Read 61654 times)

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sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #165 on: March 26, 2020, 11:53:18 pm »
+13
After being in such a huge slump in the past week or so (due to the uncertainty surrounding what the heck will happen to me if uni shuts), I found that I had a super productive day today! :D

Today I:
- Made a second draft of my slides
- Went to bookshop (got Oasis by Katya de Becerra)
- finalised my protein edit excel sheet
- Went for a walk down Princes Park (the park across from uni)
- Finished an audiobook (The Ruin- Dervla McTiernan- a book that is not YA- shock!)
- Froze my cells I've been working with in liquid nitrogen
- Started a reading a new review book for an upcoming blog tour

--

As it stands, I'm still required to be in at uni whenever I need to be in, however, with all the rapid changes Monash has made (including shutting both the library and Monash Connect (as of tomorrow) down at Parkville, alongside no cafeteria (since last week)) in the past 24h, I'm seriously unsure if I'll not be on some sort of leave of absence by the end of next week at this stage! I'm trying my best to stay home and work when I don't have to be at uni though, which is the best I can do in the very touch-and-go situation.
« Last Edit: March 26, 2020, 11:58:23 pm by insanipi »
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #166 on: April 06, 2020, 09:23:44 am »
+9

As it stands, I'm still required to be in at uni whenever I need to be in, however, with all the rapid changes Monash has made (including shutting both the library and Monash Connect (as of tomorrow) down at Parkville, alongside no cafeteria (since last week)) in the past 24h, I'm seriously unsure if I'll not be on some sort of leave of absence by the end of next week at this stage! I'm trying my best to stay home and work when I don't have to be at uni though, which is the best I can do in the very touch-and-go situation.
I spoke too soon- last week was a non-lab week for me, so I stayed home and did my stuff here. Little did I know that I'll be doing that for the next month haha 😅

For the first half of last week, I spent a lot of time just napping honestly- I lost all the motivation to do much :( It took a lot of effort to pull myself back into some sort of rhythm haha. As it stands, uni has finally essentially shut down, so my PhD mentor has told me to hang tight and take time to read the literature- something I basically spent the first three weeks doing haha. I currently don't have any coursework to do on Moodle, so I need to think of a new game plan until I get some- perhaps I'll just take the time to read a book a day instead :D (joking- I can't do that, my guilt would stop me haha)

Until next time, stay safe y'all <3
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #167 on: April 21, 2020, 08:36:23 pm »
+14
Hello hello!

I'm starting to get used to being home all the time, I think! I've stopped napping all the time. I even have my desk tidied (first time all year haha- sitting on my bed doing my uni stuff was doing my back in and making me nap all the time haha), and bookshelves sorted (kinda)- and I'm nearly ready to present my project intro Thursday!

I've also been working on my research proposal- and I'm telling you, editing it is like cutting grass with nail clippers. Super tedious, I'm telling you.

I'm super glad that my project is somewhat still going ahead once I'm allowed back into uni, which is something to look forward to! It'll be hard work though, as one of the constructs I require would've been shipped from the US, but I'll have to make in-house, which takes time- but oh well!

Aside from uni stuff, I've been really digging crime and police procedural audiobooks recently, and I have started watching Witcher- it's an interesting show.

Til next time, stay safe xo
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #168 on: May 09, 2020, 02:16:38 pm »
+13
Just as I've really gotten into the swing of things from home, Monash (well, more specifically my PhD mentor Tom tipped me off Sunday night- and confirmed by the head of MIPS not even 24h later) basically told me to start preparing to come back in for lab in the next few weeks.

Whilst this is exciting, I'm still trying to plan out my experiments. This part isn't going very well because nothing is easy when I have less resources than I would've for what I want (and need) to do haha. 😅 The main problem is finding a pair of proteins that have only a few amino acids difference in a row- which is ideal for editing, whilst having a good fluorescence, based on what Parkville currently has in stock. This has proven to be a nightmare and a half this week!

I'm also having a bit of fun occupying some time doing a couple of online courses that were suggested by Estelle, a really lovely postdoc in my research group. They're actually pretty good for filling up time on some of the days so it doesn't feel like I'm not doing as much as I would've in normal circumstances.

