Graduate School FAQ
Section I. Questions about Salaita Lab
Section II. Questions about Grad School Life
Section III. Relevant Blog Posts, Related to Topics, with links
Section II. Questions about Grad School Life
Section III. Relevant Blog Posts, Related to Topics, with links
Questions about Salaita Lab
*Updated March 5, 2016
Every lab has their own flavor. You have to find the one that fits you! To help refine your search, here's what we are like. Feel free to email me with more questions!
Every lab has their own flavor. You have to find the one that fits you! To help refine your search, here's what we are like. Feel free to email me with more questions!
1. How many graduate students and post-docs are there?
2. What's the focus of research?
3. What is the atmosphere in the Salaita lab? What is it like to work there?
4. What do you like about Dr. Salaita and why would you recommend him as a PI?
5. Are you mentoring anyone?
6. Is the lab well-funded?
7. Is there enough equipment for everyone to use?
2. What's the focus of research?
3. What is the atmosphere in the Salaita lab? What is it like to work there?
4. What do you like about Dr. Salaita and why would you recommend him as a PI?
5. Are you mentoring anyone?
6. Is the lab well-funded?
7. Is there enough equipment for everyone to use?
Questions about Grad School Life
1. I've heard that the first two years of grad school are really hard. Can you expound on that? How do you cope?
2. What do you do when you get stuck?
3. What's a typical day for you like?
4. How do you stay organized?
5. Do you work on the weekends?
2. What do you do when you get stuck?
3. What's a typical day for you like?
4. How do you stay organized?
5. Do you work on the weekends?
Answers: Questions about Salaita Lab
1. How many graduate students, post-docs and undergraduates are there?
The Salaita lab began in the summer of 2009 at Emory. As of September 19, 2015, there are ten graduate students and one post-doc. Last summer, Kevin Yehl and Carol Schumacher defended their theses and our second post-doc Weiwei Zheng got a professorship at Syracuse University in NY. We had two undergraduates and two high school students last summer. Khalid is likely looking for another additional post-doc and 3-4 other students this year (fall 2016). Aaron joined the team last fall from Tech/Emory's BME program.
Many people come to use equipment in our lab - the microscopes (TIRF, STORM, FLIM), Nanodrop etc - and there is an additional post-doc collaborating with us to use our DNA synthesizer.
FALL 2016 LAB MEMBER LIST
*undergraduate and high school students listed under their respective mentors
Zheng Liu - postdoc
Yang Liu
Yun Zhang
Nick Colonna
Yuan Yang
Kornelia Galior
Victor Pui-Yan Ma
Shawn Sun
Jessica Petree
Roxanne Glazier
Josh Brockman
"Han" Hanquan Su
*Aaron Blanchard (newest member)
Jacob Yi
5th Floor Lab Layout
The Salaita lab began in the summer of 2009 at Emory. As of September 19, 2015, there are ten graduate students and one post-doc. Last summer, Kevin Yehl and Carol Schumacher defended their theses and our second post-doc Weiwei Zheng got a professorship at Syracuse University in NY. We had two undergraduates and two high school students last summer. Khalid is likely looking for another additional post-doc and 3-4 other students this year (fall 2016). Aaron joined the team last fall from Tech/Emory's BME program.
Many people come to use equipment in our lab - the microscopes (TIRF, STORM, FLIM), Nanodrop etc - and there is an additional post-doc collaborating with us to use our DNA synthesizer.
FALL 2016 LAB MEMBER LIST
*undergraduate and high school students listed under their respective mentors
Zheng Liu - postdoc
Yang Liu
Yun Zhang
Nick Colonna
Yuan Yang
Kornelia Galior
Victor Pui-Yan Ma
Shawn Sun
Jessica Petree
Roxanne Glazier
Josh Brockman
"Han" Hanquan Su
*Aaron Blanchard (newest member)
Jacob Yi
5th Floor Lab Layout
2. What is the focus of research?
The lab's primary focus is on building sensors to measure the amount of force cells pull on their ligands. I've listed here the number of students working on each topic for reference. There are also several other projects: nanobiotech and synthetic biology. The Salaita lab is by nature flexible, incorporating the interests of the grad students. Khalid encourages students to develop their own projects. Typically - biophysics, nanobiotech and bioengineering - are the major themes.
