The Joys and Woes of Research
As the end of the Howard Hughes Project approaches, I’ll rewind to discuss the zenith and nadir of my research. Normally, observers only hear about the breakthroughs of scientific research. The actual process takes years, but it is the scientific advance researchers are noted for. The old saying is that 99.9 percent of the time scientific research fails, but it is during that .1 percent that we make boundless advances forward.
During my research project, I aimed to optimize our lab’s murine model of human HIT. After spending weeks injecting the mice with PF4 and Heparin, we waited to see the whether the mice developed antibodies. To test the antibody response of the mice, we ran 8 hour Elisa tests. On Day 8 of the research project, after injecting the mice for five days, we tested so see whether there was an immune response. The results were disappointing as the mice only displayed a slight immune response. I thought the model would fail, as the mice were only displaying minute signs of HIT. We reevaluated the model and began a new model with a new group of mice.
On Day 15 of my project we received a great surprise! The mice displayed a delayed immune response and showed signs of human HIT. So, surprisingly my experiment turned out to be a success. Now, we are starting a few more experiments to further optimize the model. Hopefully soon, we can begin to test the model and discover the hidden secrets of HIT.
