Matter, Energy, and Life of Michaela A. Castello.

Tag: research

  • Spring, I Hardly Knew Ye

    Having lived here less than a year, I’m not entirely confident that I’m qualified to comment on the Southern California environments. However, I would imagine that it is in these first months that the differences between “here” and “there”—that is to say, Maryland—are the most salient, and are thus a fine source of raw material…

  • Design in Science

    I love design, but choosing medical science as a career means that it is never going to be more than a hobby for me. Even so, I try to learn what I can and experiment when I have the time. I follow a lot of talented designers whose inspiring work stands in stark contrast to…

  • Here’s the Windup

    We’ve got our second test on Monday, so this week I’ve been more and more occupied with studying and preparing for that. In other words, I’m going to be less busy starting this coming Tuesday. Last week our good friend Kyle (formerly of this now-defunct blog, currently with no internet home sans Facebook) made good…

  • Why Two Degrees?

    Looking over the long road ahead of me, one might consider asking, incredulously, why somebody would want to do an MD/PhD program at all. It’s certainly a justified question, to which the short answer is that I think receiving training in both clinical medicine and research science will be especially valuable in my future career.…

  • Using Google Wave for Academic Collaboration

    I have been wanting to get out a paper on some of my undergraduate research and with my impending cross-country move, it’s moved back up the priority queue. In preparing this paper I will be collaborating with my PI as well as the then-senior grad student, now-postdoc who helped me at the time. This seemed…

  • Number Sixteen

    Perhaps more interesting than the construction on my road is my small mishap in one of the animal facilities the other day. Unbeknownst to me, the welding on one of the rat cage lids had partially separated, loosening the seal and enabling the cage to be opened from the inside. Inquisitive creatures that they are,…

  • Occupational Hazards

    Aside from the occasional mishap, my colleagues and I do rather well managing the ever-present hazards of working in a research laboratory. Every so often, though, something happens that’s particularly interesting. We have some neat little stitch scissors for detailed snipping activities that I needed to use today. While I was cleaning them off, they…

  • Just Another Day at the Lab

    Yesterday, in a turn of events involving chocolate, yogurt, and rat treats, I ended up in the UMD Medical Center cafeteria. While looking through the cooler, I happened to notice a new (released just this year, in fact) soda flavor: Dr. Pepper Cherry. This seemed rather interesting, as Dr. Pepper has been advertised as an…