Measuring force: Weiwei, Zheng, Yun, Yuan, Kornelia, Victor, Roxanne, Josh, Han
Synthetic biology: Jessica
Nanotech: Zheng, Han
Topics, a one-word description:
RNA gene therapy: Jessica
Gold Nanoparticles: Yang, Jessica, Victor, Kornelia
Nanorods: Zheng, Han
3. What is the atmosphere in the Salaita lab? What is it like to work there?
There are three words to describe the Salaita lab: fast, fun, collaborative
Every lab has its own flavor. Some labs flow like a slow, but inexorable river. We tend to be more fast-paced. The projects we work on are all challenging, and people put in some long hours. However, it is also very rewarding and there's an atmosphere of fun, with plenty of jokes to go around. The lab members have great camaraderie and a helpful spirit, everyone freely mixing and mingling with everyone else and talking a lot about their work, sharing reagents, etc. Everyone is eager to teach new recruits, undergrads or visiting post-docs and no one will ever laugh at you for a "stupid question." They are also more than willing to chat about data, give their feedback and help you make connections with people they know who can advance your work. Though the lab is somewhat large, it doesn't feel like that and everyone is pretty tight knit.
4. What do you like about Dr. Salaita and why would you recommend him as a PI?
Dr. Salaita is everything I was looking for in a PI. He is a very enthusiastic, approachable, hands-on professor with great ideas. Here are the four things I was looking for that he fulfills.
a) Khalid is always enthusiastic about science! I wanted to work for someone who loved science as much as I did and didn't consider it like "work." At first I watched to see if this enthusiasm would wear off, but nope. It's just how he is! It really helps to have that behind you.
b) Khalid talks to students like equals. This is a rare, subtle and valuable trait. You may be surprised at how little I've found it. He makes you feel as if you're important, you matter and is not a wit condescending. When someone doesn't understand something, he explains it without even a hint of making you feel dumb. I wanted to work for someone like that, with whom I could have a more colleague relationship than a "boss," and he provides that. He is very approachable, not at all scary or intimidating, always friendly, and happy for people to stop into his office and chat.
c) Khalid talks to his students frequently about their work. Not everyone likes a hands-on professor, but I really wanted that - to have consistent and frequent interactions, discussions about the data and science - someone who would enjoy talking with me about science regularly. Khalid meets with most of his students every 1-2 weeks. I have a weekly meeting to discuss data, and also pop in occasionally to get clarification on other things. We work together on hashing out thoughts and ideas. It's a real symbiotic relationship.
d) Khalid has the makings of a phenomenal mentor. He challenges his students and seems to be able to adapt himself and his teaching methods to different personalities, as witnessed by me and stated by a senior grad student of his. Furthermore, he is flexible and encourages students to think for themselves, propose their own projects, take charge of their work and make their research their own.
In conclusion, Khalid is the perfect mentor for me. I couldn't be more blessed, a million times over, to call him my PI.
5. Are you mentoring anyone?
I am currently mentoring Zeynab, an Iranian student interested in joining us as a grad student possibly next year.
6. Is the lab well-funded?
Yes, very! Our lab has been fortunate enough to be extraordinarily well-funded. When I inquired about the lab coming into Emory, I was told that all Khalid's proposals had been funded, and he had to choose which one he wanted, since they were mutually exclusive. This trend has continued. With a recent grant, we have purchased a second microscope, super resolution (STORM) last December. Additionally, we were recently funded for a third microscope (FLIM) in conjunction with the Dyer lab. Some photos of our STORM scope being assembled can be found here.
7. Is there enough equipment for everyone to use?
Yes! The only instrument that gets crowded is the microscope, since almost everyone uses it for their experiments. People sign up for time slots and there's a good rotation going. Overall, there are no complaints, and people have time to do what they need to do. Other equipment we do not have we actively collaborate with other labs to use theirs, both in chemistry, physics and biochemistry. Such sharing is very common at Emory.
The lab's primary focus is on building sensors to measure the amount of force cells pull on their ligands. I've listed here the number of students working on each topic for reference. There are also several other projects: nanobiotech and synthetic biology. The Salaita lab is by nature flexible, incorporating the interests of the grad students. Khalid encourages students to develop their own projects. Typically - biophysics, nanobiotech and bioengineering - are the major themes.
Measuring force: Weiwei, Zheng, Yun, Yuan, Kornelia, Victor, Roxanne, Josh, Han
Synthetic biology: Jessica
Nanotech: Zheng, Han
Topics, a one-word description:
RNA gene therapy: Jessica
Gold Nanoparticles: Yang, Jessica, Victor, Kornelia
Nanorods: Zheng, Han
3. What is the atmosphere in the Salaita lab? What is it like to work there?
There are three words to describe the Salaita lab: fast, fun, collaborative
Every lab has its own flavor. Some labs flow like a slow, but inexorable river. We tend to be more fast-paced. The projects we work on are all challenging, and people put in some long hours. However, it is also very rewarding and there's an atmosphere of fun, with plenty of jokes to go around. The lab members have great camaraderie and a helpful spirit, everyone freely mixing and mingling with everyone else and talking a lot about their work, sharing reagents, etc. Everyone is eager to teach new recruits, undergrads or visiting post-docs and no one will ever laugh at you for a "stupid question." They are also more than willing to chat about data, give their feedback and help you make connections with people they know who can advance your work. Though the lab is somewhat large, it doesn't feel like that and everyone is pretty tight knit.
