My Reflections for this Semester

Hello everyone,

The topic for this blog is if you could go back in time and give advice to your “first day of ASU” self, what advice would you give? For me, this is a tough one as well as emotional. Mostly because this has been the most challenging semester I’ve had. Things were not as I had expected them to be. Life happens and sometimes it takes you away from your goals. Thankfully there were people in my life that pushed me and kept me going. So here I am at the end of the semester. I did it, I made it! 

So I would tell myself just that, “you are going to get through whatever obstacle life throws at you.” To “appreciate those around you, when everything seems dark, they will help you through.” And lastly, I would tell myself “this too shall pass, you got this!”

I’m incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities and struggles, I believe these are lessons in life that I can learn from and move forward. It’s difficult to see that at the moment as we lead our busy lives. But it’s what helps us grow and can become a driving force through our academic endeavors.

I wish everyone a wholesome winter break and hope some of my advice to myself helps you as well.

Goals and Beyond

Hello everyone,

This semester has been a trying one, but thankfully we’re at the last stretch with just a couple more weeks left of school. As we near the end, I wanted to reflect on the changes that I’ve made to my academic goals over time. When I first started at Phoenix College I was certain in pursuing a career in nursing. But as I started to take the pre-reqs such as BIO 156 or CHM 130, I grew inspired by the different aspects in the field of science. I asked questions and wondered about the world around me. This was when I realized that I wanted to do more than work in the medical field. Pursuing a career in the medical field would have fulfilled one of my goals in dedicating my life to helping others, but it wouldn’t fulfill a goal that I’ve had since I was younger. This goal has always been to be a scientist. I wanted to be someone who made discoveries, performed research and asked difficult questions about the way the world works. When I understood the importance of pursuing a career that fulfilled both, I shifted gears on my academic goals. By doing this, I was certain that I would live a life doing the things I love and have a meaningful career. 

Since changing my goals a couple of years ago, I’ve received an Associate in science and have transferred to Arizona state university. I was accepted to be a STEM/TRAIN scholar and also made a goal to pursue undergraduate research. This semester I’ve started working as an intern in Dr. Polidoro’s SWAT lab, where we perform research that may impact the lives of communities in the Philippines and American Samoa. Although I haven’t quite set myself with a career goal, I’m certain that I’ll find inspiration, just as I did the first time, by doing research and continuing to work towards my biology degree. 

Learning New Lab Techniques

Hello everyone,

It has been about two months since I’ve begun working on research with Dr. Polidoro’s research team. I’ve learned so much during this time, such as new lab techniques and tools for sampling. We’re currently working on samples collected from the Philippines. These samples are processed by various procedures, in order to identify the particles present in the water. Some of the chemistry procedures I've learned are how to prepare and use drying columns and how to set up the nitrogen evaporator. The drying columns act as a filter for the samples, separating the layers and letting the sampling material through.

While the nitrogen evaporator, concentrates the samples. I’ve also familiarized myself with SPMDs. They are porous tubings that allow us to sample contaminants in water. These pores bind to organic contaminants in the water. They do this in a similar manner as fatty tissues in organisms would to contaminants in their surroundings. 

The SMPD, is the clear tubing. It's wound around
and then placed in a metal container that
 allows for water to flow through.
This is then set at an aquatic site and
 retrieved after some time for testing. 

It’s considered a passive sampling method. By this, it means that they were left in certain sites in the Philippines and for an extended amount of time, then later retrieved. In the lab, we then place the SPMDs in solvent and process, then test the contaminants that it may have absorbed. 

There’s so much more that we’ve also done, but I’m still learning and understanding the purpose for doing these procedures. I’m excited for what I have yet to learn.

Why STEM??

