Karen Eusebio
Lab affiliation: Sparling lab
Degree(s) you hold: BSc in Microbiology
Degree being sought (M.Sc./Ph.D.): MSc
Hometown (City, Country—list multiple if you have them!): 1 st half of my life in Laguna, Philippines and 2nd half in Winnipeg
Your research project in one sentence: Study the changes in physiology of Clostridium thermocellum when grown in co-culture with Methanothermobacter marburgensis.
Degree(s) you hold: BSc in Microbiology
Degree being sought (M.Sc./Ph.D.): MSc
Hometown (City, Country—list multiple if you have them!): 1 st half of my life in Laguna, Philippines and 2nd half in Winnipeg
Your research project in one sentence: Study the changes in physiology of Clostridium thermocellum when grown in co-culture with Methanothermobacter marburgensis.
What do you do to relax when you have a lazy day at home?
Cuddling with my dog while reading a book or watching a TV show and if I’m extra stressed, I bake. Playing with dough is very therapeutic.
What are you most excited about for 2021? Goals?
I’m looking forward to progressing with my project and to learn new skills. As for general life, I’m looking forward to going on more hikes and for spring to come faster so I can buy more plants and see more growth in our home.
What techniques do you/will you most often use in your project?
We grow different anaerobes in our lab and growing them requires a lot of skills (and patience). I also use the HPLC and GC a lot to analyze my end-products.
What's one silly mistake you've made in the lab?
I was growing my cells to prepare for a growth curve and I forgot to add cellobiose (carbon source). After 24 hours, I thought they were just taking really long to get started which happens sometimes if they’ve been in the fridge for a while. After 48 hours, I saw my bottle of cellobiose that looked untouched and I realized my cells didn’t have anything to eat.
What are any current problems you are having with your research?
One of the bottlenecks of my project is the experimental set-up for my growth curves. I’m growing monocultures of two different bacteria and also growing them together and standardizing has been an issue. I think I may have figured some things out but we will see. As my supervisor says, “if at first you don’t succeed, do it again”.
What did you hope to get out of grad school in the beginning compared to now?
In the beginning, I hoped to pick up a lot of skills (specifically lab skills) to add onto my toolbox and become more employable. Now, 1.5 years into my program, I hope not only for lab techniques but also to pick up a lot of soft skills such as working independently and collaborating with others, problem-solving/troubleshooting, taking up leadership positions and so much more. I have also built amazing friendships and I have grad school to thank for that.
Cuddling with my dog while reading a book or watching a TV show and if I’m extra stressed, I bake. Playing with dough is very therapeutic.
What are you most excited about for 2021? Goals?
I’m looking forward to progressing with my project and to learn new skills. As for general life, I’m looking forward to going on more hikes and for spring to come faster so I can buy more plants and see more growth in our home.
What techniques do you/will you most often use in your project?
We grow different anaerobes in our lab and growing them requires a lot of skills (and patience). I also use the HPLC and GC a lot to analyze my end-products.
What's one silly mistake you've made in the lab?
I was growing my cells to prepare for a growth curve and I forgot to add cellobiose (carbon source). After 24 hours, I thought they were just taking really long to get started which happens sometimes if they’ve been in the fridge for a while. After 48 hours, I saw my bottle of cellobiose that looked untouched and I realized my cells didn’t have anything to eat.
What are any current problems you are having with your research?
One of the bottlenecks of my project is the experimental set-up for my growth curves. I’m growing monocultures of two different bacteria and also growing them together and standardizing has been an issue. I think I may have figured some things out but we will see. As my supervisor says, “if at first you don’t succeed, do it again”.
What did you hope to get out of grad school in the beginning compared to now?
In the beginning, I hoped to pick up a lot of skills (specifically lab skills) to add onto my toolbox and become more employable. Now, 1.5 years into my program, I hope not only for lab techniques but also to pick up a lot of soft skills such as working independently and collaborating with others, problem-solving/troubleshooting, taking up leadership positions and so much more. I have also built amazing friendships and I have grad school to thank for that.