4. What do you like about Dr. Salaita and why would you recommend him as a PI?
Dr. Salaita is everything I was looking for in a PI. He is a very enthusiastic, approachable, hands-on professor with great ideas. Here are the four things I was looking for that he fulfills.
a) Khalid is always enthusiastic about science! I wanted to work for someone who loved science as much as I did and didn't consider it like "work." At first I watched to see if this enthusiasm would wear off, but nope. It's just how he is! It really helps to have that behind you.
b) Khalid talks to students like equals. This is a rare, subtle and valuable trait. You may be surprised at how little I've found it. He makes you feel as if you're important, you matter and is not a wit condescending. When someone doesn't understand something, he explains it without even a hint of making you feel dumb. I wanted to work for someone like that, with whom I could have a more colleague relationship than a "boss," and he provides that. He is very approachable, not at all scary or intimidating, always friendly, and happy for people to stop into his office and chat.
c) Khalid talks to his students frequently about their work. Not everyone likes a hands-on professor, but I really wanted that - to have consistent and frequent interactions, discussions about the data and science - someone who would enjoy talking with me about science regularly. Khalid meets with most of his students every 1-2 weeks. I have a weekly meeting to discuss data, and also pop in occasionally to get clarification on other things. We work together on hashing out thoughts and ideas. It's a real symbiotic relationship.
d) Khalid has the makings of a phenomenal mentor. He challenges his students and seems to be able to adapt himself and his teaching methods to different personalities, as witnessed by me and stated by a senior grad student of his. Furthermore, he is flexible and encourages students to think for themselves, propose their own projects, take charge of their work and make their research their own.
In conclusion, Khalid is the perfect mentor for me. I couldn't be more blessed, a million times over, to call him my PI.
5. Are you mentoring anyone?
I am currently mentoring Zeynab, an Iranian student interested in joining us as a grad student possibly next year.
6. Is the lab well-funded?
Yes, very! Our lab has been fortunate enough to be extraordinarily well-funded. When I inquired about the lab coming into Emory, I was told that all Khalid's proposals had been funded, and he had to choose which one he wanted, since they were mutually exclusive. This trend has continued. With a recent grant, we have purchased a second microscope, super resolution (STORM) last December. Additionally, we were recently funded for a third microscope (FLIM) in conjunction with the Dyer lab. Some photos of our STORM scope being assembled can be found here.
7. Is there enough equipment for everyone to use?
Yes! The only instrument that gets crowded is the microscope, since almost everyone uses it for their experiments. People sign up for time slots and there's a good rotation going. Overall, there are no complaints, and people have time to do what they need to do. Other equipment we do not have we actively collaborate with other labs to use theirs, both in chemistry, physics and biochemistry. Such sharing is very common at Emory.
Answers: Questions about Grad School Life
1. I've heard that the first two years of grad school are really hard. Can you expound on that? How do you cope?
Just because the first two years of grad school are "hard" doesn't mean you cannot also have fun! The main reasons why things are especially difficult the first two years is that one has to learn the experiments one is doing from scratch - it can be slow going and challenging to assimilate all the massive amounts of information at once. Furthermore, because one is less experienced, experiments tend not to work very well or at all for as long as months. What I've found is that experimenting "bumps along." The first problem you encounter may take you a few weeks to a few months to solve. Once that is solved, you'll encounter another problem, which also takes anywhere from a week to a few weeks to solve. Each problem takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, but they DO get solved, and there's always something to try. It's rarely if ever ONE problem that takes forever. Progress is always made; it is just slow. So, never be discouraged! The only time when difficulties will defeat you is if you stop trying. All problems are solved eventually.
Science is fun - don't let experiments not working steal that joy. Even if they don't work, you can problem solve, think about science, try things and read cool literature! Just think - you are in the *real* science mainstream solving real problems! - at the edge of the known and unknown! Of course it is tough! Discovery is not easy but it can be fun. Armed with this mindset, nothing can take you down.
