This summer I traveled to London, England to work at the Royal Free and University Medical School in Hampstead. Hampstead is a quiet suburb, 10 minutes north of Central London. Hampstead is known for its high priced real estate. One of the main attractions in Hampstead is a large park Hampstead Heath. Londoners travel to the Heath in an attempt to escape the fast-moving pace and crowded surroundings common to Central London. It offers magnificent views of the city skyline, especially at sunset. And when the weather is nice (which unfortunately didn’t happen until I was about to leave) there are ponds for swimming. I often found myself, especially after the London bombings, amongst many others staring at the proud, beautiful city that withstood a terrorist attack.

Although I did get out to see the sights of London, most of my time was spent working in the lab of Dr. Alan Phillips in the department of Paediatric Gastroenterology (and no, that is not a typo, pediatric does have an “a”). My desire to go to London stems from my research and a specific test called the in vitro organ culture assay (IVOC) that is performed by Dr. Phillips and his colleagues. The IVOC assay employs tissue obtained from biopsies of children being investigated for gastro-intestinal diseases at the hospital’s clinic. During the endoscopy procedure, a small sample of duodenum tissue is removed from the patient. This procedure has full ethical board approval and no tissue can be taken without consent from the families involved. The tissue must also be screened to ensure it is not inflamed before it can be used in the assay to ensure it resembles normal intestinal conditions. Once suitable tissue samples are obtained, they are inoculated with an overnight culture of E.coli. The strains I chose to test were those used in Dr. Jorge Giron’s lab at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Several strains of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) were screened for the presence or absence of adherence to the surface of intestinal cells. Each strain had to be repeated three times for consistency, and at eight hours per assay that equals a lot of hours in the lab. However, I enjoyed my long days in lab. Yes, London had much too offer, but so did my lab mates, all of whom were very friendly and were excited to learn about America as well as to teach me about their cultures and backgrounds. Within my lab group, there were people from places like Singapore, Zambia, Germany, Spain, as well the UK. Some of my favorite moments in the lab were when we all would try to learn each person’s native language and then laugh at how silly we all sounded.

Much of my time in lab was spent learning to use the scanning electron microscope (SEM). After the IVOC assay is completed, the samples must be processed and mounted for viewing in the SEM to screen for adherence. This process takes about two additional days. First, the samples must be fixated and dried in a machine that combines very high pressure and very high temperature in order to dry the specimen. Then the sample is mounted on an aluminum stub. During this step the samples become very brittle and can easily “jump” off the table, to be lost forever. Once they are mounted, the stub is sputter coated with argon and is ready for viewing in the SEM.

One factor that made my day at the lab easier was that my flat was just a few steps away. Although there was no TV, no internet, and a phone that would only call the hospital, it was still a place to call home. My five flat mates were amazing individuals, who like my lab, were all from different countries. Who would have known I would eat Indian food spicier than anything I had ever tasted and teach English to a Syrian while in London? It was usually in our shoebox size kitchen that we would all gather to taste the Indian meal my flat mate prepared or to discuss our different cultures and languages.

There is so much to see and do in a city of 9 million people that comprises ethnic groups from all corners of the world. Unfortunately, though, London offers too much to be fully appreciated in just one summer. From museums, to the theaters, castles and countryside, the attractions are endless. The anticipation surrounding the Live 8 concert and the 2012 Olympic Games announcement were moments in history that I was honored to be a part of. I would like to send a special thank you to Dr. Giron and Dr. Phillips and all those in their laboratories. Also a special thanks to Carol Bender and the BRAVO! Program for this wonderful opportunity.

Christine Poach, UBRPer in Dr. Jorge Giron’s lab, Microbiology & Immunology