I am starting to get a bit frustrated while at work. Working at the Marine Biodiscovery Centre is challenging for me because I am the youngest student by 5 years. Everyone else who works here, except for one, has their PhD and is very involved in their work. I have only met my PI twice, so I often feel like I have little direction, so Jie, I know how you feel. Not only that, but many lab members are so involved in their work that they don't offer much help. But! That being said, I have learned how to work independently and figure things out on my own! Which actually, one could argue, is possibly the useful thing to learn in a lab.
It's taking me forever to get results. After growing my fungus for three weeks, I finally began extracting chemicals from it. I don't really know what I'm looking for because the PhD I'm working with is rarely around, but that shouldn't be a problem because...
This week I am trying to teach myself how to read 2D NMRs! And that's not an easy task my friends. While waiting for my fungal partitions to separate, I asked Hannah (the diploma student from Germany who is ALWAYS eager to help me and on a similar program as I am) if I could analyze some data she received from Bangladesh. And of course she said yes. She handed me an HNMR spectra, A C13NMR spectra, a COSY (Correlation spectroscopy) spectra, a Heteronuclear Multiple Quantum Coherence spectra and a Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Coherence spectra. WOAH, I was like... okay... this is going to be difficult. But after a bit of explaining from Hannah, I think I got the gist of it! Reading these spectra is a lot like those logic puzzles you get in 6th grade where you have to match the name, occupation and address of a group of people with a certain set of clues... maybe you remember.
Anyways, it was cool to learn how to read one of these guys:
Hopefully, by the end of the week I can start analyzing the fungal samples I will finish extracting today. Thing is, the NMR is broken at the moment. How frustrating... but that's just how research goes as they say... sigh
Liverpool was great. I left my camera cord at Ogy's by accident so I don't have any pictures to show just yet. This weekend I think I am going camping with some friends I met in Aberdeen and hopefully I will have some good NMRs to start analyzing.
Till next time!
2D NMRs on the other hand, are my fav. You can do it, Austin! You and Jie need to keep asking for help and don't worry about bothering folks. Keep up the great work!
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ReplyDeletetoo embarrasing.. removed.
ReplyDeletein my defense, my lab had a Canada day morning tea and am still on a sugar EXTREME high
It's okay. I removed mine too. Now no one will know!
ReplyDeletePS Leah, you were right! I have taken matters into my own hands and am having a much better week! Very busy!
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