Lab Experience Personal reflection – Elena Ioppolo
I got the opportunity to do my 1st lab rotation in the Laboratory of Human Physiology.
PI of the laboratory: Giulio Sancini
Tutor: Giulia Terribile
The Lab
The lab focuses on: “Neurophysiology: Air pollution, neuroinflammation and synaptic dysfunction.”
In the Neurophysiology lab I had the opportunity to take part in various projects.
The first project aimed to explore the effects of particulate matter on synaptic plasticity and neurotransmission both on microglia, the main cellular type involved in neuroinflammation, and on hippocampal and cortical neurons. This was achieved mainly through electrophysiological techniques, such as calcium imaging and patch clamping.
The second project focused on the potential therapeutic effect of liposomes in Alzheimer’s disease, with special regard to the improvement in signs and symptoms of cognitive impairment.
My experience & learnings
The Neurophysiology lab gave me the opportunity to have first-hand experience in the field of research. Using both in vitro and ex vivo techniques, I was able to see the complexity of the cerebral microenvironment and the process of neuroinflammation.
After the first two weeks of careful observation, my tutor entrusted me to carry out cell subculturing on my own and she guided me step by step in performing animal dissection and brain extraction.
We mainly worked on coronal and tilted cerebral slices, which best represents the hippocampal circuits involved in neurodegeneration. Patch clamping is certainly not an easy technique and many variables have to be taken into consideration to achieve perfect registration conditions. This was rather challenging and we spent many hours trying again and again to record good electrical activity.
Above all, I understood the importance of perseverance. The biggest challenge was never to lose hope, and only by keeping an open mind and discussing each step together did we manage to overcome the seemingly never-ending obstacles encountered along the way.
