São Muitos Anos A Virar Frangos
Week Five In The LabLooking back on my time in the lab at FFU Lisboa, there is one major learning point that summarizes my experience. Prior to this rotation, I had a vague idea of the research process and the steps that needed to be taken to get a medication on the market. When you are learning about the different tests that must be performed on a new entity, they all seem so simple on paper. However, what I discovered is the volume of laboratory procedures that are completed to be able to characterize a medication is rather large. This is primarily due to the fact that each test is not run once and done. The same test is completed multiple times in order to ensure reproducible results, and then it is also performed again under slightly different conditions, and again, and again...to optimize the results. Then the same process occurs for the next measurable parameter until the drug's characteristics are fully defined. All of this has to be executed as part of the preclinical studies, before the medication is ever even given to animal or human research subjects.
With respect to the individuals in the laboratory that dedicate their career to this process, they all have certain attributes that allow them to be successful researchers. They are extremely detail oriented, constantly checking and double checking that every setting for every experiment is perfect and also documenting the information in their laboratory book religiously. They are incredibly patient; a large part of performing research is waiting for the test to run its course often taking several hours or days. They are dedicated, spending long hours in the lab day after day doing somewhat monotonous tasks is not an easy job. They are well educated; in addition to their college education course, which may include masters or doctorate degrees, these individuals are constantly attending conferences and reading journal articles to stay up to date on the latest developments in their field and the research community in general. I could probably go on, but I think you get the idea that I admire these individuals and the work they do very much. Just as a closing note, I would like to thank Professor Helena Marques for her assistance in arranging this amazing rotation opportunity and agreeing to act as my preceptor. Additionally, a big thank you to everyone at the Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa (Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon) for explaining to me their many projects, methods, and equipment while allowing me to feel like a real member of their research team.
31 Comments
This week I had the opportunity to travel to Lumiar, the second campus of iMed that houses additional laboratories. I was able to observe the research team studying nanoparticles on the project Cutaneous leishmaniasis: an innovative idea to explore the topical treatment of skin lesions. For some information about Leishmaniasis you can read a brief description below and also navigate the websites for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO). The two PDF files are recent publications on this topic from the iMed research group. Leishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis is a disease that is caused by a parasite and transferred to humans by the bite of an infected sandflies. There are three forms of leishmaniasis: cutaneous, visceral, and mucocutaneous. The most common form of leishmaniasis is cutaneous which causes ulcers on the body that can lead to disfigurement or scarring. Visceral leishmaniasis is the most severe form, fatal if untreated, affecting the most vital organs of the body causing enlargement of the liver and spleen. Destruction of the membranes in the nose, mouth, and throat is caused by the mucocutaneous form of leishmaniasis. Since many images of leishmaniasis infections are not for the feint of heart, I am not going to spare you by not including a picture here. However, there are many available on the websites below or by performing a Google Images search. Risk factors for leishmaniasis include living in a rural area or traveling to an endemic area, poverty (due to living conditions), malnutrition, and urbanization (developing previously forested areas). Additionally, individuals co-infected with HIV have higher rates of clinically significant disease and resultant morbidity/mortality. Diagnosis of leishmaniasis occurs by performing specific laboratory testing, such as examining tissue samples with a microscope, for patients with clinical suspicion of the disease. In the United States, treatment of a patient infected with leishmaniasis is worth consultation with the Centers for Disease Control. Medications used to treat leishmaniasis such as meglumine antimoniate, liposomal amphotericin B and conventional amphotericin B are on the World Health Organization Model National Essential Drug List (a list of medications that are a priority for the health needs of a country and are intended to be available within the health system at all times at an affordable price). Sources/Additional Available Reading
Friday night we kicked off the weekend with a tri-birthday celebration. Since we did not want to miss the festivities, that meant Irma and I took the bus to Porto at 7 am on Saturday morning to arrive in the north by 10:30 am. Although we were rather exhausted by the time we arrived, we wasted no time in starting to explore since we had just two days to experience all of Porto. The second largest city in Portugal, Porto has existed since the medieval time period demonstrated by the buildings of the historic center named as a World Heritage Site. Irma has several friends from the city and has visited many times before, so she was familiar with what to see and what to do. The first point of interest was the Torre dos Clérigos (Clérigos Tower). This baroque-style tower has become a symbol synonymous with the city of Porto itself. It pierces the skyline with its unique silhouette, visible from almost viewpoint. The tower itself was designed by Nicolau Nasoni, an Italian architect. His body was buried somewhere under the church attached to the infamous tower, but the exact location is unknown. While we were there, we did take advantage of two different free walking tours offered of the city. The first was on Saturday afternoon and focused on the newer, more modern part of the city. The second was on Sunday morning and covered the old part of the city that had previously been encapsulated by a large city wall for protection. Both of the tours had a special flavor with interesting stories and myths told about the various monuments and traditions of Porto. For instance, the people of Porto are sometimes referred to as tripeiros. This literally translates to mean guts. At first thought to be an unappealing and derogatory term, it turns out there is a rich history behind this nickname. Porto or Oporto = the port. It is obvious why the city has this name when you consider it is situated on the mouth of the Rio Douro (Douro River) opening into the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, this was a major site for exploration and trading. When the ships used to leave the port to go on long journeys, all the people would give the sailors meat for the journey keeping only the guts of the animals to eat for themselves. Calling the people tripeiros is in reference to this unselfish display of generosity toward one another. To this day, guts are still considered a delicacy in Porto. (Additional pictures from Porto with descriptions have been added to the Photo Gallery)
|
AuthorCheck out the About Me tab for a brief self-biography of Valerie Nolt. Archives
August 2015
Categories"Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."
- Gustave Flaubert |