Haley Noehren - Assignment #22 - Gerald the Glowing Mouse

When reflecting about my life, I originally began writing about the time I ate dirt, contracted a rare disease, and then had to get my lymph node under my jaw removed. Considering that happened when I was four, and it doesn't really affect me that much, I decided to re write this. So I was thinking about something that wasn't outdoorsy or running related and I chose something unique (kinda). Growing up my days were spent in my dads lab at UK. He's a biomechanist and physical therapist who focuses on ACL and lower extremity injuries and rehabilitation. When I was younger all I cared about was the medicine balls and resistance bikes I would play with in his lab. As I got older, though, I actually began to understand the science. After spending last summer sorting and digitizing 2,000 ish journal publications for my dad, I absorbed bits and pieces of what I was reading. Kinda cool. Apparently quadriceps strength correlates to the rate of ACL recovery - among other psychological factors. So yeah, growing up in a lab setting (and occasionally being subject to random pilot testing) is unique. But that's what I'm not here to talk about. I'm here to talk about the second aspect of my dads lab - his best friend/collaborator Dr.Fry.
 I have a slight interest in microbiology, and since my dad has connection to UK it was easy for me to make that my mentoring project. When Dr.Fry moved to Kentucky something else moved with him - his lab. And in that lab are some pretty cool things. That's right, he's got glowing mice. Well, glow in the dark mice. A current research study of my dad his collaborator is looking into myostatin - a muscle inhibitor. Since inhibiting the gene in humans would be unethical (it causes uncontrolled muscle growth), they get to use some pretty cool mice. And my job? I get to karyotype the mice and look at their muscle biopsies. The day I went to meet the mice Dr.Fry showed me a nystatin knockout mouse (one with uncontrolled muscle growth) and a normal mouse. When you shine the mice under black light, the certain muscle groups that the research is targeting glow. Like shine pink and purple and green. Then he sent me a picture of the collagen they examined under a fluorescent microscope -and it looks like something from an art museum.
Ok I'll stop geeking out over the mice and cool science gear (although I get to use the fancy pipets!). But my point is my life has been pretty unique. My minimal background and experience with microbiology and science in general, thanks to my dad, will help me if I do choose to major (or minor) in microbiology. What I get to do in Dr.Fry's lab will help prepare me for real life work, and give me real training with lab equipment. Ive already named two of the mice by the way. One is gonna be called Gerald and the other George. I've decided they will all start with G. I can't wait to see how my experience and skills with grow because of this unique opportunity to karyotype some glowing mice.