Week 1: Off the Deep End

My first day here at CMOP was Monday, June 16^th. After a whirlwind tour of OHSU campus and a quick introduction to the other summer interns, I met my lab group. Our PI, Paul Tratnyek, explained the project to me; then my mentor, Dimin, showed me around the lab. Before I knew it, I was preparing a solution of Indigo Disulfonate to start testing! For my project, Redox Probes to Characterize Environmental Processes, I will work alongside Dimin to test probes that mimic real-life redox reactions. It’s important to understand these reactions to monitor the changing nature of contaminants in the environment.

Unlike most other interns, who started a week earlier, I had to get up to speed fast. By the end of the first day I already used the main pieces of equipment I’ll need, such as the glovebox, and prepared solutions for testing. I needed to get familiar with the lab because next week my mentor will be gone.

I spent much of the week rest of the week preparing Indigo Disulfonate solutions for absorbance calibration curves. I also read about iron oxides, went to the intern workshop, and attended the ethics seminar.

It was a great week and I’m excited to learn more about my project and to get to know everybody here! As for next week, I know what to do Monday and Tuesday, but I’m anxious for how the rest of the week will pan out. Either way, it should be fun!