Honestly, I'm excited to be heading back into the labs in the near future, and hopefully my experiment planning actually goes somewhere soon!
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #169 on: May 19, 2020, 10:15:59 am »
+10
Just a quick update whilst the library search function appears to be refusing to work haha.

Honestly, I'm excited to be heading back into the labs in the near future, and hopefully my experiment planning actually goes somewhere soon!
My experiment planning is still not going too well- I had a step in the right direction over the weekend, but this new lead kind of is actually hard to work with (or so says my PhD pal), so I'll just have to wait and see what my supervisor says tomorrow -grits teeth in suspense-

Despite this, I'm still keen not to lose hope, even though this project is super tough- not only is the technique I'll be using really new (the first paper on it was released v late last year), but it's also harder in the terms of we can't just order things from overseas to make life easier.

For now, I'm just going to sit here and read papers in cas e I find some other proteins that may work out- at least that's all I really can do until my meeting haha.

I'm keen to start going back from the 26th- given that I really felt that I haven't been doing much whilst stuck at home oops. :D

Stay safe y'all <3
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #170 on: May 26, 2020, 04:01:17 pm »
+11
A quick update!

(You might want to have the volume a little higher than normal, sorry fam haha)
« Last Edit: May 26, 2020, 04:04:35 pm by insanipi »
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #171 on: June 05, 2020, 10:23:36 am »
+6
Just a quick update!

its a video!

Anyways look at the nice view I get from the floor my lab's on :D
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #172 on: June 17, 2020, 09:06:10 pm »
+9
Things I've learnt in the past 12 days that might encourage others:
- Don't overcomplicate things (especially calculating concentrations (c=mv is my friend) and dilutions, overthinking it is the enemy)
- Always be prepared- plan ahead if you can
- It's always worth making an effort or at least an attempt at something you're trying to figure out at first, before giving up
- Don't be afraid to ask the questions, no matter how dumb you think the question is (chances are that it isn't
- Not to drink coffee on an empty stomach (I had the worst cramps from that this morning, realllly don't recommend)
- Similarly, water is not the enemy
- Breathe, and believe in yourself
- Take it easy on Mondays, go hard on the other four weekdays, if you have a case of the Mondays

I'm busy actually doing things in the lab and preparing my actual real important experiments now and it's scary as heck, and I'm also v tired, so I'm am definitely taking it easy every night, so I don't crash out!
« Last Edit: June 17, 2020, 09:13:45 pm by insanipi »
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #173 on: July 04, 2020, 01:37:30 pm »
+10
Howdy!
I'm tired and my back kinda hurts but at least I have progress with my project!

I started roughly planning out the next couple of months based on what I need to get done aims-wise, and it actually turns out that I'd already achieved the first of my three aims- which is actually pretty bloody brilliant because I was starting to worry that I wasn't doing enough. I'm also about to start working on the second aim of mine next week- which includes learning how to make LNPs (lipid nanoparticles) and LPs (lipopeptides). Hopefully I'll be able to start getting results with the third aim sometime in the next four to six weeks too!

I'm also really getting used to cell culture, having not infected nor killed my practice cells in all the time I've been back! <3 I was recently also asked to teach someone else cell culture and it's already been a tough start to doing that, but I'm sure it'll improve. I'm also excited because I finally have a flask of the cells I'm going to be working with, so I'll probably start freezing down stocks of them this week too!

It's pretty cool with my practice cell line that I've been able to transfect properly so that they go from non-fluorescent to fluoroescent, so that's pretty swish too!

Stay safe y'all :)
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #174 on: July 14, 2020, 06:59:24 am »
+10
Good morning!
I'm getting up and ready for a full-on day at uni, hoping it is better than yesterday (which was terrible haha, but it was a Monday, I guess it can be excused).

