Week 4 - Caleb Jones

 With week four done, I'm definitely ready to get back to Ithaca and start up some of my regular research. NYC is a fun and Weill Cornell is a great environment, but I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore. 

This week was a bit slower paced (and thank goodness) as we came to a bit of a stalemate regarding the direction of my research project. There is great uncertainty as to whether our quantification methods are widely accepted as legitimate indicators of protein content in histology. After a few meetings with Dr. Gauthier and Dr. Gillen, we decided to reach out to another researcher who has recently published this type of data representation. Hopefully they will provide some guidance. 

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to be scanned with MRI. Alexey Dimov is a postdoctoral researcher who specializes in running the scanners and handling the data, and he was able to give nice demonstrations of how to operate the equipment. Importantly, I now have indirectly seen my own brain, which has not been accomplished by most individuals throughout human history. It was also nice to be confirmed in possessing a real human brain. I plan on using the images generated from my MRI session on all the Christmas cards I send from here on out. 

Communication with my lab back in Ithaca has increased as they anticipate my return to implanting finches. I am thoroughly enjoying my time here, but also excited to do more single unit recordings in birds. 

Best and until next time,

Caleb Jones