Day 26 - Human Pathogenesis Project

Day 26
Wednesday
4/29/09

Thanks to Dr. Norris in San Francisco, today I was able to tour the Doris Duke Foundation Laboratory (http://www.ddcf.org/page.asp?pageId=328) at the Nelson Mandela Medical School. I was met by Marianne, a post-doc from Kenya, who showed me around the facility and told me about some of the research herself and the rest of the Human Pathogenisis Project team are working on. She is mainly focusing on innate immunity and its applications in developing a HIV vaccine. The research facility is a joint effort with Harvard and Oxford with many of the researcher having done work at one of the others. Other faculty travel between two or all three of them. It was a very nice facility and everyone I met was very nice and welcoming. Marianne kept telling people that she was trying to sell me on working at the lab – apparently she doesn’t realize that is something I aspire to do and they’re not exactly knocking my door down to get me in there. There is some fascinating research going on there, I need to do some of my own research and learn more about it. I really like the lab environment. My lab experience is fairly minimal but I really enjoyed my time at the Blood Systems Research Institute in SF – I love the innovation and constant detailed problem solving. I’m fascinated by immunology and infectious disease and am really looking forward to learning more and getting my hands dirty (so to speak) the lab again.

Dr. Marcus Altfeld, Dr. Norris’s colleague and a researcher based out of Harvard/Massachusetts General took us to lunch at a lovely gallery/restaurant. Once again, just discovering places and people I would love to spend more time with right as I’m about to leave.

Dr. Altfeld told me about some of the research fellowship exchange programs the Doris Duke Foundation offers, a great opportunity for someone like me who wants to go into research but doesn’t have much experience. Keep your fingers crossed for me in the upcoming years!

Tonight Nicole and I are putting on a performance for the neighborhood -- a traditional Zulu dance that our sisters taught us. We have outfits and everything! The moves are a little rough but the girls just told us to shake everything as much as we can -- that’s apparently how you make the chief choose you as one of his wives. Luckily there’s no chief here in the suburbs, and I have a great guy at home, so I don’t have too much to stress about. I’ll try to post a video, should be hilarious!