Author: Promega

Resume vs. CV — What Is the Difference?

Posted on by Promega

Today’s guest blog is written by Sophie Mancha, a former global marketing intern with Promega. She is in her 4th year as a PhD candidate in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying pancreatic cancer.

Whether you are applying for a scholarship or trying to land a position in a research lab, there are plenty of decisions to make. Arguably, the most critical consideration is what documents to include to showcase that you are the right person for the job. Specifically, should you be preparing a curriculum vitae (CV) or a resume? What exactly is the difference?

Continue reading “Resume vs. CV — What Is the Difference?”

New Assay to Study SARS-CoV-2 Interaction with Human ACE2 Receptor

Posted on by Promega

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a SARS-associated coronavirus. The most recent version, SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in China in the winter of 2019 and is responsible for the current COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) global pandemic. This virus and its variants have resulted in over 200 million infections and more than 4 million fatalities world-wide. To combat this deadly outbreak the global research community has responded with remarkable swiftness with the development of several vaccines and drug therapies, all produced in record time. In addition to vaccines and drug therapies, diagnostic kits and research reagents continue to roll out to track infections and to help find additional therapies.

This peer-reviewed paper published in Nature Scientific Reports by Alves and colleagues demonstrates how a new assay can be used to discover novel inhibitors that block the binding of SARS-CoV-2 to the human ACE2 receptor as well as study how mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein alter its apparent affinity towards human ACE2. The paper also details studies where the assay is used to detect the presence of neutralizing antibodies from both COVID-19 positive samples as well as samples from vaccinated individuals.

Continue reading “New Assay to Study SARS-CoV-2 Interaction with Human ACE2 Receptor”

Inventory Managment and Onsite Stocking without the Headache

Posted on by Promega

The Helix on-site stocking program has been a resource for scientists for many years. With customized onsite stocking, inventory management and automated billing, losing precious time to a missing reagent is a thing of the past.

Helix freezers and cabinents provide seemless onsite stocking and inventory managment

To better understand the impact of Helix on our customers’ research, we spoke to Chris Thompson of Pro-GeneX, a clinical laboratory in Atlanta, GA. “Using the Helix system has been a game changer from the first day we got it,” Chris said.  “It was simple to set up and use from the start and has never let us down.  We routinely show it off to visitors to our lab because we are so impressed with it.  I only wish all my reagents used a system like this.  From an inventory perspective it is the best invention in our lab!”

Read our full Q&A with Chris below:

Continue reading “Inventory Managment and Onsite Stocking without the Headache”

Hiring Undergraduates and Recent Graduates in these Unprecedented Times

Posted on by Promega

Today’s guest blog was written in collaboration with Melissa Martin, a former global marketing intern with Promega. She is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is double majoring in zoology and life sciences communication, with a certificate in environmental studies.

Image: a young woman at a computer. Recent graduates may have transcripts and resumes that look different because of their pandemic experience

Writing to PIs and hiring managers is a new experience for me, and one that is interesting to reflect upon as I will soon be graduating college and pursuing a career myself. I think it is important that PIs and potential employers understand my fellow undergraduates and recent graduates. This is crucial to ensure that they can find a fitting job for themselves, while employers also benefit by hiring an individual that will fit in to the work environment and make positive contributions.

Continue reading “Hiring Undergraduates and Recent Graduates in these Unprecedented Times”

Racing Against the Clock, University of St Andrews iGEM Team Engineers Safer Sunscreen

Posted on by Promega

Today’s blog was written in collaboration with Julia Ashley and AJ Ridley.

This August marked the end of a frantic 10 weeks of laboratory experiments for Julia Ashley and AJ Ridley. The two are members of the University of St Andrews iGEM team and are working to develop a product called Shinescreen, a probiotic sunscreen that is safe for marine life.

“Experiments were coming along nicely until the last two weeks in the lab. We ran into trouble with some transformation experiments,” said Ridley.

The team was on the clock, with only two and a half months of access to a laboratory. Unfortunately, the team’s time ran out before they could resolve all the issues.

“We learned the realities of science that not everything goes the way you think it will,” said Ashley. “But we got some results, and we’re happy with that.”

Members of the 2021 University of St Andrews iGEM team who are working to develop a safer sunscreen to protect coral reefs.
Members of the 2021 University of St Andrews iGEM team. Left to right: Yoricka Smolikova, Maia Beeson, AJ Ridley, Anna Mansson, Shagun Dhanania, Julia Ashley, Weston Tuescher. Not pictured: Anna Stevenson, Chloe Fielding.
Continue reading “Racing Against the Clock, University of St Andrews iGEM Team Engineers Safer Sunscreen”

iGEM Malaga: Recycling Waste Olive Oil into Paint for Kids

Posted on by Promega

Today’s blog was written in collaboration with Melissa Martin, a global marketing intern with Promega. She is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is double majoring in zoology and life sciences communication, with a certificate in environmental studies.

