This week was awesome! As I prepare to present my work at the Rice Poster Symposium, my nerves heighten, but I know that it won’t be as hard as some of the previous feats I have been tested with. Nothing was harder than the Great Plains Honors Council. We finished presentations this Tuesday for the lab, and it went well! We also finished the poster and got accepted to present at the symposium! I really hope to apply to REUs next summer to gain some in-person lab experience. I’m so grateful for my mentor, my faculty instructor, and Dr. Faiza for all their help during the process. I start classes on August 26 and am excited for what’s to come.

This week was very slow as I had finished my manhattan plot with my brother. Avey and I finished the abstract and poster which we submitted to Sunny for revisions. It was a good week although slow and uneventful.

This marked the last week of this research experience! We did not stop experimentation, however!

Key highlights of this week:

Monday

Today, we began the process of IPTG induction. In this process, a gene coding for the desired protein is inserted into E. coli and placed under the control of the lac operon, a natural regulatory system that controls the expression of certain genes in response to the presence of lactose. IPTG (Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside) is a synthetic analog of lactose that cannot be metabolized by E. coli. When IPTG is added to the culture, it binds to the repressor protein that normally keeps the lac operon turned off, causing the repressor to release from the DNA. This release allows RNA polymerase to bind to the promoter region of the operon and initiate transcription of the gene, leading to the production of the target protein. IPTG induction is favored for its ability to precisely control the timing of protein expression, ensuring that the bacteria can grow to a sufficient density before protein production begins, which often results in higher yields and more efficient use of resources.

We began by making LB broth and autoclaving it. Once the LB was made, we let it cool. Then, we made overnight cultures in 50 mL tubes using previously made LB, stored at the bench. These cultures were done as per usual: carbenicillin and chlorophyllin were added to LB as selective antibiotics. Then, one colony was picked off of a previously transformed plate of E. coli, transformed with Levin MCP and construct 9337. These two overnight cultures were incubated in a 37 degree shaking incubator overnight.

Tuesday

Two flasks with LB were inoculated with the liquid cultures from the previous day and stored on the shaking incubator in the environmental warm room until the optical density reached 0.5-0.6. This was determined by regular checking of the OD of these two flasks. Once it reached this OD value, we carried out the process of IPTG induction. We first made 3 mL of 1 M IPTG. Then, we pipetted in 1 mL of IPTG into both of the flasks and stored them overnight in a shaking incubator at 16 degrees and 220 RPM. This marked the end of Tuesday’s work. As a side note, a lot of this week went into practicing presentations.

Wednesday

We prepared DNA for sequencing today. It involved a lot of new procedures and also involved PCR. After the plasmid minipreparation, a standard lab procedure, was complete, we tested the cell count using a nanodrop, and when we determined it was sufficient, we sent it across the street for sequencing at the Med Center.

Moreover, we pelleted, lysed, and spun the cells from yesterday. We then took samples of the supernatant and pellet. We also washed our nickel column with 8 M urea and stored the supernatant and beads in a 50 mL conical tube for elution tomorrow.

Thursday

Today, we eluted the protein using 2 concentrations of imidazole: 50 mM and 300 mM. The 50 mM served as a wash, while the 250 mM served as an elution. Using standard Ni-NTA protocol, we washed and eluted the protein, took samples of everything (including the supernatant and pellet from yesterday), and ran an SDS-PAGE gel. The results were overnight, so we will find out tomorrow whether or not it succeeded in purifying the protein an adequate amount.

I am very excited for the presentation tomorrow! Good luck everyone!

Monday

On this last week of my summer internship here at Rice. I did do some 3D printing, but it was simple stuff that I needed to print. Then I headed to Fodren Library on the fourth floor with some REU mates and practice our one-minute pitches, and I did go okay to say the least. And rest of the day, I was focusing on my models.

