Week 3

Cluster 8: Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine


Day 15 (Sunday): On Sunday morning after breakfast, we had a college admissions meeting with an admissions officer from UCSD. It was very informative and exciting! This was followed by a ton of inside time, which gave us lots of time to reset for the new week. Then, we all got dressed up for the evening because it was our super exciting casino night! The night was full of gambling, mocktails, prizes, and lots of laughter!! It was definitely a highlight of our COSMOS experience.

Day 16 (Monday): We learned about our final project groups today and started off with a recap presentation of all the labs we’ve done leading up to this point! Then, whilst waiting for our cluster assistants to introduce our final projects we listened to a lecture on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine for Focal Articular Cartilage Defects. Once the cluster assistants came in, we began constructing our study design with the help of our assigned CAs and Dr. Gaetani! Although there’s quite a bit of confusion emanating throughout the room, the excitement is evident and our groups cannot wait to begin our experiments. 

Day 17 (Tuesday): Starting off with a Discover Lecture, we got to learn more about Robotics and were introduced to some friendly, interactive robots! Then, we dived into working on our final project study designs before presenting it to both Dr. Sah and Dr. Gaetani. Our groups were absolutely OBLITERATED by them, each part getting picked apart. It was extremely nerve wracking but we did it and now our final projects are beginning to take off! Today and tomorrow are mainly dedicated to pilot studies and testing, but the experiments are about to begin. 

Day 18 (Wednesday): All groups are beginning to prepare for their experiments! Some groups practiced wetting cryogels and determined its water retention, while other groups worked on creating flow diagrams and prepping their collagen gels. With everyone scrambling to work on their experiments, the lab is getting quite hectic but it is fun to further practice and advance our laboratory skills! 

Day 19 (Thursday): More final project work! Two groups would be in the hood working on cell passaging and plating at a time, while other groups worked on their presentations and further planning. The stress is getting to us, but as a cluster, we’re all persevering. Looking forward to having our hard work pay off next week during the final presentation!

Cluster 8's Cozy Food Corner

Here in our 3rd week here at UCSD. Some of us have gotten sick of eating this food so we have started using the food available to make our own creations such as ice cream sandwiches and strawberry powerade coke. Some can be good but some are bad. The new additions and revised ratings are in red. 

Breakfast

Pancakes: 6.5/10

Triton Blend: 8/10

Hash brown: 9/10

Basil Toast: 5/10

Eggs: 5/10

Croissant: 3/10 

Cereal: 8/10

Avocado Toast: 5/10

Scrambled Veggie Eggs: 7/10

Scrambled Eggs: 5/10

Oatmeal: 6/10

Tater Tots: 8/10

Fruits: 7/10

Special (Outside Dinning Hall)

Dough Mama: 10/10

Boxed lunch Turkey Sandwich: 7/10

Boxed Lunch Chicken Cesar Salad: 7.5/10

Lunch (Fusion Grill)

Carne asada fries: 7/10

Burger: 6/10

Tostadas and enchiladas: 8/10

Moco Loco: 5/10

Grilled Cheese: 10/10 

Chicken Tender: 7/10

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese: 9/10

Fries: 5/10

Dinner (360 Grill)

Steak: 5.5/10

Green Bean Salad: 5/10

Shrimp: 7/10 

Spring Rolls: 8/10

Mixed Vegetables: 5/10

Mashed Potatoes: 8/10

Tuna Poke: 11/10

Tofu: 6.5/10

Garlic Bread: 6/10

Salmon: 7/10

Bulgogi: 5/10

Alfredo Mushrooms Pasta: 6/10

Tri-tip: 6/10 (depends on what slice you get)

Mac and Cheese: 7/10


Dessert

Blue Ribbon Ice Cream: 4/10

Lime Ice Cream: 4/10

Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream: 9.5/10

Bubble Gum Popsicle: 2/10

Strawberry Popsicle: 2/10

Ice Cream Sandwich: 6.5/10

Sesame Balls: 10/10

Cluster 8's 0.5 Camera Gallery Special: 

And yes, we did get permission from everyone to put these beautiful photos of them.

Cluster 8 Newsletter Team!

Res Life Writer: Louiza Zughbaba

Res Life Photographer: Emery Domingo

Cluster Photographer: Autumn Cho, Aaron Dumas

Cluster Writer: Sophie Boeun