Matthew Van Schepdael
Lab affiliation: Dr. Gerd Prehna
Degree(s) you hold: B.Sc (Hon)
Degree being sought (M.Sc./Ph.D.): M.Sc
Hometown (City, Country—list multiple if you have them!): Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
Degree(s) you hold: B.Sc (Hon)
Degree being sought (M.Sc./Ph.D.): M.Sc
Hometown (City, Country—list multiple if you have them!): Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
What do you do to relax when you have a lazy day at home?
I usually don’t have many lazy days at home, Im in grad school remember? In all seriousness, lots of snacking and watching TV. I run a lot so most people who know me know I’m constantly bombarding the pantry and fridge. I like to watch the news and keep up with current affairs or anything where I can learn something new.
What are you most excited about for 2021? Goals?
I think being able to finish my first year as a master’s student and hopefully finding a sense of normalcy again with these crazy covid times. I think when things open up again, I wouldn’t mind a vacation somewhere new and exciting. Maybe Australia ?
What techniques do you/will you most often use in your project?
We are a structural biology lab so we use a lot of protein purification and crystallographic techniques. I am often doing other things like conducting various biophysical and mutagenesis experiments. I hope to also get some experience with cyro Em and HNMR in the future.
What's one silly mistake you've made in the lab?
I have left the lab with the -80C key in my pocket before.. I had to drive back to the lab and carefully put it back before anyone noticed.. oops
What are any current problems you are having with your research?
Probably learning all the nuances of mutagenesis. There just seems to be a lot of work that goes into designing a specific expression construct and getting it to work properly and unfortunately for me I have to design a LOT of them for the next phase of my research.
What did you hope to get out of grad school in the beginning compared to now?
I hoped to probably gain more experience in research and extend my education further in science. Now, I just hope I can make it another year working in the same lab as Neil (He always manages to keep things entertaining).
I usually don’t have many lazy days at home, Im in grad school remember? In all seriousness, lots of snacking and watching TV. I run a lot so most people who know me know I’m constantly bombarding the pantry and fridge. I like to watch the news and keep up with current affairs or anything where I can learn something new.
What are you most excited about for 2021? Goals?
I think being able to finish my first year as a master’s student and hopefully finding a sense of normalcy again with these crazy covid times. I think when things open up again, I wouldn’t mind a vacation somewhere new and exciting. Maybe Australia ?
What techniques do you/will you most often use in your project?
We are a structural biology lab so we use a lot of protein purification and crystallographic techniques. I am often doing other things like conducting various biophysical and mutagenesis experiments. I hope to also get some experience with cyro Em and HNMR in the future.
What's one silly mistake you've made in the lab?
I have left the lab with the -80C key in my pocket before.. I had to drive back to the lab and carefully put it back before anyone noticed.. oops
What are any current problems you are having with your research?
Probably learning all the nuances of mutagenesis. There just seems to be a lot of work that goes into designing a specific expression construct and getting it to work properly and unfortunately for me I have to design a LOT of them for the next phase of my research.
What did you hope to get out of grad school in the beginning compared to now?
I hoped to probably gain more experience in research and extend my education further in science. Now, I just hope I can make it another year working in the same lab as Neil (He always manages to keep things entertaining).