The Tissue culture Lab is a designated space where, as the name implies, cells are cultured for distribution to researchers. It contains centrifuges, various types of incubators, microscopes, computers and a fume cupboard, to name but a few of the required items.
Mitchell & I donned our gowns and put on rubber gloves. During this session we frequently disinfected our gloves by spraying with alcohol. A single virus can wipe out a whole set of cultures so obviously we erred on the side of caution!
Mitchell examines specimens under the microscope (image Trish Adams)
In this tray of organoid samples, removed briefly from an incubator, you can just see some cream colored circular organoids developing in the top right hand tray. (Image Trish Adams)
Now that the Biosafety requirements have been fulfilled I am able to enter the lab and begin to explore the research going on there. I attended a weekly meeting where the lab members gave updates on their research projects and immediately realised how much I have to learn!
My main focus for this Synapse project is the sensory responses of neurons using specific progenitor cells in the form of 3D in vitro cultured cellular organisms known as ‘organoids’ :
(Dottori Lab, ref. Mattei et al, Frontiers in Cell and Dev Bio.)
Stem cell derived 3D organoids simulate neuronal brain activity (Dottori Lab, ref. Alshawaf et al, 2018, Scientific Reports)
In this tray of organoid samples, removed briefly from an incubator, you can just see some cream colored circular organoids developing in the top right hand tray. (Image Trish Adams)
