miR-125b, a novel negative regulator of p53

miR-125b was shown to regulate p53 expression. Interestingly, the miRNA response element (MRE) located at the 3' UTR of p53 was found to be targeted among different species.

Le et al., Genes Dev 2009

Third year - still pre-qualified

At this point in my graduate career, it is time to look back and gather some useful "preliminary data".

EPIGENETICS

How does MFP (my favorite protein) holla at the RNAi machinery to give the chromatin a little makeover so that some genes get to be turned on or off? That is the question I'm attempting to answer by devoting 3+x years in the lab of my choice.

Sometimes you hate life, sometimes life hates you.

Time Management-NOT overrated

In science, or in every other aspect of life, there's always one common, recurring problem--running short of time.
What should we do when we have too much to do in too little time?
"There is only one solution: choices. Since you can't do everything, you must choose what you will do, and what you will not do. With too much to do and too little time, choice is the only possible alternative," quote M.E. Douglass in the book "Manage your Time, Your Work, Yourself."

Sunday, or oh-my-god-I-have-no-time

So what are sundays like?
Let's see, there're these cell cultures (they're sort of my slaves, they mass produce my plasmid), at least five more papers to read, virgin flies collection, flies that need more food, lab meeting in a few weeks (!!!), material for my class (my penultimate class, yes)... this... that...and this... and that....
what time is it now? 7.30pm! oh bloody hell...

Should I? Should I Not?

The University of Rochester has just revived the PhD-MBA program. It is obviously a very attractive program. I was one of the people who rushed to the info session and seriously thinking about investing two more years of my depleting youth to hopefully obtain a passport to a "good life" eventually. Why am not enrolled yet? Here are the risks:
i) 6+2=8 years --> by graduation, I'll be a 30 odd lonely old lady with bunch of titles but ZERO work experience. People have been warning me on that.
ii) MBA tuition is not covered! Okay, they give fellowships/scholarships up to 20%. But hold on! Hear me out! I have not paid a cent for my education in my whole life, yet! Primary (elementary) school was basically free, so was high school, then came college, where I was holding a scholarship so good that I even get monthly stipend, and now grad school. So tell me! WHO pays for school?
iii) GMAT... oh no... not again! first SAT, then GRE... that's quite enough.
iV) Negative response from seniors, mentors, doctors (who are pipetting experts, not those who prescribe drugs), post docs, etc. Oh, I missed out somebody else--a manager at a biotech firm.

So what now???

first blog, second year

It has occured to me that blogging is the shit! I used to think that blogging is a waste of time, useless, blah blah blah. However, recently I realized that I'm totally clueless! Blogging is the shit! People make a living out of blogs! Money rules, in some ways. That's when I started looking into blogging.

Here, I intend to paint a picture on how a life as a graduate student is like. I am a second year in the Biomedical Genetics department at the University of Rochester Medical Center. As I get on with my life (which basically mean my projects/experiments, or others have referred as "life as a lab rat"), I am constantly evaluating my ultimate goal of pursuing a doctoral degree. That said, I am pretty sure there're many, MANY other students in the same situation, thinking about the same thing every day.

We'll see how this goes.