2. What do you do when you get stuck?
There are two kinds of stuck: not knowing what's going wrong, but having some theories to try and not knowing what's wrong and having NO IDEA why that is or what to do next. The second is the worst kind. When this happens, I'll typically talk it over with Khalid in one of our meetings while simultaneously combing through the literature to see if there is a precedent for this kind of problem. A couple days scouring the literature can be incredibly helpful! I'lll also ask people in other labs familiar with similar experiments to see if they have tips from their experience.
However, in the end, the only thing to do is formulate some hypotheses from this information and try them out. For more on this thought, read the article, "The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research." In science, everyone only knows their slice of the pie and won't be able to help you on all your questions because no one knows the answer. It's your project, you are the expert and sometimes you just have to try things to see what works. That's what happens when one is on the cutting edge of knowledge and no matter how experienced you become, this will always be true. You will never feel as if you've "arrived." But one thing I've found is - eventually - it does work! No problem is permanent. It's just a setback. Keeping bulldogging it and the answer will come.
2. What's a typical day for you like?
Typically, I will put in an overnight experiment on Monday and do other housecleaning experiments: read literature, make solutions I'll need for the week, or other things I can do that don't take overnight. I'm trying to read one literature article every morning, but sometimes I don't make it. I run a lot of gel electrophoresis, so on Tuesdays, I will generally pour a gel and run an experiment on that. Wednesdays sometimes get left as a thinking/preparing day like Monday, and I'll put in another overnight reaction, from which I'll run another gel on Thursday.
I try to plan the experiments for the week on weekends and Mondays. I'm always trying to squeeze in as many as possible without going crazy. I try to work from 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. most days, but sometimes I run late (7-9 pm), especially when I'm doing a new experiment that I don't know how long it will take. Typical things I'll do in a day include: running experiments, analyzing the data, reading literature, asking other people for their thoughts on my data, and Googling and reading literature to find out how to do something new. When I have down time between experiments, I record what I've done so far in my lab notebook and/or read papers.
As far as weekly/monthly things, we have lab meeting once a week and I meet with Khalid once a week. There's a weekly subgroup meeting for those working with integrins. And, during the semester, there are seminars on Mondays at 4 p.m. and Wednesdays at 1 p.m. There's also the occasional symposium for different groups of scientists that we will attend (see post, ATL Molecular and Cellular Biophysics Symposium). Lastly, during the semester, first years are required to TA a lab, typically general or organic chemistry, once a week. I TAed organic chem. For posts about it, see below, related blog topics, "TAing Organic Chemistry."
3. How do you stay organized?
Melissa Patterson, my mentor during Emory's SURE program when I was a rising junior, taught me the most ingenious organizing scheme. Most organized grad students use a variation of it. Label notebooks 1, 2, 3... and on every vial you save in the freezer, record the number and page of the lab notebook that pertains to it, i.e. 1.187. That way, if you find some DNA stored and can't remember what you used it for, you can go to that page in your notebook and find it.
I also like to label every DNA sequence I order from IDT with the same thing: code name, hyphen, name with word to help me remember. One example is "1-287-rev splint." I also save every piece of data in a "Data" folder on Dropbox (great online free backup system) labeled with this code, the date, and a short description of it. I would feel blind without this system. Using this method, I never have to worry about where things are.
I also have a table of contents page in Word for my lab notebooks that I continuously add to. Every heading for each day in my notebook has a title/statement of purpose and the date. This system or one like it should go a long way to helping you organize data.
4. Do you work on the weekends?
I do not come in to lab on weekends, but I still work. I leave them for planning. Also, I like to spend time in the vicinity of my husband, as he has weekends off. Typically, I take off one day and use the other for organizing, planning experiments, searching for supplies I need online, literature reading, or a combination of all those things. Grad school involves constant thinking about one's work, always trying to solve problems in the back of one's mind. However, that is fun!
Just because the first two years of grad school are "hard" doesn't mean you cannot also have fun! The main reasons why things are especially difficult the first two years is that one has to learn the experiments one is doing from scratch - it can be slow going and challenging to assimilate all the massive amounts of information at once. Furthermore, because one is less experienced, experiments tend not to work very well or at all for as long as months. What I've found is that experimenting "bumps along." The first problem you encounter may take you a few weeks to a few months to solve. Once that is solved, you'll encounter another problem, which also takes anywhere from a week to a few weeks to solve. Each problem takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, but they DO get solved, and there's always something to try. It's rarely if ever ONE problem that takes forever. Progress is always made; it is just slow. So, never be discouraged! The only time when difficulties will defeat you is if you stop trying. All problems are solved eventually.
