Metabolic Lab

This past week I have had the privilege of working with the Metabolic Team in the lab. In the metabolic lab, they work with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to detect if a person has been drinking alcohol to the excess. After a person has been caught for drunk driving, they get their license taken away for about a year and aren't able to get it back unless they pass a lab test saying they haven't had an excessive amount of alcohol in the past week or so. The DVLA sends blood samples to the Metabolic Lab at King's to have these tests done. Once the samples reach King's we do a Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin (CDT) test to detect any heavy alcohol consumption. To do the CDT test we had to put the samples into a centrifuge to separate the contents of the blood in the test tubes. Once the blood was separated into three parts, we poured some of the plasma into a smaller tube before putting the sample in the Sebia Capillary 2. The Sebia Capillary 2 would analyze the blood and give us a graph and a CDT value which we would then send back to the DVLA. While carrying out these tests, I learned how to change out solutions and interpret the results that the Sebia Capillary 2 was putting out. I really enjoyed working in the Metabolic Lab, the people there were very friendly and always cracking jokes and having a good time, it was a good change of pace from Toxicology.

Making solutions for the Sebia Capillary 2

Oxford, England

My Global Foods class and I took a trip to Oxford! The old style buildings were gorgeous. I actually felt like I was in an area of the past walking down certain streets and alleys. It was a little windy and rainy, but we got to see a lot. We attended a lecture on US globalization at the Bodelian Library Divinity School and got to walk through the Ashmolean museum.

Toxicology? I think so!

A patient came into the hospital and they found a bag of powder on the person. So they got a urine sample from the patient to see if they had been using the drug. By the look of the powder, they thought it would be Methoxpenidine (MXP), which is a "legal high" giving the effects of a psychedelic. Havisha and I researched the metabolites that would be seen in the urine after the MXP had metabolized in the body, we came up with a couple metabolites. Then, with the help of Lewis, we found the mass of the metabolites by plugging the formulas into a mass calculator. After the urine sample went through the Mass Spectrometer, we analyzed the results looking for the masses of the metabolites of the drug. We actually found all three metabolites, each having a large amount, concluding that this wasn't the first time the patient had used the drug. It turns out that this was a new drug that we hadn't seen before at King's, but now it is in the library of the drugs, so we can test for it in future cases! It was very cool to see it all worked out, I definitely understand how urinalysis for drug tests work now!

Irish Getaway

Ireland was absolutely fantastic! I am definitely glad I got to go during St. Patrick’s Day weekend, it added so much to the city I feel. Everything there was gorgeous. Omar, my flat mate, and I stayed in a hotel that was located on the residential side of Dublin. It was great because we not only got to see the city side, but also got to see the quieter homey side of things. The neighborhood was beautiful because all of the houses and flats were made of red brick! I was surprised to see such green grass and flowers blooming even when it was about 40 degrees out. Each day Omar and I would take the bus into the city where we would walk around and explore. We got to see the Dublin Castle, Guinness Storehouse, Molly Malone Statue, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Trinity College. At Trinity College we went in and got to see the Book of Kells along with the Long Room, which was basically a beautiful library. Then at night we would go to Temple Bar where most of the touristy night life was. The streets were so packed at Temple Bar it was unbelievable. We also got to see some of the buildings lit up in green at night. We had a lot of fun dressing up and celebrating the holiday, it has definitely been one of my favorite cities so far on this trip.

This describes my weekend perfectly.

Dublin Castle with Omar

Book of Kells, Long Room Library

Trinity College lit up in green!

Pictures worth a thousand words: Spring Break

Iamsterdam sign

Amsterdam Canals

Heineken Experience, Amsterdam

Barcelona

Great Barcelona views

Barcelona sidewalk

Church on the mountain, Barcelona

Brandon and I

Barcelona Fountain

John Wayne

Taylor Lautner

Pink Birds!