top student at medical school

Chapter 54 Struggling Hard (Please add to your favorites and read on!)
"Do you prefer clinical work?" As the outpatient clinic was about to end, Yuan Weihong asked Fang Ziye, noticing that his smile was brighter than ever before.

In the past three years, Yuan Weihong has rarely seen his students so happy.

Fang Ziye looked at his knowledge points, which had climbed to 22.1 after he improved his basic theory of trauma surgery!

He turned to his head and said, "Master, I like both clinical work and scientific research. I actually enjoy the process of exploring the unknown."

I silently told myself that the knowledge gained from this exploration process was what made me happiest. But over time, I discovered that the process itself was also a kind of enjoyment.

"You're going to the lab tonight, right? I won't ask you to go out for dinner." Yuan Weihong glanced at his watch; it was 5 PM, half an hour before he had to leave work.

"Yes, Master, I need to check on Junior Sister Luo's Transwell laboratory experiment today." Fang Ziye nodded, then glanced outside again to make sure there were no patients waiting outside for follow-up appointments before gently pushing the door open.

This makes it easier to talk.

The quiet time on outpatient days before closing time is actually worth enjoying.

Fang Ziye then filled Yuan Weihong's disposable teacup with another cup of hot water.

"Is it still possible to get those fir mushrooms from last time? I can buy some," Yuan Weihong suddenly asked.

"Ah? This season is already over. Early October was the last batch, and it's hard to find now. But I can ask for you, Master." Fang Ziye's eyelids flickered a few times.

Logically speaking, if a teacher wants something to eat, such a good teacher should try every means to help.

But out-of-season mountain produce is not something you can just get by trying to find a way to obtain. And if it's frozen, the taste probably won't be as good.

"Just let it go, don't worry about it. I was just asking casually. Don't take it to heart."

"What you should focus on is helping Tingzhu do a good job in the preliminary research for her research project. She is a non-quota doctoral student. Professor Deng Yong initially disagreed with her enrolling because the research funding was really limited."

"Professor Deng Yong will definitely make sure that all the students he has already taken on, plus the new doctoral students, graduate first. If Luo Tingzhu wants to get more funding for her research projects, she will have to work a little harder herself."

"There's nothing we can do about it. Actually, it would be quite good for her to stay in internal medicine," Yuan Weihong changed the subject.

Fang Ziye laughed and said, "Junior Sister Luo probably came to our trauma surgery department because she was attracted by the strong muscles of our orthopedic teachers."

Yuan Weihong was taken aback upon hearing this.

Then, absentmindedly touching his watch, he sighed: "For children from ordinary families, sometimes beauty is not a blessing, but a sin."

"That's life, all messy and trivial."

This topic was too melancholic for Fang Ziye to truly empathize with, as his own family was relatively fortunate. His parents were still willing to provide about two thousand yuan a month for living expenses.

"Oh, right, Ziye, if you're good at cell experiment techniques, you can solve all the experimental procedures in one or two tries. We can save a little bit from our budget and give you and Jiehan some labor fees." Yuan Weihong winked at Fang Ziye.

Fang Ziye seemed to be deep in thought, his eyes darting around.

Regardless of the research funding, providing a small amount, such as three to five thousand yuan, to master's students as a labor fee is a normal, legal, reasonable, and compliant expenditure.

Normally, there wouldn't be any extra money in the budget. After all, not everyone can get every experimental procedure right the first time.

It takes several attempts to succeed unless you are extremely skilled.

However, Fang Ziye felt that he might be able to save a little more on experimental consumables, which would actually make it possible to earn two or three thousand yuan in labor fees a year.

However, this horizontal comparison shows that some areas are suffering from drought while others are suffering from floods.

"Thank you, Master." Fang Ziye wasn't wealthy either, so he didn't dare to have any other thoughts. Yuan Weihong shook his head: "Mm!"

"The funds must be used wisely and carefully. We can save where we can, but we must not cut corners where we cannot. We must strictly adhere to the aseptic principle. Although pipettes are expensive, we must use them when necessary to ensure the rigor of the experimental procedures."

“Saving money isn’t about doing things this way. The most important thing is to produce results for this project and push the boundaries of science even a little bit. That’s what we should do with the money the country gives us.”

"Furthermore, Jie Han now has a very strong research foundation. His application for municipal and university-level projects is about the same as yours. So, he may be able to secure more funding for our team in the future."

"One is research funding, and the other is the number of research projects; these are both good things."

"Money makes things easier," Yuan Weihong said to Fang Ziye, words he couldn't reveal to outsiders.

……

After finishing his outpatient visit, Fang Ziye didn't linger. After helping Yuan Weihong put away his white coat, he went straight to the laboratory.

Although Professor Deng Yong's team was large, Luo Tingzhu was not special, so she did not have funding for experiments and needed to work hard on her own for the preliminary research. Since she had come to Yuan Weihong for help, Yuan Weihong agreed.

As a member of Yuan Weihong's team, Fang Ziye should naturally help as much as possible; otherwise, Yuan Weihong would have to come to the lab in person.

When Fang Ziye arrived at the laboratory, he found that Luo Tingzhu had been staying there from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

More worried about the progress of the experiment than anyone else.

She didn't have much funding for the preliminary experiments for her research grant application, so she couldn't afford to waste or be careless in the slightest.

"Senior Brother Fang, I think this petri dish is almost ready for counting. Would you like to take a look?" Luo Tingzhu quickly stood up when she saw Fang Ziye arrive, and at the same time, she had already prepared sterile examination gloves, disposable masks, and other items for Fang Ziye.

"Okay, have you eaten?"

"Should we order some takeout first?" Fang Ziye asked as he came in.

"It's already been ordered, senior brother." Luo Tingzhu nodded, indicating that she had done an excellent job with the logistics. She was focused solely on the baby cells and the experiments.

After the transwell experiment, cell counting is performed to provide objective data to represent the invasive ability of tumor cells.

Since this is a preliminary experiment, we only need to use the direct counting method.

However, even with the direct counting method, certain experimental procedures are still required to provide a relatively objective result.

First, fix the cells in place so they don't move.

Carefully remove the chamber with tweezers, aspirate the culture medium from the upper chamber, and gently wipe the Matrigel cell and cells inside the upper chamber with a cotton swab. Add 600 μL of 4% paraformaldehyde to a new 24-well plate, place the chamber inside, and fix for 20-30 minutes.

Then perform cell staining!
Remove the chamber, aspirate the fixative from the upper chamber, and transfer it to a well pre-filled with approximately 800 μl of 0.1%-0.2% crystal violet staining solution. Stain for 15-30 minutes. Remove any unbound crystal violet by gently wiping the upper side of the chamber with a cotton swab to remove any non-specifically bound dye for subsequent microscopic counting…

Fang Ziye was very much looking forward to this step, because whether it was someone else's cell experiment or his own, as long as he discovered it and participated in the experiment, he would definitely gain knowledge points!

The two then moved to the microscope…

*Note: Some of the experimental steps mentioned in this article are simplified versions. The main point is that they are presented all at once. Those who know how to do it will understand, but most people will not. Considering the feelings of most readers, please just read the general outline.

In summary, the transwell assay is used to detect the invasive ability of tumor cells. It uses technology to indicate the strength of invasive ability. Although the operation is not simple, it is a tool for demonstrating ability.

(End of this chapter)