It's always been a dream of mine to pursue a career in STEM. When I was little, my dad had a Biology textbook lying around the house. I remember picking it up and looking at all the images. At the time, I didn’t understand much of the terms, but I was intrigued by trying to pronounce and make meaning of what was there. I believe this was when I knew for certain that I wanted to be a scientist. Over time, I became interested in marine biology and ecosystems. It was difficult to fathom how vast everything is, how everything is interconnected and how much we have yet to understand. I think it was this curiosity that became the driving force that led me to pursue a career in STEM. Another component that led me to pursue STEM, was my need to do something about the issues in the world. I believe that we have the power to make positive change and we should use it. I chose STEM to be able to gain and obtain the knowledge to make positive changes.

I’m currently interning in Dr. Polidoro’s lab. We’re analyzing samples from the Philippines, for possible contaminants. And pretty soon we’ll be analyzing fish and clams for levels of toxicity. It’s pretty exciting stuff.. well, not so much for the fish and clams though. In the grand scheme of things, I know that the work I’m taking part in will help determine the quality and integrity of aquatic environments, that can be used to help these places if needed. This is the work I want to do. I want a future in which I can learn and help others, whether it’s an ecosystem, a community or a species.

I wanted to share a couple of my favorite quotes 😊

Week Fourteen

Hello, not much to add on research. We collected the data that we needed last week and finalized our research paper. I actually want to give credit to the structure of this internship program. It really helped to have to blog post, this way I kept track of what was done that week or what I learned. The study of background and other assignments also helped me prepare for the final research paper.
Looking back, it has been an amazing experience. I've learned so much and look forward to continuing research at ASU.
Good luck with finals everyone!

PIA with funny looking colonies grown from the plastic samples. <3

Week Thirteen

This week we took the plastic pieces out of the PIA plates and washed, sanitized, dried, then got our last set of measurements. Afterward, the average mass was calculated and added to the graph for comparison. We were kind of happy to see more results, but on Wednesday we were surprised to find significant differences in the margin of error. I was able to get some insight from John and, well.. I think next time I'll be sure to take a look at all possibilities (from a stats perspective) in gathering data. And it's not that we chose a bad way to collect data, but there are better ways and its good to really look into other possibilities while building your foundation. For now, there's not much to do about it but trudge through it.

The beginning process of taking out the plastic pieces from PIA
and washing, then sanitizing them and drying in beakers.

Week Twelve

Last week, we noted bacterial growth from the plastic pieces collected for month 3. We streaked them on MacConkey agar. The goal was to verify our gram stain results, as growth on Mac plates would help further indicate that the bacteria are gram-negative, bacilli. And something interesting that I learned is that the MAC agar will have a color change reaction. When I first saw them they were a distinguishable red/purple color. And I learned that the plates can change depending on the microbe living on it. It can go from its original red color to a clear/yellow, because the agar is made of pH indicator and lactose... cool stuff :P

Week Eleven

This week we attended the ASU undergraduate research symposium. It was a great experience! We presented our research to a few people who walked by. I felt nervous at times and blanked. But my lab partners were there to back me up and give me feedback. We did an awesome job, I'm thankful for having them as lab partners.
We met Dr. Marshall as well and a couple of previous PC Train interns. One of them was able to give me a little information about her research experience at ASU. It was also inspiring to read through the various research topics out there. A lot of people at the symposium had some interesting research projects. There's so much that we have yet to learn and explore. I look forward to being a research intern at ASU next fall.

Week Ten

It looks like we’re nearing the end of the semester.

This week we kept busy working on the poster. Good thing that we have our abstract, background of study and data. It’s just editing, making sense of the data and transferring the information over. I’m working on the table and graph for the results. We have the mass for the six different types of plastics, that have been submerged in the aquarium tank (with canal water). We were hoping to see a difference in mass as our research questions the deterioration of plastics. We kind of all agreed that if we had more time, we’d probably have more data to work with and be able to really distinguish a difference in mass over time. But we have to work with what we can. 

If anyone has any helpful tips on the poster making process please let me know.

Bar graph of the average mass of each plastics type, from month 0 to month 2. 