Tuesday

The first thing I did was attend my last REU meeting. Honestly, without being so cliche I was actually getting used to these meetings, it just seemed so routine to me. And what we did was practice our elevator pitches with our group, and once again I think mine went good. And as far as the project went, all I could do was rewire the adapter from the printer, and that was all.

Wednesday

My mentor and I practiced my poster presentation early in the morning, and she gave me good feedback regarding my introduction, as well as my way explaining things to her. Since I have a hard time doing that kind of stuff. And after that, all I did was assemble both extruders so it can properly function to extrude food paste, and called it a day after that.

Thursday

I wanted to see if I could do some more final touches on my project just for curiosity’s sake, and what I found out was the many ways that I can optimize this project, and implemented it into a broader scope of things. Like having a cooling option onto the printer, and how to disable the thermistor option in the printer on top of that. Thankfully, my PI was at the lab at the time, and he let me hear me out, and I also remember that the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium (GCURS) was something that I could participate in to talk about my project and what I did so far, and wanted his permission to see if I could still participate in doing this project right after my internship. And he told me that he would let progress even further as a volunteer. Which was great, because at the end of the day I was only in it for the personal progress and gains that came along the way, rather than from a financial and economic incentive behind it. So I was thankful for letting me have that opportunity, and I made sure of that. Plus, I also practiced my poster presentation at Fodren Library with my fellow REU mates, but this time on the sixth floor. And once again, I can’t stress this enough, I did a good job presenting my posters with my fellow REU mates who I can proudly call my friends.


All I can say about this experience is that it opened my perspective into new ventures that I once thought about doing, but really wanted to take advantage of it, but instead just having it as an afterthought in my head. But the more importantly, this program got me out of my shell as an introverted, reserved guy, who slacked off most of the time if I have to be frank with you guys. This internship has really changed my trajectory of what I want to do as far as academia goes, and even though I faced a lot of obstacles along the way, and I also didn’t actually complete my project the way it should’ve be. Everything happens for a reason, and I am a firm believer of that because of what went on these last ten weeks of my life. I want to thank everyone who read this blog one last time, and I hope that your endeavors, whatever that may be go well, and that your accomplishments get better and better as the years go by, and that everything will be alright here on out for y’all. And I wish you all nothing but the best. Take care.



Brandon Espinoza.

This week with research, I am feeling ready to present. The past week or so has been very focused on getting the poster done and practicing it. I am writing this before the symposium, but I am feeling pretty good about it. I was concerned before about my results (especially with all the concerns of how much better I could have performed to get better results), but after talking with my PI and my mentor, I feel like it will be alright. I learned to acknowledge all the work and effort I put into my project and poster, which makes me feel more confident about it. I also recognize that I am always just sharing knowledge, instead of trying to sell a product. I initially struggled with this mindset when I saw an example elevator pitch provided by the program. This pitch was more business-oriented and highlighted how they have this really great product that will solve everything. My project doesn’t do that, so having that mindset causes a lot of anxiety and doubt. Thankfully, I was reminded again by my PI, mentor, and others around me that the product of research is knowledge. This aspect of research is something that heavily encourages me to pursue even more research.
Because of this new perspective, probably the biggest takeaway from the program is that it makes me more confident about where to look in my future. I am considering grad school now because it reflects so many qualities that I align with such as learning from mistakes and discovering knowledge. For these past 10 weeks, I learned how I can also reach a balance of academic, social, and personal life. I wish to reach such a nice balance later in my career.
I am very glad to have engaged in this program. I always felt welcomed and encouraged to learn from so many opportunities around me. I was surprised to work alongside so much cutting-edge research while also learning about the welcoming community at Rice. The students in my lab were all welcoming and helpful. My mentor was always very attentive, honest, understanding, and straight up chill. I felt a bit lost at first, but I later found a pretty good balance of being independent in the lab and learning from my mentor. My PI was also always very friendly and welcoming. I generally felt like mistakes were not looked down upon and that people around me took most of their opportunities to give me feedback and help me improve, which I will always appreciate. This experience makes me want to continue research while I am a student at Rice. My PI told me that the opportunity to continue is available so I hope to do so soon.
I also want to mention the incredible support that I received from the R-STEM and OURI programs. I found the weekly meetings and their overall structure to be very thoughtful and helpful since they serve as a form of checkpoints to the progress of our research. Dr. Zafar was of immense help during this program. I appreciated her extensive and clear communication each week. She made sure to actively attend to our concerns and needs and she was always willing to help us despite how much she is already handling. Thank you, Dr. Zafar!

