Jenny - Entry #3 at CHLA

Hey all, I hope everyone's having a fun, research-filled summer in their labs. I got back from my trip to Mongolia with a few doctors and girls associated with the guild that fundraises for the research institute in CHLA. It was probably the best experience in my life - I learned so much not only about global healthcare and medicine, but different cultures and lifestyles! Although I am sad the trip is over, I'm glad to be back in California and continuing my project. I am in the middle of my fifth week and there have actually been a few changes in the lab when I came back. Before my trip I mainly worked with my PI, Denise, and another undergraduate, Emily. When I came back, Emily couldn't come to the lab anymore, but instead there were two other research observers, Alex and Winnie. Although we don't work together, it's nice having more people walking around on our side of the lab because it's usually so quiet! I am also working with Soula, who is like Denise's sidekick. Everyone is super friendly like I remembered and I felt right at home when I came back!

Me, Emma (a medical student from Holland), and Dr. Warburton (my lab director) sipping on tea in our Mongolian gear!

My project of imaging the human lung continues! Before I left, my main task was to wash and stain the samples. I did this for about 10-12 lung samples, and the whole protocol took a while. We were able to get 2D images images under the fluorescent microscope which was pretty cool, but the main goal was to get a 3D image where we can trace cells and see how they branch and grow. We were able to get that done with outside help so this is where I step in! (I'm sorry about the lack of pictures from the lab - I don't think I'm allowed to share them just yet!)

The 3D imaging is basically a video with around ~280 frames of the whole lung lobe that we had stained beforehand. Although just the images themself look amazing, the whole goal is to trace cells to get a better understanding of how lungs develop. Focusing on one particular antiody, our imaging specialist had already used a computer program to highlight very prominent stains. However, there are a bunch of other cells that have been stained, just not picked up by the program. So for the past few days, I have basically been tracing these undetected cells with ImageJ. It's not the most exciting thing ever, just because there are 280 frames and they all look pretty similar. I don't mind too much, however, because in the end, someone has to do it. 

On the side, I've also been testing out a new protocol on clearing tissue. Although the method to clear our lung samples was effective, some of the solution actually had melted the plastic and leaked out onto one of the microscopes - eek. When clearing tissue, methods that are shorter are usually more effective, but I am testing out the CLARITY clearing method, which takes a few weeks. I am currently waiting on an embryo and lung. I hope this method actually works!