Science is fun - don't let experiments not working steal that joy. Even if they don't work, you can problem solve, think about science, try things and read cool literature! Just think - you are in the *real* science mainstream solving real problems! - at the edge of the known and unknown! Of course it is tough! Discovery is not easy but it can be fun. Armed with this mindset, nothing can take you down.
2. What do you do when you get stuck?
There are two kinds of stuck: not knowing what's going wrong, but having some theories to try and not knowing what's wrong and having NO IDEA why that is or what to do next. The second is the worst kind. When this happens, I'll typically talk it over with Khalid in one of our meetings while simultaneously combing through the literature to see if there is a precedent for this kind of problem. A couple days scouring the literature can be incredibly helpful! I'lll also ask people in other labs familiar with similar experiments to see if they have tips from their experience.
However, in the end, the only thing to do is formulate some hypotheses from this information and try them out. For more on this thought, read the article, "The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research." In science, everyone only knows their slice of the pie and won't be able to help you on all your questions because no one knows the answer. It's your project, you are the expert and sometimes you just have to try things to see what works. That's what happens when one is on the cutting edge of knowledge and no matter how experienced you become, this will always be true. You will never feel as if you've "arrived." But one thing I've found is - eventually - it does work! No problem is permanent. It's just a setback. Keeping bulldogging it and the answer will come.
2. What's a typical day for you like?
Typically, I will put in an overnight experiment on Monday and do other housecleaning experiments: read literature, make solutions I'll need for the week, or other things I can do that don't take overnight. I'm trying to read one literature article every morning, but sometimes I don't make it. I run a lot of gel electrophoresis, so on Tuesdays, I will generally pour a gel and run an experiment on that. Wednesdays sometimes get left as a thinking/preparing day like Monday, and I'll put in another overnight reaction, from which I'll run another gel on Thursday.
I try to plan the experiments for the week on weekends and Mondays. I'm always trying to squeeze in as many as possible without going crazy. I try to work from 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. most days, but sometimes I run late (7-9 pm), especially when I'm doing a new experiment that I don't know how long it will take. Typical things I'll do in a day include: running experiments, analyzing the data, reading literature, asking other people for their thoughts on my data, and Googling and reading literature to find out how to do something new. When I have down time between experiments, I record what I've done so far in my lab notebook and/or read papers.
As far as weekly/monthly things, we have lab meeting once a week and I meet with Khalid once a week. There's a weekly subgroup meeting for those working with integrins. And, during the semester, there are seminars on Mondays at 4 p.m. and Wednesdays at 1 p.m. There's also the occasional symposium for different groups of scientists that we will attend (see post, ATL Molecular and Cellular Biophysics Symposium). Lastly, during the semester, first years are required to TA a lab, typically general or organic chemistry, once a week. I TAed organic chem. For posts about it, see below, related blog topics, "TAing Organic Chemistry."
3. How do you stay organized?
Melissa Patterson, my mentor during Emory's SURE program when I was a rising junior, taught me the most ingenious organizing scheme. Most organized grad students use a variation of it. Label notebooks 1, 2, 3... and on every vial you save in the freezer, record the number and page of the lab notebook that pertains to it, i.e. 1.187. That way, if you find some DNA stored and can't remember what you used it for, you can go to that page in your notebook and find it.
I also like to label every DNA sequence I order from IDT with the same thing: code name, hyphen, name with word to help me remember. One example is "1-287-rev splint." I also save every piece of data in a "Data" folder on Dropbox (great online free backup system) labeled with this code, the date, and a short description of it. I would feel blind without this system. Using this method, I never have to worry about where things are.
I also have a table of contents page in Word for my lab notebooks that I continuously add to. Every heading for each day in my notebook has a title/statement of purpose and the date. This system or one like it should go a long way to helping you organize data.
4. Do you work on the weekends?
I do not come in to lab on weekends, but I still work. I leave them for planning. Also, I like to spend time in the vicinity of my husband, as he has weekends off. Typically, I take off one day and use the other for organizing, planning experiments, searching for supplies I need online, literature reading, or a combination of all those things. Grad school involves constant thinking about one's work, always trying to solve problems in the back of one's mind. However, that is fun!
Related Blog Topics
Salaita Lab Life and Research Updates
Yuan Chang's Flickr! Fun photos of lab members and their activities here.
March 26, 2016, Post, ATL science festival exploration expo 2016!
March 5, 2016, Post, Progress update: Preparing for cell studies
October 5, 2015, Post, Salaita meets Chad Mirkin!
July 31, 2015, Post, Salaita Lab goes ziplining at Historic Banning Mills!
