PhD project and electrophysiology updates

Here’s what I’ve been up to since graduating from USC and moving to La Jolla. Cover art is me in lab, immediately after patching my first cell.

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Paper submitted

We finally submitted a paper on cross-talk between P2X2/P2X4 and NMDA receptors! (check out the preprint ) This is the main project from my PhD work, and it feels great to finally have it out. It’s also my first international collaboration, with Dr. Eric Boue-Grabot, a pioneer in the P2X cross-talk field.  

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Paper published

We recently published a paper on our work on the effects of ATP on dopaminergic neurons in the VTA. This is the SiLENT slice method that I’ve talked about before, which allows you to knockdown a gene during an ephys experiment (extracellular recordings.) What’s interesting is that, while we see that ethanol disrupts the way dopaminergic neurons react to ATP, knocking down P2X4 (which is sensitive to ethanol) reduces but does not completely eliminate the ATP response. Even when ethanol is coapplied with ATP, we still see some responses. This suggests there’s a P2X4-independent ethanol-insensitive purinergic component to these neurons. Maybe P2X2 receptors? They are also widely expressed in the CNS, and coincidentally, they’re ethanol insensitive. It’s never a dull moment when working with purinergic receptors.  Also, we made the cover!

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Learning to patch-clamp as a postdoc (during a pandemic)

Marisa Roberto’s lab at Scripps is very much a dedicated slice electrophysiology group, and while I’ve done two-electrode voltage clamp with oocytes and extracellular recordings in the mouse VTA, there’s still a steep learning curve with whole-cel patch-clamp. The pandemic isn’t making things easier obviously: social distancing, lab shifts, and masks (patch-clamp is probably the only time its ok to mouth-pipette.) However, the environment is great; everyone in lab is supportive, patient, and flexible.

Making a mistake during whole-cell patch clamp be like

People have been asking me “How does it feel to be a PhD/postdoc?” and in my head I’m like “It’s similar to grad school in that I’m terrible at everything again. BUT! I’m getting better much faster, and I can [mostly] deal with the imposter syndrome.” Then I say it’s going great.

Learning new things is tough, but that’s exactly why I joined Marisa’s lab. I love oocyte electrophysiology and molecular biology but mastering a few techniques will only get you so far. Working with actual neurons/brains and disease models (i.e. translational science) is a fun, rewarding challenge. Plus, you get a different perspective of science when doing ex vivo work and can provide different solutions in vitro.

My rig and my first cell

I actually patched my first cell recently, a little less than 30 days into my postdoc! Very exciting!

We opened a box of chocolates to celebrate my first cell

Fun