Today was a very, very long day. The dreaded safety training did not last all day.. instead only fifteen minutes! Of course we had to do lots of paperwork, get our JHU ID’s made and other orientation type activities. It was really exciting to meet the INBT group. There are sixteen of us (the biggest group yet) that were picked from, as they informed us, over 700 applications. That’s mind-boggling. Anyways, I really enjoyed hanging out with the other students in the program. Even after just a couple hours, it seemed like we’d get to be a pretty close group. We were given the middle part of the day free, and so my roommate, Kat, and two of the boys decided to make a run to the grocery store. Believe it or not, I was lacking a few things after our grocery run via bus yesterday. We made it back in time for the program’s library talk and tour, although I did not find it helpful since I had already explored the library with some friends previously.
Once these introduction activities were over, we were let go. I wasn’t ready to call it a day (it was about three o’clock) and so wandered back to the Chemistry building and the Tovar lab. Stephen was at his desk in lab and luckily wasn’t busy. He gave me the more detailed spiel on what I’ll be doing and the background organic ideas. I really enjoyed the way he explains the material; as he said, he doesn’t just want me throwing things together according to directions, but wants me to understand what I’m doing when I mix different reagents. We spent a couple hours this way, I looked up background information and safety on common reagents/solvents and worked through the mechanisms of synthesizing peptides. What I’ll be doing, in a nutshell, is synthesizing peptides, through activation with PyBOP, coupling and deprotection with a base (and repeating), via solid phase (the molecules are attached to a bead, and later cleaved from it with strong acid). That’s more or less the first step: getting used to this process.
I really enjoyed my brief time in the lab. Stephen took me through the underground tunnels, which connect the buildings, to the stockroom to get my own lab coat and glasses. I love my lab coat! It fits wonderfully. It’s a shame the students don’t wear lab coats very often, due to the fact that the materials we are using are relatively harmless, because I don’t mind wearing mine at all!
The rest of my day pales in comparison – dinner, errands, etc. Not worth listing, so I suppose that is it… Oh, and unfortunately there are no pictures today, I had to let my camera charge back in the room. By the end of the summer I’ll have to sneak some pictures of the lab… 🙂
Tomorrow is my first FULL day in lab!!
Mary Catherine Bedard 