Griffin Atwood ’27: The Wheeler Lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School
I’ve had a passion for biology and life sciences ever since I took my first biology class in middle school, and the six weeks that I spent in the Wheeler Lab cemented my interest in the field and gave me valuable insight into the process of a successful lab. The Wheeler Lab is an institute that is dedicated to advancing techniques used in neuroimmunology.
In addition to doing lots of organizing and cleaning, I learned many different research skills and techniques. In both miniprep and maxipreps, I extracted plasmid DNA from bacterial cultures, which were viruses that would eventually be used in live mice. I also learned two methods of testing the concentration of that DNA: NanoDrop and a gel. My first attempt at a maxiprep was sloppy and unpracticed, leading to disappointing concentration results in the NanoDrop. No failure in the lab was the end of the world, and Dr. Wheeler was sure to emphasize the importance of making mistakes for the learning process. By navigating failure, I improved my lab techniques and attention to procedure. The next time I was tasked with maxiprep, my results were much more on par with how they should have been.
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