Day 3 (Tuesday): The second day of classes kicked off with a Science Communication Class led by Cluster 8’s stellar Teacher Fellow, Rosina Garcia. We learned about the importance of communication in the science world and kept this in mind as we began to brainstorm topics for their ethics essay. After presenting various subjects that we were hoping to pursue, our cluster ultimately settled for “Socioeconomic Issues within Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.” Our afternoon classes were fortunately more hands-on as we started and completed our first two labs! We were taught the basics of micropipetting and serological pipetting, then utilized our knowledge through application. We practiced serial and simple dilutions as well as the transferring of fluids! Class today was simple, but fun regardless. 

In the afternoon, we participated in some more fun residential life activities! Just like Monday, we continued to work on our Cosmolympics skit, which we are all really looking forward to! (Another sneak peek: Taylor Swift and golden buzzers!!) After practicing our skit, the rest of the night was more calm, and most Cluster 8 students opted to go to Lo-fi Cafe to finish up classwork during our activity time, while others chose to go to Target or participate in sports.

Day 4 (Wednesday): Beginning with a lecture, we learned about HistoPathology of MultiScale Biology which included learning about various terms in regards to anatomy, morphology, and physiology. Then, to get to know each other more personally, all of us (including our Teacher Fellow and Cluster Assistants) gave “About Me” presentations that were quite fun! Then, going back to the lab we completed yesterday, our different groups reported their data and post lab reflections. Following lunch, we embarked on yet another lab that required us to learn sterile techniques used in the Biosafety Cabinets! Such techniques included sterilizing our work surface, gloves, materials, etc and it ultimately taught us valuable habits that we will use in the lab. After our brief lab and first experience with a BSC, Dr. Gaetani presented a wonderful lecture on Cell and Tissue Characterization. 

Day 5 (Thursday): This morning was once again dedicated to our ethics essay. We joined a zoom meeting with two wonderful UCSD librarians and were taught how to utilize the resources provided by the school. Once that meeting concluded, Dr. Gaetani entered the room and we resumed the lecture from yesterday regarding Cell and Tissue Characterization. Then, we proceeded with post-lab question share outs! After our student share outs, we went to lunch and then came back to talk about our lab. Today, since we already had practice using sterile techniques in the BSC, we used those skills to create media with DMEM (Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium) and FCS (Fetal Calf Serum) in addition to a small pH lab. 

Our day ended in the best possible way… with a much-awaited, much-needed, and much-appreciated STARBUCKS RUN!! This afternoon was all smiles for Cluster 8 :)

Day 6 (Friday): Today, Cluster 8 visited Nuvasive—a biotech company that specializes in medical devices utilized in spinal procedures. We got a brief presentation on the company and its goals, then had the opportunity to take a tour around the Nuvasive campus. We got to visit the machine shop (where prototypes are developed), 3D printing lab (where different parts for spinal transplants are created from titanium alloys), cadaver lab (AKA the surgeon experience center), and the biomechanics lab (to test out various prototypes and devices)! Then, we got to ask a few questions in a short Q&A session before wrapping up and heading back to UCSD. After lunch, we had three hours worth of lectures!

Res life was a blast today as all of our hard work paid off in the Cosmolympics! Our cluster won the musical chairs (towels) game and brought back medals for our victory. And although our skit did not win, we had a great time putting it together and performing. Here’s the link to the skit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IXTvpRAj0-k1ZJThOv2i6Tk-DgOZofJk/view?usp=drivesdk .

Day 7 (Saturday): Saturday was so exciting because we got to go on a trip to La Jolla Shores! Whether we were shopping, hanging on the grass, or spending some time in the waves, everyone in Cluster 8 had a fantastic time. The evening followed with programs like usual, including a movie night, karaoke, basketball, and a fun time for everyone!!