Hello everyone!
My name is Grady Day, and I'm a senior at BASIS Scottsdale. In this blog, I'll be documenting my Senior Research Project over the next few months. At BASIS Scottsdale, seniors spend their last trimester interning and performing research, ending with a presentation in May. Here's some more information about and examples of Senior Research Projects at BASIS Scottsdale. Specifically, my project will be focusing on the genetics of multiple myeloma, and I'll be working at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale.
But before I start talking about my project, I’ll introduce myself and my interests briefly.
After begging for a microscope for my sixth birthday, seeing my own red blood cells ebb and flow across the slide helped spark a lifelong interest in using biology to explain the world around me. Ever since then, I’ve loved every aspect of biology. Activities like Science Bowl have helped me focus my interests in biology, reinforcing my desire to understand the intricate molecular interactions that make up life. In fact, I’m taking a short break from studying for Science Bowl to write this post—my final Regional-level competition is tomorrow, and it’ll be my first as team captain.
This summer, I had the opportunity to be a part of research on bacterial competition at UC Santa Barbara. It was my first real lab experience, and I loved every part of it. I got to actually perform the techniques I’d learned about in class, and I was amazed when I saw the results of my first PCR and gel electrophoresis. Being able to actually visualize the fundamental molecular processes that make up life was incredibly exciting, and it’s made me look forward to studying biology in college.
Now, I’m excited to build upon and expand my experience by working in a cancer genetics lab. I'll be starting with cell lines to develop a method for identifying a certain translocation, and then moving towards applying that method to real patient samples in order to characterize the effect of that transolcation on patient oucomes. I’m only barely getting started on my project, so I’ll start posting in more detail about the specifics very soon. Each week, I’ll be blogging about what I’ve done in the lab and what progress I’ve made. If you’re interested in reading about some other projects from some of my classmates, check out their blogs through the links on the right. I hope you’re as excited about this project as I am! I’ll post again next week!
Thanks for reading,
Grady Day
Hi Grady! I love your choice of background, but must ask - where is the blue in this color scheme?! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved your "about me" section. Do you still have a microscope at home? Also, those first few blood cells that were your own - how did you get the sample? (Or should I be afraid to ask!)
I am excited to follow your journey! Will you be looking at specific types of cancer or does your research apply to them all?
I hope the competition went well!
Thanks Ms. Mitrovich!
DeleteI'll try to work the blue in there somewhere! The mechanisms I'm going to be primarily studying are pretty much isolated to only multiple myeloma and other closely related lymphomas. That being said, studying multiple myeloma can also give us important information about what genes are essential to tumors of all cancer types.
I love your blog style! It's the background I would have chosen until I decided to make mine more thematic.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you're finally able to pursue work with CRISPR. Are any of the practices you learned over the summer applicable for this lab experience?
Good luck with your work at Mayo, and make sure you're not so focused on science bowl that you forget quiz bowl!
Hi Trey! I actually wrote a little bit about the similarities and differences between this lab work and what I'd done over the summer in my most recent blog post.
DeleteThe cancer genetics lab I'm working is surprisingly similar to the microbiology (i.e. bacteria-focused) lab I'd worked in before. Many of the exact details of the techniques we use are different, but the general principles are pretty much the same!
Hi Grady! Wow, this seems like a real interesting and life-changing project. I really hope you'll be able to make a difference for those patients you'll be studying. Do you plan on using your findings in this research and applying them to other types of cancer? Nonetheless, I am extremely excited to tune in every week and read about your findings. All the best!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ameya!
DeleteMost of what I'm studying is specific to multiple myeloma and other closely related lymphomas. Nevertheless, the oncogenes heavily involved in multiple myeloma are also involved in many other cancer, so understanding how they function in multiple myeloma can be an important first step in analyzing other cancers.
Grady, the orange is great. Your project seems fascinating. I was wondering if you will be pursuing this research on your own, or if you will be working alongside your on-site mentor? Also, what inspired you to research this topic in particular (though obviously it is important). I can't wait to hear more from your project and of all the great research you will be doing in the coming months.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mimi!