Week Nine

Hello,
This week we looked at our slides through the microscope. We found similar data as our last gram staining test. They appeared red in color, indicating that they're gram negative bacteria. Their shape was also rounded. Some appeared to be short rods, while others were more circular. The last time we gram stained it took me a moment to really identify what I was looking at. But Matt and Josh helped us better understand that some may be in a skewed position. Sort of like looking at a pencil from the eraser end, you miss all the other details of its shape. Because of the morphology we noted, we went with bacilli.
The image below is of one of the colonies. First thing you will note is the red color and we had to take a closer look for the shape.
Hopefully more test can help us
better identify the bacteria.

Week Eight

Hello.
Hopefully everyone had a wonderful spring break. This week we worked on gram staining the second set of plastic samples. These are the samples that were collected in February. We're doing this in order to gather sufficient data to identify the bacteria living on the plastics. With so much gram staining, I think it's safe to say that I'm experienced by now.
Thankfully, today I finished staining the last two plates and we can move on to looking at the slides under the microscope. I'm kinda glad this week is over, I'm looking forward to performing other test to identify our bacteria. (other than gram staining, ofcourse :P)

Gram stain slide for Plastic #6 (Polystyrene), plate 2, plastic piece 4.

Week Six

Was it just me or did this week go by very slowly? haha.
The good thing is, we've moved forward onto testing the second set of plastics. Last month, 5 pieces of each type of the six plastics were obtained and placed on agar plates. This week's first objective was to observe and describe the bacterial colonies that were growing on those plates. The morphological characteristics we looked for were form, elevation and margin. This may help us better identify the bacteria growing on the plastics.
The second objective we were able to get started on, is gram staining. This would be our second round of gram staining. (We're probably going to be experts after all this.)
Lastly, I wanted to mention that one of my team members sampled the canal water, to gain an understanding of what may be floating in that environment. Growth was found in both, a TSA plate and a PIA plate. I'm hoping we can find out more in the upcoming weeks.

PIA plate with visible bacterial growth from sampled canal water.

Week 5

Hello there,
This week we washed and sanitized our plastic pieces, making sure that they were free of debris or any growth. This was interesting as we were trying to find ways to get the "gunk" off of them. Needless to say, it got kind of messy. We really had to make sure the bacterial growth was off entirely and since they're small plastic pieces, my clumsy self lost one for a moment. Thankfully Luisa was able to spot it!
Random note: They're numbered 1 through 6, in which each plastic is a different type. So plastic #1 is PET or Polyethylene Terephthalate, plastic #2 is HDPE or High-Density Polyethylene, plastic #3 is PVC or Polyvinyl Chloride, plastic #4 is LDPE or Low-Density Polyethylene, plastic #5 is PP or Polypropylene and lastly, plastic #6 is PS or Polystyrene.
After sanitizing them, they were each weighed individually. Below is the data that was collected from the plastic pieces that were retrieved in January. And they were the same ones that we took from the canal water to perform gram staining test.

This is the table for the mass (g) for each of the 6 types of plastic pieces. 

Week Four

Hello there!

This week was a short one, but my lab partners and I kept busy by looking at our gram staining slides through a microscope. This will help us get closer to identifying the type of microbe growing on the plastics. We were looking to identify the type of bacteria based on color and shape. Characteristics that we took note of were, pink/red or purple color and also whether it was a coccus, bacillus or other shapes. Next week, we'll bring our information together and make a conclusion based on our results. 

I was also able to learn how to make agar plates. Thankfully, Josh and Amber were able to walk me through it. Below is a picture of the mixture in an Erlenmeyer flask, right before it was brought to a boil. I didn't realize how time consuming it was to prepare these, but overall it was nice familiarizing myself with a different parts of the lab.

Week Three

This week we finished gram staining the bacterial growth that was found on the plastics labeled 1 through 6. Next we will be able to get a closer look at the bacteria through looking at its cell wall composition and making a determination of whether it's a gram negative or gram positive bacteria.
Some of these are new concepts and procedures for me, so I'm going to delve into the basics of my understanding of it. And this way I can come back later to look over it if I need to. If there's any other relevant info I missed, please feel free to share.

