What I wrote Last weeks..
NeuroLife Chronicle #03. Jan 05, 2024: Shifting from Masters to PhD Life
During my internship, I focused on a singular project, primarily mastering one experimental technique coupled with a specific data analysis pipeline.My interactions were limited to a small group of people, and my everyday to-do list involved only a handful of emails and administrative tasks.I wasn’t engaged in building new experimental setups or making regular purchases. I didn’t have the responsibilities of training students, nor did I need to demonstrate our lab’s work to school-kids.I wasn’t actively involved in organizing lab events, fundraising for farewell gifts for PhD students, or troubleshooting machine problems with engineers from respective companies.
Now, in my current role as a PhD student, all of this has reversed. No wonder why I am loving it.
NeuroLife Chronicle #02. Jan 03, 2024: Back to the publication world after 2 years!!
Half of my master’s work and the first few months of my PhD work have contributed to two different publications. Both papers are now available in pre-print on 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐑𝐱𝐢𝐯.
In the first paper, we discovered the 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (আসে পাশে থ্রেট থাকলে এনিমাল কেমনে সিধান্ত নেওয়া কে বদলায়ে দেই এবং এর সাথে জড়িত নিউরাল সার্কিট কিভাবে কাজ করে?) (Link). We mapped second-order interneurons and identified some motor pathways corresponding to this neural circuit. This work involved a combination of immunohistochemistry, behavioral analysis, calcium imaging, and connectomics. Hopefully, we will soon see this paper published in Nature Communication.
In the second paper, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 (খাবার দাবার এর ভ্যারাইটি এবং তারতম্য কেমনে খাবার এর সাথে সম্পর্ক নেই এমন সিদ্ধান্ত কে প্রভাব ফেলে এবং বদলে দেই, এবং এর পিছনের নিউরমডুলেটরস গুলোর ভূমিকা কি?). We explored how various neuromodulators bias the neural circuit of decision-making process (Link). This work involved a combination of immunohistochemistry, behavioral analysis, calcium imaging, connectomics, and mathematical modeling. Hopefully, we will soon see this paper published in Cell.
NeuroLife Chronicle #01. Jan 03, 2024: First day in the lab in 2024
I woke up and began my day with the Fajr prayer. Opening the shutters of my windows, I was greeted by a windy and rainy dawn. A few hours later, the rain and winds subsided. When I boarded the bus to head to the lab, the sky had cleared, and the sun made a delightful appearance. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy.
Upon reaching the lab, I set about cleaning my desk, took care of my Drosophila, and cleaned their morgues. The sunshine streaming through the window added a warm touch to the atmosphere.
We decided to take advantage of the clear weather for our lunch, soaking in the sun’s rays. Post-lunch, as I stepped out of the restaurant, the weather had taken a turn. Clouds gathered, and raindrops began to fall once again.
Now, as I sit and write, the rain is pouring heavily, and the sky has darkened.
What a mood-swing of a day it has been.
Welcome to 2024!!