Monday, June 28, 2010

The Research (Part II)

We've mostly been using different spices for the extracts, so every morning Jen and I have been going to a food co-op to pick basically any pure spice we'd like (things like curry powder are out because they're made with several different ingredients so it's much harder to determine which one is responsible for inhibiting microbial growth). Spices with the most intense colors tend to bring the best results, so this morning, for example, we created extracts of chili powder, paprika and sweet basil. I've found that a lot of waiting is involved in this stage of the research, because once the extracts are made and added to the bacterial cultures, the growth inhibition is measured by a spectrophotometer which gives read-outs every two hours, and since each sample is given sixty hours to grow, the research seems to move pretty slowly. The spectrophotometer, however, is kind of awesome. The lab just purchased it with the grant money, and prior to its involvement all of the growth measurements had to be done individually, which was not even remotely exciting. Now that it's here we can skip that time-consuming step and move right to the comparisons between control groups (bacterial cultures with no added extract) and experimental groups (samples with an extract). I guess I should mention that each experimental group has both a garlic extract (a known antimicrobial) and another extract added (with unknown antimicrobial potential). This is done for two reasons: 1) the garlic extract is extremely pungent, so it's best if used in smaller quantities because very few people would want to eat cheese that smelled like garlic even if it was bacteria-free, and 2) because the antimicrobial potential of garlic is known, it's possible to determine how effective the additional extract is even when the two are combined, and it also saves time because you can see if the two extracts work better together than alone without having to run a second test.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Touring


This is a picture of the greenhouses that are a part of the plant diagnostics laboratory, which is just a parking lot away from the Garrigus building that I'm working in. I'm actually staying in Donovan Hall (one of many dorms) while I'm here, and it happens to right across from the greenhouses that are used by biology/botany/etc. undergraduate students. The undergrad ones look like they could fall down any minute but these are pretty nice looking (and there's a butterfly garden on the other side of them that I don't have any good pictures of).

Friday, June 25, 2010

The Research (Part I)


I've noticed a lot of similarities between the University of Kentucky and the University of Cincinnati, but one thing that really distinguishes the two is UK's emphasis on agriculture. It's everywhere--and it's not just for future farmers. It's combined with business to form agricultural economics and there's a program specifically for agricultural engineering. It's also really cool to see how involved all the agriculturally-inclined departments are/are trying to be in the community. In fact, UK has been working on opening a Food Systems Innovation Center (which should happen at some point during my time here) to help local farmers and food producers meet FDA requirements for commercial production. On Wednesday I met Angela Anandappa (from Ag Econ), who introduced me to some of the people involved in the project, and then showed me some of the different labs that were participating (mostly those that focused on agricultural engineering, but we also walked around the greenhouses and went inside the plant diagnostics lab).

The lab I'm working in is run by Dr. Melissa Newman (up in the right corner!), whose research is in food microbiology (and based on her list of publications it seems like she's particularly interested in E. coli). Anyway, the lab just received a grant from the Department of Homeland Security to look for what they're calling "natural antimicrobials" that can be added to foods to either kill or prevent the growth of unwanted microbes; and by natural, I'm referring to compounds that are both not harmful to humans and are naturally occurring (not manufactured), such as allicin (found in garlic) or a chili powder extract (just chili powder and water). One of the major microbes targeted in this research is Anthrax, however, others such as listeria and E. coli are also being researched because they are responsible for the vast majority of food-borne illnesses. Interestingly, Dr. Newman mentioned that the likelihood of a bio-terrorist successfully transmitting anthrax through food is very low because the microbe is at its most infectious when it is vaporized and then inhaled. Also, while most of the microorganisms being studied are allowed in the lab, all anthrax research is going to be done on pseudo-anthrax, which while exhibiting similar growth patterns and responding to similar stimuli, does not pose the same safety risks as anthrax.

On a related note, there are actually four different biosafety levels, with four being the most regulated. Level one only involves microbes that are not known to cause disease in humans, and UK is a level two, as are most university labs, which means each scientist needs specialized training in handling pathogenic material, and access to the lab is limited. Level three involves specialized filtration systems and the use of a hood for handling nearly all microbes (this includes West Nile and the SARS virus), and level four involves mandatory hazmat suits, decontamination showers and an ultraviolet light room to kill all pathogens (this is where you'll find your hemorrhagic diseases, smallpox, etc.).

On Thursday I started working with Jen, who's currently working on her PhD in Food Science and Technology. She does most of what I'm going to refer to as the "blind research," in that she is taking various compounds with unknown antimicrobial capacities, creating extracts, and then adding the extracts to different bacterial cultures. Her research focuses on finding the compounds that might work, determining the smallest effective amount possible and then seeing if a combination of two or more compounds is even more efficient than each individual one.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Garrigus


This is a not-super-good picture of the Garrigus building I'm working in, but in my defense, there are way too many trees around to get a clear shot of the place. And while I'm talking about trees, I also want to say that UC needs more of them. UK has huge trees everywhere! Covering every sidewalk and surrounding every building. It's absolutely beautiful!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The First Days

I've just finished up my first two days here at UK, and I can't wait to go back tomorrow! I spent most of today and Monday taking online safety classes before I was allowed to actually start working, and although I'm definitely not disappointed about being done with those, at least now I have six new certificates attesting to my expertise in things like "Chemical Hygiene" and "Hazardous Waste Communication."

Working in a microbiology lab isn't necessarily something you would expect someone majoring in neuroscience to do, and I think that's why I'm so excited about completing this experience. I know I want a career that involves research, but as of now that's really the only thing I know. I've already changed my major once (biology to neuroscience), and I've been thinking about changing again. The required first year classes for most of the science-related majors are pretty similar, and that's definitely not helping me decide. So far the only major-specific class I've taken was a freshman neuroscience seminar that was really beneficial as far as knowing my options after graduating with a neuroscience degree, but it didn't really provide me with a chance to really understand what any of those options would be like.

I want this summer experience to help me decide if microbiology is something I want to spend the rest of my life studying--or at least help me to decide that microbiology is not. While I'm doing that, I'll also be working on improving my knowledge and proficiency in using various lab techniques. Since medicine is another career path I'm considering, and because there are several hospitals very close to where I'm staying, I'm also hoping I have time to shadow some of the doctors who work around here (particularly those who work in the Neuroscience Institute).