This is the slide for Plastic # 5
(plate 2), plastic sample # 5.
Note, the red/pink color
of the sample.

Collectively, we reasoned that the bacteria growing on the plastics are gram negative. One indicator of that for me was, while rinsing the samples with the decolorizing agent the crystal violet and iodine complex would wash away easily. Since gram positive bacteria have multi-layered peptidoglycan cell walls, the crystal violet & iodine would've binded and stained purple instead of washing away.
Another indicator that someone in my group pointed out was that the safronin was more prominent in our samples. I read that in a gram positive bacteria, the purple would have stayed in the sample. And for gram negative a pink/red stain should result. Next week we'll be looking at the slides and hopefully make a better determination.

Week Two

I've familiarized myself even more with the lab. I like how organized it's been. Especially where I've been working, since I can find stuff more easily now. But fair warning, this post will be long. Since I'm still getting the swing of things, I want to share what I've learned so far. And if anyone has any insight or helpful tips, I would really appreciate if you shared. I love learning new things and seeing things from a different perspective, so let me know.

This week, we were gram staining the bacterial cultures that was found growing on the plastic pieces. Since I'm jumping into this project mid research, I'm still gathering as much information as I can. I'm thankful for my partners Luisa and Cathy, they've been so patient with me, ready to answer any of my questions and quick to fill me in on the project. The purpose of our research is to see if bacteria commonly found in canal water can deteriorate plastic. They had assembled a fish tank that has several plastic pieces submerged into canal water. Their intent was to create a similar aquatic environment as a canal. With the sand and the water, they were able to achieve this. A few weeks after winter break, they found visible growth in the water tank. Afterwards, they obtained plastic samples, labeled, then weighed and placed them in an agar plate. This is where I'm currently at in the project. So now we are challenged with the question of which microbes are growing on the plastic pieces. Many microbes can be found in canal water and it's important that we deduce which is currently thriving on the plastic. We will have to go through a series of procedures to rule out and determine which microbe is growing. We are currently working on gram staining our cultures. 

Next we'll look at them in a microscope to determine if they are gram negative or gram positive. 

Another important question is, has there been any deterioration on the plastic pieces? It's important to note that it's currently in a controlled environment, so hopefully that can help with future questions we may stumble upon later. But I think finding the best way to determine if there is any break down in the plastic is going to be our next challenge.

Week One

Week one was an interesting and productive one. So far, I've familiarized myself with the labs in the Dalby building and I completed all the Responsible Conduct of Research courses. This includes 11 modules going over data management, collaborative research and conflict of interest, among other topics. I've also met different members of the program. I was able to gain some insight into their research and experiences.
 

After talking to Luisa and Cathy, I found that their research project interested me the most. I find microbiology interesting as well as the effects that small organisms can have on a macro level. So I decided to focus my research project with them. 

I even got started on helping them with gram staining. It was a tedious process. But it's a new skill that I've gained. I'm thankful for being in the STEM program and I look forward to learning a lot more in the following weeks.

Blog 1: Orientation

First Semester in the S-STEM Program !

Today was the first day of orientation. I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous walking in, but I quickly felt comfortable after seeing a couple of familiar faces and hearing a few science references here and there. I had a good feeling about it. I’m also glad I was able to meet everyone.
I was able to learn all about the program, turn in forms and then went over goals we should set for ourselves in order to be successful researchers. I also scheduled my time that I’ll spend in the lab next week. But I have yet to enroll in a special projects course, I’ll work on that as soon as I can.
I’m very thankful for the mentoring I’ll have throughout the process and in deciding on a research project.
I’m looking forward to being part of the program. I hope to gain more knowledge and skills in order to make a better decision for my future career. I believe that if I actively seek out what interest me most, then I can narrow down my path to becoming a biologist.