How many XFe-96 cartridges ?

In the updated XFe-96 cartridge well plate set-up below, we can compare between the age groups and genders between healthy controls and Parkinson's patients for study 1, as well as running a duplicate on the same plate.

This offers the advantage of both initial experiment and confirmation run being done under the same experimental conditions. 

One of the issues yet to be understood is the expectations for the number of runs required due to the variability or accuracy of the XFe-96 results, ie how many technical references are needed for this type of experiment - is one duplicate sufficient or do we need to run another plate to increase the testing from two cases to four cases ?

The good news is that if we need further plates the costs seem to be affordable if we assume we can buy the extra cartridges from the Binger laboratory rather than a bulk order from Agilent

Study 4 - Early Bio-marker for Parkinson’s Disease ... An update

Out of each of the studies I have planned, trying to utilise the data and information that I have learnt from the other studies together in such a way that we may highlight particular patterns that are linked with early cognitive or motor declines that can be potentially used as an early bio-marker is the hardest to draw to a conclusion that seems to make sense.

My current thinking is that we can't simply analyse the proteomic results, find particular protein aberrations, then analyse a younger sample ie 30 year olds, to see if the same proteins are showing any form of change or impairment. The problem is that the sample may be taken randomly from a younger person who may never go on to develop any form of neurodegenerative disease.

So how to overcome this dead end issue. We know from other studies that mitochondrial disease is definitely linked to other diseases such as coronary, vascular disease, diabetes, schizophrenia etc. which also have a higher correlation of being linked as comorbid diseases with Parkinson's disease.

By the time someone presents with Parkinson's they have already lost around 80% of their dopaminergic neurons, and research has indicated that this damage has been occuring over a period of upto 15 years. So if we can we identify a younger sample from individuals already showing signs of these other comorbid diseases and take our samples from this cohort, then this may increase the probability that some of the cohort will go on to develop Parkinson's in the future. An alternative tho this would be to run a cognitive battery of tests over the younger cohort and use samples that show cognitive changes compared to the test norm. 

"another day, another demise ..."

 Another day, another deluge of depressing emails on the damage Covid-19 is wreaking on the University. It looks like there will be another round of forced retrenchments and firings to get the OPEX down to minimize the well publicised $200 million budget deficit. 

"it's a much more dire situation that it was two months ago ..."

Sheila Crewther - 14th August 2020

In a Zoom meeting with Sheila and Nina, they are concerned that the research dollars are rapidly drying up and that I have to cut my planned research budget by over 50% before Sheila will let the confirmation paper go forward. The cut is possible, but will result in no room for making mistakes or repeating an experiment because of errors in sample preparation or failures in equipment. 

The really big assumption is that the Binger laboratory which has the XFe-96 is also well stocked with all the consumables I need because we are budgeting for only the consumables I need and not the requirement to buy the bulk packages ourselves.

 

Thought it was just me ...

Recently I came across this article in "The RED Alert" put out by the graduate research office at LaTrobe. 

"the burden of feeling like an imposter ..."

"Many of us in our group have experienced ‘imposter syndrome’. As with many other syndromes, graduate researcher imposter syndrome is a complex set of psychological feelings that in this case is hidden by the PhD cloak of feigned confidence. We pretend to know what we’re doing, what we’re saying, what we’re studying, while at the same time being fearful of difficult, wicked questions that our supervisors and progress committee may put to us. This uncertainty and insecurity is further compounded by a sense of ‘aloneness’, a feeling that we are travelling with others on parallel rather than intersecting paths. While our paths may appear to cross, there are very few people to talk to about our passion, our problems, hopes and anxieties. Instead, the anxiety continues to lurk, and each day we step onto another lonely path of head in PC in the hope that our individual journey will be worth it in the end and that in the meantime we are not found out ..."

And there I was, waiting for the Graduate Research Committee to quietly tap me on the shoulder and say. "Shane, I think it's time we had a little chat ..."