I visited a family friend's lab at Salk Institute yesterday. Soon Ok works in the peptide biology division at the institute. Her lab is currently examining the long-term effects of adolescent drinking. In short, you get the rats drunk repeatedly and then examine where certain products have built up in the brain. Not only did I get to learn about Salk and working in a research institute like it, I got the chance to actually try manipulating some of the cross-sections of brains that are mounted onto slides (an experienced lab technician makes this look deceptively simple) in order to stain and examine specific regions under a microscope. I also have an aptitude for putting together "the hardest puzzle no one ever wants to solve" (as described by one of the lab staff). On my very first try, I was able to correctly sort over 30 thin slices of a brain into the correct order. All the same, and as interesting as the results of the research are, I don't think I'll be switching my focus to neurobiology any time soon.
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| Two of the main lab buildings at Salk. The institute is perched up on the bluffs of La Jolla near UCSD. Absolutely gorgeous location. |
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| The results of my work sorting sections of a brain and mounting eight slices onto a microscope slide. |
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