DeleteI'm definitely working pretty closely with my on-site mentor and a few others in the lab both in designing and carrying out experiments. I find multiple myeloma to be interesting because it's at least partially caused by the same processes that allow our immune system to protect us.
Hey Grady! Your project seems really cool and I can't wait to hear more about it. What types of cancer do you think require the most immediate attention, or, alternatively, what types of cancer do you hope your research can be applied to first? Good luck with your research!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tanmyaa! Lots of recent research suggests that multiple myeloma often results from the processes that allow for antibody diversity in B cells. Those processes are unique to B cells, so they would only really apply directly to other lymphomas similar to multiple myeloma.
DeleteBut multiple myeloma also shares many prominent oncogenes with other cancers (such as the RAS pathway). Understanding how those genes function in multiple myeloma will provide important information for researchers studying the smae genes in other cancers.
Hi Grady! I’m Alicia, one of the sophomores who’s following your project. I had never heard of multiple myeloma was until I saw your blog, and it’s heartening to see that you chose a less well-known/common but equally significant disease to study! I look forward to learning much more about cancer genetics and its applications through following your progress. (I also love your theme, it’s very optimistic!)
ReplyDeleteThanks Alicia! Multiple myeloma is a really significant cancer to study partly because of its often slow and unpredictable progression. Multiple myeloma actually affects 1 in 100 Americans, and even more have a precancerous condition known as MGUS. Tracking this progression from the precancerous stage to the tumor stage is a major focus of cancer researchers today, and it's especially clear in multiple myeloma.
DeleteHey Grady, I am Ben, and I am a freshman following your senior project. I had heard of CRISPR before a couple of times and was interested on seeing your project and blog, so I checked it out. I found your post yesterday interesting and funny with the microscope you got for your sixth birthday. I had not known about Multiple Myeloma before and I hope to learn more about it through your project. I hope to see you make progress on this project and look forward to your posts!
ReplyDeleteHi Ben! Stay tuned for some more details on the genetic origins of multiple myeloma.
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ReplyDeleteHey Grady, I'm Syed Shakeel, a sophomore following your project. I have a big interest in biology as a subject, and find it funny how you first gained your interests in the subject with the microscope from sixth grade. I'm Looking forward to the progress you make with identifying translocation in patient cells and the results in your future posts! I also love the orange theme, it's very vibrant and aesthetically pleasing. Good luck in the coming weeks!
ReplyDeleteHi Syed! I'll be posting in slightly more detail very soon about the chromosomal rearrangements and translocation involved in healthy B cells and in multiple myeloma, so keep an eye out for that!
DeleteHey Grady, this is Grayson Searles. I'm very excited to read all about your project in the coming weeks. I had heard of multiple myeloma before, but I'm sure that I'll learn a lot from you. Good luck on your project!
ReplyDeleteHi Grady! My name is Divya Rallapalli, a sophomore following your project. I have been interested in learning about cancer for many years now, so I am very happy to be following your blog. I really like how you incorporated the origins of your fascination with biology in your post; it is a nice touch. I also liked the way you explained the process of how you will be executing your project. I look forward to seeing your progress! I wish you all the best in your endeavors!
ReplyDeleteThanks Divya! I hope you'll find my project interesting. The immune system is already nearly impossibly intricate, and the abnormalities of multiple myeloma add even further to that complexity. By figuring out what separates cancer cells from normal cells, we can learn an incredible amount about the characteristics of normal cells.
DeleteHi Grady! I am not sure if you know me, but I'm one of the sophomores following your blog. I think it's awesome that you were able to work on in a field that you love over the summer and then continue working in that field for your research project. What kind of things did you learn from your experience over the summer that you will be able to apply to your project? Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Jack! I think there are two important takeaways from my summer research that are going to be very helpful for this project: the basic approach to answering questions at a molecular/genetic level; and the experience with techniques like PCR, gel electrophoresis, and Western blotting.
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