@ Diabetic Comprehensive Centre, UAB, USA

I worked under the guidance of Dr. Sasanka Ramanadham on "Modulating macrophage inflammatory fate by targeting select lipid signaling to counter Type 1 diabetes". It was an extremely interesting project at the interface of biochemistry, immunology and molecular biology.

During my 2.5 months there, I was able to generate reagents for the lab and present in the weekly lab meetings. I also got the opportunity to present a poster based on my findings in the UAB Undergraduate Expo.

My project was to knock out and knock down iPLA2β associated enzymes that mediate the lipid signaling pathway, in bone marrow derived macrophages from diabetic mice to reduce pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages so as to reduce inflammation associated with diabetes.

I was able to dissect mice, establish primary culture of bone marrow derived
macrophages (BMDMs) and maintain the BMDMs. I am hoping to bring in a new perspective of innate immunity to my final year thesis project at my university, with these techniques learnt here. I was also able to learn basic lab techniques like RNA isolation, qPCR and SDS PAGE.

The experience was not just about the lab and research but also the fact of travelling to another country and staying away. This experience taught me more than lab skills, it taught me life skills.