July 26, 2015, Post, Fun highlights from the lab in July, graduations and my student's summer work
July 5, 2015, Post, Kevin Yehl's Thesis Defense (June 24th)!! Photos and discussion
June 25, 2015, Post, Grace Thomsen joins me for the summer!
May 19, 2015, Celebrating Khalid's birthday, with cake of course!
March 28, 2015, My booth at the ATL science festival, extensive photos and videos
March 21, 2015, The Outbreak Game, Salaita lab participates in outofhandtheatre's mystery intrigue plot to kick off the ATL science festival
March 20, 2015, The hat collage: inside joke, story of the hat
Feb 27, 2015, Recruitment weekend 2015, stories and fun photos
Feb 21, 2015, Progress Update, finally have a BIG breakthrough! Enzyme efficiency goes from 10% to 100%
Jan 16, 2015, I'm looking to mentor a homeschool student this summer! Pilot program.
Dec 30, 2014, December adventures! Super resolution microscope construction, Khalid's tenure talk, lab cleaning, humorous other photos
Dec 15, 2014, I got to cut plexiglas on a band saw in the physics machine shop!
Dec 14, 2014, My parent's visit Emory, Layman's tour of Salaita, Weinert and Lynn labs, many photos
November 2014, Research update, post-second year report research start-up, and mentorship collaborations
October 2014, I passed the second year report!!
August 2014, Research update, breaking the questions down to close ranks on the splice reaction
August 2014, Celebrating my 27th birthday with the Salaita Lab!
July 2014, Research drama - splice reaction result is fake! - heartbreak when the experiments fail you, choosing a committee and lunch with friends
July 2014, Khalid treats the lab to Slice and Pint and short research update for how I'm going to get unstuck
July 2014, Dalia is born! Khalid and Meisa's new baby girl
July 2014, Research update, science is frustrating sometimes, adventure in being stuck
July 2014, Research update, possible splice product found, difficulties and soccer
June 2014, Research update, marathon experiment dash, problem solving, future plans and more of Kevin's mischief
May 2014, Absurd photos, Daniel's graduation dinner, Khalid's birthday, Soft Matters Seminar, Kevin's mischief
April 2014, Lab life in April, flooding, construction and silliness
Feb 2014, Daniel's Thesis Defense, with photos
Feb 2014, First order of business, cleaning, with photographs
Feb 2014, Starting up my research, the Saga Begins!
Oct 2013, The new speed vac! with pictures
March 26, 2016, Post, ATL science festival exploration expo 2016!
March 5, 2016, Post, Progress update: Preparing for cell studies
October 5, 2015, Post, Salaita meets Chad Mirkin!
July 31, 2015, Post, Salaita Lab goes ziplining at Historic Banning Mills!
July 26, 2015, Post, Fun highlights from the lab in July, graduations and my student's summer work
July 5, 2015, Post, Kevin Yehl's Thesis Defense (June 24th)!! Photos and discussion
June 25, 2015, Post, Grace Thomsen joins me for the summer!
May 19, 2015, Celebrating Khalid's birthday, with cake of course!
March 28, 2015, My booth at the ATL science festival, extensive photos and videos
March 21, 2015, The Outbreak Game, Salaita lab participates in outofhandtheatre's mystery intrigue plot to kick off the ATL science festival
March 20, 2015, The hat collage: inside joke, story of the hat
Feb 27, 2015, Recruitment weekend 2015, stories and fun photos
Feb 21, 2015, Progress Update, finally have a BIG breakthrough! Enzyme efficiency goes from 10% to 100%
Jan 16, 2015, I'm looking to mentor a homeschool student this summer! Pilot program.
Dec 30, 2014, December adventures! Super resolution microscope construction, Khalid's tenure talk, lab cleaning, humorous other photos
Dec 15, 2014, I got to cut plexiglas on a band saw in the physics machine shop!
Dec 14, 2014, My parent's visit Emory, Layman's tour of Salaita, Weinert and Lynn labs, many photos
November 2014, Research update, post-second year report research start-up, and mentorship collaborations
October 2014, I passed the second year report!!
August 2014, Research update, breaking the questions down to close ranks on the splice reaction
August 2014, Celebrating my 27th birthday with the Salaita Lab!
