This is not a nice term for what I do, however, it is not completely untrue. Currently I oversee all the drugs that come into and go out of a pharmaceutical testing and development company. Soon I will be moving on to the all-important job of buffer making! Please hold your applause until the end. Why in the world am I willing to do this? Because I want to work in the electrophysiology department without having to obtain a degree in electrophysiology. This way, if I have to hang-out here for another year while trying to get into medical school. . .again, at least I'll be doing something interesting.
What the heck is electrophysiology? I'm glad you asked. It is (in my case) testing the effects of pharmaceuticals on heart tissue (in certain ion channels). Basically, we want to know if the drug that company X would like to put on the market is going to kill you. Pretty neat, huh? So we take a heart, cut it into pieces, stimulate Purkinje fibers with electrodes, add drug, and analyze. I especially like the dissection part. And, because I am essentially a softie for critters, I would do my best to never waste any hearts.
Do not try this at home.
The photo shows Purkinje fibers
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1 comment:
It's been three weeks-- how are things going?
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