MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

My name is Ben Akman and I have been conducting research in the St. Leger lab for a year now. My research currently centers on creating a strain of Metarhizium fungus that can effectively kill stinkbugs. Don’t worry; I remember what it was like coming into to the lab as a new undergraduate worker. I was certainly intimidated and overwhelmed for the first several weeks. This lab guide will hopefully help to calm some of your fears and allow you reach independence in the lab environment quickly. The guide will go over the important research that has been conducted by the St. Leger lab. For example, did you know that this lab created a transgenic fungus that can effectively cure a mosquito of malaria? It will also give you some information on the full time researchers who you will meet while you work there. Most importantly, the middle of this guide will outline the procedures of several common lab protocols you will run into during your time here. The faster you get a good grip on the basic protocols, the sooner you will be able to get started on an independent research project. Feel free to use this guide as a reference if you ever get lost during one of the outlined procedures. Finally I will give you some general tips on maneuvering the lab environment as well as including some great resources containing more information on the topic of fungal research.

Difficult reader: A student coming into the lab with prior experience in research. Potentially familiar with lab concepts and techniques from another lab, although probably not those outlined here.

Reader Response: This information seems so basic. I already know how to work in a lab and I will be able to pick up the protocols in a second once I’m taught them. I’ve got this research thing all figured out and I don’t need help from a lab guide. Anyone who needs this to keep up in lab probably doesn’t deserve to be there in the first place.

Go forth, Ben. :) IMRAD away.