July 2014, Research drama - splice reaction result is fake! - heartbreak when the experiments fail you, choosing a committee and lunch with friends
July 2014, Khalid treats the lab to Slice and Pint and short research update for how I'm going to get unstuck
July 2014, Dalia is born! Khalid and Meisa's new baby girl
July 2014, Research update, science is frustrating sometimes, adventure in being stuck
July 2014, Research update, possible splice product found, difficulties and soccer
June 2014, Research update, marathon experiment dash, problem solving, future plans and more of Kevin's mischief
May 2014, Absurd photos, Daniel's graduation dinner, Khalid's birthday, Soft Matters Seminar, Kevin's mischief
April 2014, Lab life in April, flooding, construction and silliness
Feb 2014, Daniel's Thesis Defense, with photos
Feb 2014, First order of business, cleaning, with photographs
Feb 2014, Starting up my research, the Saga Begins!
Oct 2013, The new speed vac! with pictures
Salaita Lab outings
July 31, 2015, Post, Salaita Lab goes ziplining at Historic Banning Mills!
Feb 21, 2015, Yuan's Chinese New Year's Party!
June 2014, Kevin's Salaita Lab Cookout!
Sept 2013, Getting pumpkings wtih Yuan and Yvonne
May 2013, Salaita Lab Lunch at Khalid and Meisa's house
Feb 21, 2015, Yuan's Chinese New Year's Party!
June 2014, Kevin's Salaita Lab Cookout!
Sept 2013, Getting pumpkings wtih Yuan and Yvonne
May 2013, Salaita Lab Lunch at Khalid and Meisa's house
TAing Organic Chemistry
April 2014, Finishing up and diazo dye synthesis
March 2014, Making and oxidizing luminol
March 2014, Headache pill extraction!
Dec 2013, Sketches from student lab notebooks
Nov 2013, Getting orange extract, with videos
Oct 2013, Nothing blew up in orgo lab today! A day of insanity
Oct 2013, Starting 1st semester orgo TA
March 2014, Making and oxidizing luminol
March 2014, Headache pill extraction!
Dec 2013, Sketches from student lab notebooks
Nov 2013, Getting orange extract, with videos
Oct 2013, Nothing blew up in orgo lab today! A day of insanity
Oct 2013, Starting 1st semester orgo TA
Khalid is amazing and why
Feb 2014, Inexpressible happiness at joining Salaita lab
Nov 2013, List of the things I like about people in the Salaita lab
Nov 2013, Thanksgiving reflections on what I'm thankful for: the Lord, John, Khalid and research
Feb 2013, My Emory Visitation Weekend and meeting Khalid for the first time
Nov 2013, List of the things I like about people in the Salaita lab
Nov 2013, Thanksgiving reflections on what I'm thankful for: the Lord, John, Khalid and research
Feb 2013, My Emory Visitation Weekend and meeting Khalid for the first time
Rambling about grad life
March 2014, Visitation weekend, judging state fair and a presentation
Oct 2013, Mischief Managed, sneaking a pumpkin into Dr. Hill's office
Sept 2013, September rambling, class, lab, seminars, talking to people
June 2013, Destruction of Atwood Hall, video
Oct 2013, Mischief Managed, sneaking a pumpkin into Dr. Hill's office
Sept 2013, September rambling, class, lab, seminars, talking to people
June 2013, Destruction of Atwood Hall, video
Rotating in the Scarborough lab
Jan 2013, Doing NMR and using the glove box
Dec 2013, First week in the Scarborough lab, and doing a 100 g synthesis of ligand!
Dec 2013, First week in the Scarborough lab, and doing a 100 g synthesis of ligand!
