My major goal at work right now is to get myself to a point where I can work on two manuscripts during maternity leave, IF it’s possible. To do this, I need to get a certain number of things accomplished. Unless the baby decides to make a very early appearance, I think I can get all of the following items accomplished in the next 7-8 weeks. I will post on my progress each week.
Manuscript A: This is a manuscript from graduate school that I started writing in June. I need to verify some in silico promoter analyses using semi-quantitative RT-PCR. To complete this task I will need to do the following, in triplicate:
- Order primers. (not in triplicate :))
- Grow strain under inducing and non-inducing conditions.
- Harvest cells at a specific time point and extract RNA.
- DNAse-treat samples, quantitate and perform RT-PCR
Manuscript B: This is my first paper from my post-doc. Originally I thought we might get this paper out near the end of last year, but I decided to add some experiments and broaden the scope of the paper. These extras are exactly what I need to accomplish.
I need to make two sets of 13 strains (yes, that’s 26 strains) for some in vitro and in vivo work.
My short-term goal for the end of this week/early next week is to get all PCR products combined (resulting in 26 final products) and ligated into the first cloning vector.
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5 comments:
you are a machine. i think if i were pregnant i would only plan to make mr. phizz go get me food and not think much about anything else ;).
i bow to you. really.
Nothing like the motivation of the final stretch! Good luck with all that (although don't be surprised if you get progressively more tired - I know I am beyond the point of possibly being productive).
26 strains for one paper? Sounds like you could really get two manuscripts out of such a study.
PD - I try to be a machine at work, but at home, I am pretty much as you imagine yourself to be. There is a lot of laying on the couch. :)
Dimitris - Aw shucks. Let's just see if I can get this stuff accomplished in the allotted timeframe. If I can, then by all means bow away. ;)
SG - You are absolutely right. I am feeling very motivated. I am really going to give it the ole' college try, but not at the expense of my health or the baby's health. The fatigue is starting to set in already, and I don't see myself doing much of anything at all if I am past my due date.
TJ - Yes. It sounds crazy, but it is true. Those 26 strains represent two sets of 13 strains (two different backgrounds). There is every possibility that I won't need all 13 of the second set, but I don't have the luxury of waiting and seeing how experiments with the first set go before I start making set two, so I just decided to bite the bullet and make them all, knowing full well that I may not need them all. Besides, it's only cloning, right? On the plus side, some of these will be used for future studies (and papers) too.
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