Project Updates

05/06/2025

I have been connected with my mentor Dr. Hiroshi Maeda for almost 5 months now. Today, we had a meeting to go though my project proposal and follow up with a few questions I had about the collection process. We tested out the freeze dryer last week (with some fruit and candy!) and I am planning to start collecting within the next two weeks! 

05/19/2025

I just completed my second round of plant collection! So far I have collected 21 total samples (7 different types of plants). There were 3 "fails" (2 dropped into the liquid nitrogen, one broke). However, with help from Charlie, our lab tech, we created a device that makes the liquid nitrogen step easier. I learned from these mistakes and have created a protocol that works really well. I am excited to continue my collection efforts.

05/28/2025 

Today, I collected 50 samples. I am 2/3 of the way done. I also went to the MARC presentations by current seniors. Their projects were interesting and insightful. It is cool to see where I will be at in just a year. Tomorrow, I will freeze dry the first batch of samples.

This is a screenshot of my sample collection data tracker:

07/14/2025

I just started my first day in the Maeda lab and everything is going really well. We have started the process of extracting plant metabolites in 10 plants. Brant, an undergrad student, is helping me through the process. So far this is really cool! 

07/15/2025

I had a REALLY busy day. After just doing 10 extractions the first day, today I completed 48! This was a big jump but I was able to get it done. With experience this process has slowly become easier. 58/150 samples complete! 

07/16/2025

I completed another 40 extractions today! 98/150.

07/17/2025

Today was another large sample day. I completed the rest of the samples! The next step is to prep them for the LC-MS.

07/18/2025

My last day in the lab was great! I had such a good time with the other lab members. I mainly worked on prepping the samples. I also got the computer set up to read the samples.

Post lab:

I had such a great time in Wisconsin! Not only did I complete all of my extractions and prep them for the LC-MS, but also I had some great in-lab experiences. I really enjoyed getting to collaborate with Brant, Carly, and Madelyn. Additionally, I had the opportunity to sit in the Maeda lab meeting where Dr. Suoyang Jung practiced her presentation for an upcoming convention. Her research on natural food dyes was fascinating. Additionally, I had a great conversation with Marcos, one of the researchers for the sota mutation paper that led me to reach out to Dr. Maeda. We discussed the potential of this mutation in the future. I look forward to conducting analysis of my samples in the fall. 

10/10/2025

I have started conducting data analysis. After a few setbacks I am almost there! I am also running next week's the lab meeting and am excited to share my project with my peers. 

01/20/2026

I have started the writing process and have a full draft of my introduction and methods section. There have been some issues with running the second round of data in the LC-MS but hopefully it all gets figured out soon. 

01/30/2026

Unfortunately there have been a lot of issues with running the second part of my data. Brant had the opportunity to finally run it but the results were extremely messed up. The LC-MS was broken when the samples ran so they worked to get it fix. Now there is just the process of waiting for a time slot to open up for Brant to run my extra samples. 

Currently, I am working on editing my introduction. I have a solid draft but I am trying to make sure that it has all of the information that is needed to understand the experiment I am conducting. This has been slightly challenging and I have been working to make the section regarding evolution stronger. I also finished a draft of the methods section to get ahead but I will need more feedback from Amy to understand if I am doing it correctly.