In the best circumstances, leftover cooking oil ends up in a recycling center and is eventually burned as a biofuel. But it is also frequently dumped down kitchen drains where it proceeds to pollute sewage, water treatment facilities, and waterways.

Is there a more valuable and less harmful way to use up waste cooking oil? A group of students at the University of Málaga thinks they have a solution that will also make science more approachable and exciting for children.

Picture of UMA_MALAGA team in their lab where they are working on a project to recycle waste olive oil
The UMA_MALAGA team. Front row, left to right: Natalia Cardoso, Fran Antequera, Isa Antequera, and Alex Jiménez. Back row, left to right: Maria Rodríguez, Alvaro Jiménez, Juan Herrera, Alex Rojo, Dani Díaz, and Christina Viúdez.
Continue reading “iGEM Malaga: Recycling Waste Olive Oil into Paint for Kids”

Greening the Lab: Tips from Lab Manager’s Green Lab Digital Summit

Posted on by Promega

Today’s guest blog was written in collaboration with Melissa Martin, a former global marketing intern with Promega. She is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is double majoring in zoology and life sciences communication, with a certificate in environmental studies.

Infographic illustrating the places where simple actions can be taken to help build greener labs: greening the lab

Schools, businesses and organizations across the globe are increasingly implementing sustainable practices within their workspaces. From large-scale projects like installing solar arrays to behind-the-scenes initiatives like composting cafeteria food waste, “going green” is a reality of the modern workplace.

But one workspace otherwise known for being cutting edge and innovative is still struggling to implement the practices and culture of sustainability.

In her role as a teaching lab coordinator at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology (INTB), Christine Duke noticed a contrast between campus-wide sustainability initiatives and research labs:

“There is something missing here. Why aren’t we doing anything in the labs?”

Continue reading “Greening the Lab: Tips from Lab Manager’s Green Lab Digital Summit”

Mentally Preparing for My Return to the Lab: A Grad Student’s Perspective

Posted on by Promega

Today’s guest blog is written by Sophie Mancha, a global marketing intern with Promega this summer. She will be starting her 4th year as a PhD candidate in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying pancreatic cancer.

Graduate students are used to working. Not only during regular work hours but also well into the night to finish readings or work on data analysis. Ripping graduate students away from their research as they desperately try to produce useful data may be as hard as finding toilet paper during the first few months of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. However, across the world graduate students saw their research come to a screeching halt. The pandemic took over and everyone suddenly went into quarantine.

I clearly remember my first virtual lab meeting. We all frantically tried figuring out what video-conferencing platform to use and how to share our screens. We kept repeating “stay calm” as we naively thought this would only last a couple of weeks. As the months went by, I began to panic. I realized I had finished analyzing the last remaining data I had left and was no longer being “productive”. This quickly spiraled into thoughts that I may never earn my PhD.

Continue reading “Mentally Preparing for My Return to the Lab: A Grad Student’s Perspective”

Reaching Out for Lab Research Experience

Posted on by Promega

Today’s guest blog is written by Melissa Martin, a global marketing intern with Promega this summer. She will be a senior this fall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is double majoring in zoology and life sciences communication, with a certificate in environmental studies.

Congrats! You are attending a university and pursuing a challenging, yet rewarding, undergraduate science degree. Getting to this moment probably included lots of late nights spent studying or worrying while applying to your dream college. However, now that you are here you will find that classes provide a lot of information. You can even take your education one step further by getting hands-on experience in a research lab.

Working in a lab is not only about making your resume look good. It offers a real-world experience that directly enhances your learning experience and can even guide your future. For example, your experiences in the lab can teach you basic skills (pipetting, determining concentrations, performing titrations, etc.) that will be useful in a variety of science professions.

Continue reading “Reaching Out for Lab Research Experience”

Immune Checkpoint Bioassays Strengthen Cancer Research in the Development of New Therapies

Posted on by Promega

This post was written by guest blogger, Nicole Werner, Product Management Support at Promega GmbH.

“You have cancer.” – a statement that fundamentally changes life in a second. After the first shock, the insight often arises: “If only I had stopped smoking sooner!”

Lung cancer, while not the leading cause of death worldwide, is the leading preventable cause of death in developed countries. According to the WHO, eight million people die each year as a result of smoking, including one million as a result of passive smoking [1]. Currently, 80% of those affected die within the next 13 months after diagnosis [1]. New therapeutic approaches, such as treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, bring hope.

Promega supports research in this area with the high-precision tools needed to develop this new form of therapy.

Artistic 3D rendering of Immune checkpoint signaling. Immune checkpoint bioassays enable researcher to characterize therapeutic antibodies trageting these pathways.
Continue reading “Immune Checkpoint Bioassays Strengthen Cancer Research in the Development of New Therapies”