“Update on Lab Experiences”

This past month has been a strong and surprising one.

Even when I knew this laboratory would take time and lots of work I was shocked when I found out that work is resulting to be satisfying and entertaining. Its all thanks to the people that work with me day and night (sometimes). I owe a BIG THANKS to Eva Rubio, Josue Malave, Kim, Pedro, Orlando and Iliane. Also thanks to Prof. Rios-Velazquez for always being available.

 My Investigation:

“Bioluminescent bacteria show a phenomenon in which emit light though an organic oxidation.  These luminescent organisms have been discovered in all kinds of ecosystems. Bacteria are the most widespread and abundant luminous organism in nature with a unique and necessary ecological role (take a look at the pictures for examples).  Being Puerto Rico a tropical island, we intent to characterize this microbial group to further comprehend their exceptional function in nature.  Different approaches are being used to distinguish and identify between many isolates with variety of light emission intensities from the coasts of Puerto Rico. The long term research goal is to develop biosensors to specifically detect contaminants through a measurable signal production.” (Malavé-Orengo, Josué, et. al; A BIOLUMINESCENT BACTERIAL SURVEY FROM MARINE ECOSYSTEMS OF PUERTO RICO”).

              

Uncovering the BioMINDS!

Hello!
My name is Diego Hernandez and I am 1 of the 100 new BioMINDS.
I am a bachelor student on Industrial Biotechnology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. I am at my second year of studies and I am looking forward to graduate as a biotechnologist and discovering something awesome! The BioMINDS program will help me get new experiences as a researcher which will help me become the professional I wish to be.
MY RESEARCH :

I am working with Dr. Carlos Rios Velazquez and Josue Malave (grad student) studying Bio-luminescent Bacteria using various molecular methods. I chose this topic because I found that the way that this bio-luminescent bacteria function in nature is very impressive and I thought that by studying it, it is possible to find useful applications taking advantage of such uncommon biological phenomena. Until now I have been on various lab meetings where important details about research were explained, such as how to prepare the notebook, safety and my future goals on the current research. I have also been preparing some solutions for future DNA extraction methods. One of my future goals is to develop a molecular tool for the characterization of this microbial group in the tropics.