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Institution
Medizinische
Hochschule Hannover
Host
Institution(s)
Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Cellular and Molecular
Physiology
Mentor: Walter F. Boron
Cloning of an Aquaporin channel from Xenopus leavis oocytes and investigation of the properties of that channel.
My supervisor got an initial fragment from a gene bank (EST clone), designed primers on that basis and started "fishing" for a sequence in an Xenopus laevis oocyte library. After extension by PCR we finally got the full length sequence. We injected Xenopus leavis oocytes with the RNA product of our clone and started experiments concerning water permeability, urea and glycerol uptake, pH effect, conductance and electrogenicity.
Methods involved are: PCR and RT-PCR, cloning/subcloning, Minipreps, Northern Blots, RNA synthesis, frog surgery, injection of oocytes, imaging set-up, voltage clamp.
›» Abstract
Honestly, I have come to like the United States and even New Haven. There were times when I was dreaming of German bread or hoping that I would not see any more cockroaches in the lab… But one can overcome these very unimportant things.
I have been so lucky to meet extremely nice people right from the beginning of my stay. My "subsupervisor" in my lab and her boy-friend helped me in applying for accommodation, getting a sleeping mattress, a bike and a lot of other things and I spend a great deal of my leisure time with them. I stayed with them for the first week until I moved into my apartment, which had not been that difficult to find, although these things often are quite the opposite - extremely difficult. I have been very lucky with my American roommate Joe, too. Since he has a car, he always took me shopping with him until I got my own car. He is a nice guy, and as Caipirinha is one of his most favorite drinks now, I do overlook the circumstance that he hasn't ever cleaned anything besides his dishes.
What I can really recommend is to buy a car. Although New Haven offers some cultural events, it is only a small town. The public transportation system is bad. But New York is not far away, only about one and a half driving hours, and during week-ends there is free parking everywhere in Manhattan. It is also worth visiting Boston and Cape Cod, a peninsula north of New Haven.
The people in my lab have always been very kind. The atmosphere is nice, neither too relaxed nor too rigorous. Working times are flexible. We usually start around ten in the morning with an open ending until we are finished.
It took me some time to receive my Yale ID card. Apply for it in advance of your arrival via the business office of your department. If you are applying for J-1 visa, keep always in mind that this pink form of your IAP-66 is your visa and not the sticker in your passport. I forgot that form once and could not register my car without it.
After I had spent the first month in the United States and thought that my English had so much improved that everyone could at least understand me, I answered the phone in the lab. "Patrice" was what the one on the phone said with a very strange pronounciation. Patrice is our French postdoc. I asked whether she wanted to talk to Patrice. She said, "Excuse me?" I repeated my question. She excused herself again. Then I asked her, "Do you speak English?" "Of course I do speak English," she answered and I recognized that she was a native speaker.
Look for accommodation at www.yale.edu. Shared accommodation is cheaper and do only choose the district 'Science' because that is the safest area. If you encounter any difficulties in entering that website call the business office of your department. They will give you a pin code for Germany. $400 per month is a good price.
You register a car at the Department of Motor Vehicles in CT (www.ctdmv.com). You will get your driver's license there, too. Apply for car insurance in advance, e.g. Liberty Mutual Group ($100 per month). For further questions e-mail me.