Rotating in the Lynn lab
Dec 2013, Rambling, finishing Lynn lab experiment, Yoshie's defense, discouragement and recovery
Dec 2013, Lynn lab experiment mad dash, rambling story
Nov 2013, Hashing out rotation project ideas with Dr. Lynn
Oct 2013, Working on NSF proposal, and Daniel shows me how to use Illustrator
Dec 2013, Lynn lab experiment mad dash, rambling story
Nov 2013, Hashing out rotation project ideas with Dr. Lynn
Oct 2013, Working on NSF proposal, and Daniel shows me how to use Illustrator
Rotating in the Salaita lab
Oct 2013, Salaita lab rotation ending, and stories about the last week
June 2013, Adventures in June, Cas9 presentations, silliness and loving the Salaita lab
June 2013, June news, making a mistake that cost lots of money, Kevin leaving for Singapore, summer students arrive
May 2013, So, Typhoon imaging a gel isn't a piece of cake after all
May 2013, Starting my rotation, isolating protein, gel electrophoresis and Kevin's silliness
June 2013, Adventures in June, Cas9 presentations, silliness and loving the Salaita lab
June 2013, June news, making a mistake that cost lots of money, Kevin leaving for Singapore, summer students arrive
May 2013, So, Typhoon imaging a gel isn't a piece of cake after all
May 2013, Starting my rotation, isolating protein, gel electrophoresis and Kevin's silliness
My Visiting and Arriving to Emory
Feb 2013, Rolando's Emory Week Visitation photos, and reflection
August 2013, TATTOO teacher training, day 2
August 2013, TATTOO teacher training, day 1
August 2013, Last day of orientation, poem about chicken, lunch, Mr. McCormick head of Orgo labs
May 2013, Pictures around Salaita, Lynn, Weinert labs
March, 2013, Talking to professors, leaning towards Khalid
Feb 2013, My Emory Visitation Weekend and meeting Khalid for the first time
August 2013, TATTOO teacher training, day 2
August 2013, TATTOO teacher training, day 1
August 2013, Last day of orientation, poem about chicken, lunch, Mr. McCormick head of Orgo labs
May 2013, Pictures around Salaita, Lynn, Weinert labs
March, 2013, Talking to professors, leaning towards Khalid
Feb 2013, My Emory Visitation Weekend and meeting Khalid for the first time
Technical Weekly Grad Reports, largely of Salaita lab rotation
*somewhat esoteric notes of what I was doing during rotations
May 2014, Technical research update
April 2014, Summary of Feb, March, April, RNA degradation problems and enzyme activity
Sept 2013, Report on the Week, RNA gels, training sessions
Aug, 2013, Summary of August, activities as grad school officially begins
July 26, 2013, Report on the Week, RNA gels, purchasing supplies
July 19, 2013, Report on the Week, protein expression and purification
July 12, 2013, Report on the Week, protein expression and purification
July 5, 2013, Report on the Week, buffers, talking to Dr. Weinert
June 28, 2013, Report on the Week, more protein purification
June 21, 2013, Report on the Week, running RNA gels
June 14, 2013, Report on the Week, RNA stocks, protein gels
June 7, 2013, Report on the Week, more gels, designing substrates
May 31, 2013, Report on the Week, protein purification
May 24, 2013, Report on the Week, SDS-PAGE of oligos, expressing protein
May 17, 2013, Report on the Week, imaging, protein concentrations
May 10, 2013, Report on the Week, expressing protein
May 3, 2013, Report on the Week, first week start up activities
May 2014, Technical research update
April 2014, Summary of Feb, March, April, RNA degradation problems and enzyme activity
Sept 2013, Report on the Week, RNA gels, training sessions
Aug, 2013, Summary of August, activities as grad school officially begins
July 26, 2013, Report on the Week, RNA gels, purchasing supplies
July 19, 2013, Report on the Week, protein expression and purification
July 12, 2013, Report on the Week, protein expression and purification
July 5, 2013, Report on the Week, buffers, talking to Dr. Weinert
June 28, 2013, Report on the Week, more protein purification
June 21, 2013, Report on the Week, running RNA gels
June 14, 2013, Report on the Week, RNA stocks, protein gels
June 7, 2013, Report on the Week, more gels, designing substrates
May 31, 2013, Report on the Week, protein purification
May 24, 2013, Report on the Week, SDS-PAGE of oligos, expressing protein
May 17, 2013, Report on the Week, imaging, protein concentrations
May 10, 2013, Report on the Week, expressing protein
May 3, 2013, Report on the Week, first week start up activities
Symposiums
Science Fairs
April 2014, Atlanta Science Festival
March 2014, Judging the GA State Science and Engineering Fair
Dec 2013, Observing Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology Science Fair
March, 2013, Judging the GA State Science and Engineering Fair
Feb 2013, Judging Gwinnett Regional science fair
Jan 2013, Judging Norcross elementary science fair
March 2014, Judging the GA State Science and Engineering Fair
Dec 2013, Observing Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology Science Fair
March, 2013, Judging the GA State Science and Engineering Fair
Feb 2013, Judging Gwinnett Regional science fair
Jan 2013, Judging Norcross elementary science fair
Oxford College of Emory
May 2014, Breaking ground on the new science building!
May 2013, End of Oxford's Orgo class 222
Jan 2013, January chemistry news
May 2013, End of Oxford's Orgo class 222
Jan 2013, January chemistry news
Science Minute: Spotlight on Science News
Feb 2, 2015, Spotlight: Feng Zheng, Modern Einstein of molecular biology
Nov 27, 2014, Does tryptophan really make you sleepy?
Nov 12, 2014, Philae comet landing!
April 13, 2014, The life of cellular proteins
Nov 27, 2014, Does tryptophan really make you sleepy?
Nov 12, 2014, Philae comet landing!
April 13, 2014, The life of cellular proteins