Week of 10/09/16

My first post! This year I am taking part in the CBIS High School Scholars Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. I will be interning under Dr. Catherine Royer at the Center for Biological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (CBIS) at RPI, and working on protein purification. Protein purification is a series of processes intended to isolate one or a few proteins from a complex mixture, usually cells, tissues, or whole organisms. This process is necessary for characterizing the structure, nature, and interactions of a selected protein.

Protein purification flowchart. Source: http://2009.igem.org/Team:Washington/Project

This past Tuesday our introductory meeting took place. I met with Mr. Calos, Dr. Royer, and Yi, the graduate student I will be working with, to discuss the meeting times a procedures for this year-long internship. We discussed my background in science, how laboratory proceedings will occur, and the expectations set for me as my senior year (and this internship) continues. I found out very quickly that I really enjoy the company of both Dr. Royer and Yi, which only makes me want to succeed even more. Hopefully, I will be able to put in enough time, effort, and enthusiasm to make this internship a success. Until next time!