Spring 2020 – Testis tissue-chip development and validation: seminiferous tubule cannulation

• Excellent fine motor skills to assemble micron scale organotypic cultures for experimental assessment. If you like tying small knots (fly fishing?), or would like to, and would like to learn more about the fast expanding field of organ culture, this might be for you
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and an interest in helping develop and record new protocols. If you find yourself relishing in recognition as the class note taker that everyone asks for notes after absences, then you may enjoy recording and organizing team planning, experimental details, results, and developing protocols.
• Interest in/understanding of biophysics, particularly hydrodynamics and tissue fluid balance. Fluids don’t compress, but gasses do; pressure and sheer can be controlled in tissues; they also serve as cellular ques; solutes diffuse to equilibrium, unless… well the biological tool box has many ways to prevent that AND to utilize gradients to the physiological advantage! If this is the kind of thing that interests you and you are interested in a research project that gives you a reason to learn more, this may be for you.
• Excellent critical thinking. Are you good at staring down a pile of facts and contemplating how they might relate? Do you find yourself picking through and focusing on the pieces that don’t quite fit and wonder how/why? Do you find yourself googling to find the answers? You might enjoy digging into the scientific literature to find out answers to interesting questions, and identifying where there are no answers to be found- this is foundational to research!
• An interest in engineering for bio-applications. Do you like to build things or get crafty? Perhaps you would enjoy making and assembling components for tissue-chip bioengineering including pouring molds for silicone elastomer microfluidic devices, making glass capillaries, learning how to sterilize tissue culture equipment, fiddling with tissue culture environmental controls, and calibrating and utilizing microfluidics controls.
• Microscopy and digital analysis skills. Do you like to peep into the microscopic world AND have general proficiency with computer software analysis systems? Cells and tissues are quite fascinating on the microscopic scale, but microscopic assessments today are often high-content, requiring users to find and utilize software to develop efficient work-flows for data analysis. Would you like to contribute to process optimization by identifying and implementing digital analysis software solutions? If you love computing power and data analysis- this may be an opportunity for you.

Team members will be expected to register for VTPP 491 credit and dedicate a minimum of 9 hours a week to the lab (to include weekly lab meetings, experimental preparation of reagents/supplies/literature search, wet lab research, results analysis, and team meetings). This is a minimum required effort to ensure that team members get a fruitful high-impact experience which is expected to result in poster presentations and may lead to co-authorship on peer-reviewed research publications. Completion of TAMU environmental and biological safety training is required to work in the lab. Interested students should submit their class schedule for the semester, transcripts, and statement of interest to Dr. Tracy Clement.