Metametrix

4x Expected Production, $30k in Savings (in 8 weeks)

I was hired to perform 2 sensitivity assays each day. But that didn’t make sense. I was being taught to make 20ml of each solution (10ml per plate) in a 50ml conical. But a 50ml conical holds 50ml. Why not make 40ml of each solution and do 4 patients instead? I did, and I would finish the four sets by lunch.

I also calculated that, because I was using half the number of 50ml conicals by doing four instead of two at a time, we were saving over $30,000/year.

Given how much I’ve learned since then, I probably would’ve found an even more efficient, more cost-effective alternative to the conicals. That’s what I excel at (and enjoy). For instance, my previous lab was using 15ml BD Falcon conicals as serum collection tubes. Mind you, there was never more than 3 or 4 milliliters of serum, so the 15ml capacity was completely unnecessary.

But more importantly, a case of 500 of those runs about $250, making each tube worth fifty cents. May not seem like much, but why not use 5ml transport tubes from Karter Scientific that cost $33 for 1,000? Each kit now cost 49.967 cents less. That was an easy one, I admit; I was just trying to stay with the conical theme. And again keeping with that theme, did I ever tell you about the time I got a certain brand name 50ml conical with a certain convenient feature for less than half of list price?


Emory University Department of Pathology

Reverse-Transcriptase Real-Time PCR Assay for the Win

The Emory Pathology department was my first lab job that would last more than a few months, and it’s where I undertook my first real inventory assignment.

The PI of my lab had been collecting tubes in liquid nitrogen since the 90s. Spread out over a dozen racks in three tanks, they realized they needed to know what they actually had (because they were running out of room for new stuff, and because I said I could take care of it). So I took care of it. What’s funny is that I can remember going to bed thinking about how I couldn’t wait to get back to logging those samples (one-by-one). And it wouldn’t be easy – my French boss’ nines looked exactly like lowercase g’s. Cryovials that had been sitting at -180ºC for a decade wouldn’t possess the most legible handwriting to begin with, much less when 3’s were probably 5’s and what looked like the letter B was actually 13.

Quantitative RT RT-PCR Viral Load Assay

But one of my greatest laboratory accomplishments, that is still paying dividends to this day, is how I was able to successfully develop a protocol to detect viral loads via quantitative RT RT-PCR. In fairness, the idea to do so wasn’t mine, I’m just the one who made it work after so many had tried before me. My secret? I knew very little about any part of the proposed protocol. I had no biases – I was open to anything.

I don’t remember how I settled on Sigma’s Avian RT First Strand Synthesis Kit, but I do remember the Sigma sales rep spending a substantial amount of time teaching me how to troubleshoot PCR.

I also don’t remember how I decided to go with SYBR Green. But after tweaking various parts of the protocol, the combination worked (including thea home-made RNA extraction), and viral loads could all be done in-house. It became my specialty, and I reached my pinnacle of motivation – I became indispensible.

Ironically, I’m probably the most loyal and dedicated person of all-time (well, maybe not #1, but at least in the top 10). Yet, I’ve worked in 7 different labs. But in truth, I thought my last job would be my last job. I was very, very wrong. But I know for a fact I'll never come across another lab - or business - quite like that one. Thus, I believe, and hope, my next job will be my last job.

Papers in which I'm Co-Authored

(from the Emory Pathology lab)

anti-c3d yadda yadda yadda

gamma delta and whatnot






































WHAT IS THIS SECTION?

Unfortunately for these labs, they didn't give me a lot of responsibility since I was so young and still just a tech. But just because I'm not expected to yield huge contributions doesn't mean I'm not going to find ways to make huge contributions. Being efficient and saving money are like instincts.

Whatever I'm put in charge of is going to be a finely-tuned machine running at peak efficiency and unprecedented cost-effectiveness. How can I make such a statement? One, because it's a fact, and two, because I won't rest until I've achieved that status.

Just for fun, I made a fake newspaper about our little pathology group.

Click the image or this text or this box-like thing to open it in a new tab. It's pretty much one of the funniest fake newspapers of all-time.