This week has been extremely amazing, though it’s bittersweet as it’s my last one. I’ve formed wonderful friendships with my mentor and the other graduate students, making it hard to say goodbye. Since it was my final week, my workload was lighter, mainly scanning some samples and spending time chatting with my mentor about the future and my plans.

I decided to bake cookies on Tuesday night and brought them in on Wednesday. They were a hit, especially with my mentor, who said they were the best snickerdoodles he’s ever had. On Thursday, my mentor and some of the graduate students I’m close with treated me to lunch at Local Foods. Their kindness in paying for my meal, combined with the delicious food, made it a memorable farewell.

I’m incredibly grateful for this program and will miss everyone I’ve worked with. For those starting this journey, I’d like to offer some advice: take it slow and enjoy every moment. There will be times when you feel incompetent or wish you had done better. Criticism can be tough, but don’t take it personally—use it as an opportunity to grow.

I had a rough beginning and briefly questioned if the program was worth it. However, I learned that a challenging start doesn’t define the entire experience. I’m fortunate to have faced my hurdles early on and am glad I persevered. I’ve grown significantly, especially in my research skills and communication.

I wish the best of luck to everyone I had the pleasure of meeting during this REU and extend my best wishes to my mentor and the graduate students in the Halas lab.

Hello World,

It’s the last week of my 10-week research journey here at Rice University. I have learned quite a lot with the most noteworthy being able to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice-versa without using Google. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to complete my poster over the weekend but I was able to have it completed on Wednesday. I am very grateful for the REU and specifically for Dr. Faiza for her help in printing the poster for me. The majority of my time this week was spent on the poster. From editing to practice presentation, I feel a lot more prepared than I was about a week ago. My work on Polymer is not complete although due to time limitations, I wasn’t able to include it in my poster.

This week was primarily focused on the poster so there isn’t a lot of updates in terms of the research. However, thanks to some insight from Ricardo, I’ll write this blog on the topic of self-reflection. Looking back, to the very start of this program, my expectations coming in were very different. My idea of research was very basic and not as expansive as it is now. I was expecting research to be more hands-on, with little time spent at the desk. However, my experience with this research has been quite the opposite and I am very grateful for it. The numerous hours spent at my desk have helped me unlock something that I never thought I would, being self-taught. During the covid era, like most people, I did not really learn anything because I was required to take the initiative and “teach myself”. This led me to believe that I would never be able to teach myself things and would always need to be taught by someone else. This program helped me break that barrier and made me realize that all I was missing was determination.

This program also exposed me to what graduate school really is, something I never thought I would be heavily considering. More years of schooling was the last thing I wanted to do and on the surface level, that was all graduate school was to me. After the workshops and exposure to various graduate students, I realized that graduate school is more than more years of schooling. In fact, the Ph.D. level is barely any schooling given that you’re only taking about 1-2 classes and everything else is research. Overall, this program has benefited me in ways I wasn’t expecting and I am very grateful for that.

I would like to thank the National Science Foundation

I would like to thank Dr Faiza and Mr Mathew Cushing

I would like to thank the R-STEM REU program

I would like to thank Rice University

and lastly I would like to thank my REU cohorts for being so supportive. I hope you all end up in wonderful places and achieve your goals.

Thank you all.

Cheers,

Samuel Ogunsola