Ankoor Patel
Lab affiliation: Brian Mark Lab
Degree(s) you hold: B.Sc. Biochemistry
Degree being sought (M.Sc./Ph.D.): Ph.D.
Hometown (City, Country—list multiple if you have them!): Winnipeg, Manitoba
Your research project in one sentence: Biochemical understanding of RNA viral proteases in pathogenesis and replication
Degree(s) you hold: B.Sc. Biochemistry
Degree being sought (M.Sc./Ph.D.): Ph.D.
Hometown (City, Country—list multiple if you have them!): Winnipeg, Manitoba
Your research project in one sentence: Biochemical understanding of RNA viral proteases in pathogenesis and replication
What do you do to relax when you have a lazy day at home?
I thoroughly enjoy watching movies and TV shows as well as trying out new recipes in the kitchen.
What are you most excited about for 2021? Goals?
I’m definitely most excited about graduating this year and slightly anxious, but excited about figuring out my next venture.
What techniques do you/will you most often use in your project?
Lots of DNA design for the purpose of protein purification, protein crystallography and enzymology.
What's one silly mistake you've made in the lab?
Definitely one of the silliest things I’ve done in lab was in my first year when I was making media in a plastic container. I placed in a stir bar with all the reagents into water and “turned on the stir plate” and walked away. I started to smell a slightly off smell a couple minutes later and noticed that I had turned on the heat instead of the stirrer. The “off smell” was definitely burning plastic…
What are any current problems you are having with your research?
My current problem is a problem I feel everybody struggles with at certain points in their research careers, which is deciding when something is “good enough” or complete to the best of my abilities and having a hard time deciding by myself when I need to move on to the next thing or keep pursing what I was working on. I guess research is kind of like a painting, it may never really be done. *insert existential crisis meme*
What did you hope to get out of grad school in the beginning compared to now?
When I started grad school, I really just hoped to get an advanced degree and some technical skills to make myself more employable, but I’ve really embraced a lot of aspects during my time in the department that I didn’t think I would. Of course I still hope for the things I originally did, but making lots of great professional and personal connections with my superiors and colleagues is something I didn’t fully embrace at first and am now learning to nurture and cherish.
I thoroughly enjoy watching movies and TV shows as well as trying out new recipes in the kitchen.
What are you most excited about for 2021? Goals?
I’m definitely most excited about graduating this year and slightly anxious, but excited about figuring out my next venture.
What techniques do you/will you most often use in your project?
Lots of DNA design for the purpose of protein purification, protein crystallography and enzymology.
What's one silly mistake you've made in the lab?
Definitely one of the silliest things I’ve done in lab was in my first year when I was making media in a plastic container. I placed in a stir bar with all the reagents into water and “turned on the stir plate” and walked away. I started to smell a slightly off smell a couple minutes later and noticed that I had turned on the heat instead of the stirrer. The “off smell” was definitely burning plastic…
What are any current problems you are having with your research?
My current problem is a problem I feel everybody struggles with at certain points in their research careers, which is deciding when something is “good enough” or complete to the best of my abilities and having a hard time deciding by myself when I need to move on to the next thing or keep pursing what I was working on. I guess research is kind of like a painting, it may never really be done. *insert existential crisis meme*
What did you hope to get out of grad school in the beginning compared to now?
When I started grad school, I really just hoped to get an advanced degree and some technical skills to make myself more employable, but I’ve really embraced a lot of aspects during my time in the department that I didn’t think I would. Of course I still hope for the things I originally did, but making lots of great professional and personal connections with my superiors and colleagues is something I didn’t fully embrace at first and am now learning to nurture and cherish.