This week is all about inductions for me it seems- today I should be finally allowed to go and get inducted into the lab with the liquid nitrogen storage (we've been asking for this since Feb and earlier for my PhD friend), tomorrow I get to get inducted into the analysis lab (so I can access the Dynamic Light Scattering machine) and later on I get to be inducted on the microscope that caught fire about a month ago, and Thursday I get to find out what the heck flow cytometry is 😂

Hopefully I get to do some formulation work this week too, but I highly doubt it because there's simply not enough hours in a day atm (and the uni doesn't want me there earlier than 8am or later than 6pm, nor apparently at uni at all yesterday when the security/access coordinator managed to remove my card access to the external campus doors and my usual lab when they gave me another lab I'm allowed to access with my card haha 😅)

Hope you're all staying safe and mostly staying home! ❤
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #175 on: July 27, 2020, 09:00:49 am »
+9
Howdy!
Just a cheeky morning update whilst I let breakfast settle before I write that monthly report I owe :-X

I honestly feel like I've done squat bar from being a slave to my cells tbh- they're needy little critters! But I have actually done a lot (including having to get up early this morning and nab the autoclave before ANYONE could use it, leaving me to have breakfast after the quick lab session haha). I just can't believe that it's nearly the end of July because oh gosh I have about 1 page written for my thesis and still no actual usuable results and I'm definitely feeling the heat D:

This week I'm mainly focusing on amplifying my DNA plasmid because I have like 2 ul of it left and kinda need more! I tried to start that process Thursday, but couldn't (because the autoclave door was jammed), and again on Friday (some jerks booked it out the whole day), so now I've started the process this morning! I've also thawed some of my GFP-expressing cells down so I can personally make some stocks sometime this week (because previously I had to bleach my batch because we had no cryovials at the time :( )

This week will probably be a chill week otherwise in the lab (pending my weekly discussion with Tom-the-PhD-pal), which is good because I kinda need the spare time as this report won't write itself (and I need to make a presentation for the big group meeting on Friday too and I currently have nfi to put in that either meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep haha)

Love y'all <3
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #176 on: August 17, 2020, 02:29:31 pm »
+10
Howdy!

I'm still allowed to come to uni to do lab work, so that's hella nifty! I got my first official bits of data last week and I'm doing my first proper experiment of the project this week- but that's already hit a bit of a bump as I have found that I can't just go do a quick check on the plate reader to see if it works as the blue led sucks, so it'll be either Wednesday or Thursday when I find out if it works or not when I go use flow cytometery 🙈

Aside from that, I was well rested over the weekend, but I just seeded (or plated) 4 plates worth of cells and I'm sapped. I still have 2.5h to go because I'm also making an LNP formulation today. Then I'm here from 8:15 until 5:30 tomorrow, because I'm a slave to my cells haha.

Anywho that's all from me, stay safe xo
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

sweetiepi

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #177 on: September 07, 2020, 08:52:49 am »
+12
THE BASIS OF MY WHOLE PROJECT ACTUALLY WORKS! 😍

I ran flow cytometery on Friday for measuring the fluorescence of my cells and I got around 2% positive! This isn't much, but we know it works- so all my hard work so far has been worth it!

Want to know what a typical day of mine looks like at the moment?
Let's use today for an example!

6:00am: wake up
6:40: brekky
6:50: leave house for train
7:07: train
8:05: arrive at uni
8:10-8:30: cell culture- coating plates with poly-d-lysine and checking on a plate from last week.
8:30-9:00: coffee/tea and analysis break.
9:00: retrieves cell culture media from other lab to thaw and make up some new stock because I was lazy the previous week and now desperately need to make more
9:30-10:30: cell culture- moving some experimental cultured plates to an 8 well slide for microscopy later today
10:30-11:00: break for data analysis
11:00-11:30: meeting with my PhD pal to discuss this week's experiments
11:30-12:00: outside break
12:00-1:00: microscopy
1:00-2:00: lunch and planning for the week's experiments
2:00-3:30: cell culture- moving my lipopeptide plate to flow cytometry tubes
3:30-4:30: flow cytometery
4:30-6:00: get home

Stay home/stay safe y'all ❤
2017-2019: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Formulation Science)
2020: Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Honours) Read my uni journey here!

Joseph41

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #178 on: September 07, 2020, 08:55:57 am »
+4
Great news! Well done - happy for you. :)

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homeworkisapotato

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Re: A Spoonful of Sugar- insanipi's PharmSci journey
« Reply #179 on: September 07, 2020, 08:57:32 am »
+3
So happy for you <33
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