Brian Knudson and Dr. Dixon J. Woodbury, Physiology/Developmental Biology
As the original goal of the project was to investigate the channel-forming mechanism of Nystatin, I began the project as outlined in the proposal. I created topology files, and structure files and placed my molecules in space. I first needed to examine dimmers so I set up scenarios that placed dimmers in water, lipid and a vacuum. The initial steps were difficult, and the actual experiments were very long. So long, in fact, that the numbers were still crunching when I graduated and moved on to another job in Texas.
Fortunately, we had planned for this sort of possibility, which is why Wes was going to resume the project and process the results. He was going to present the data at the Biophysical Society Meetings, and submit the final report to ORCA. However, we had not planned on Wes developing a health condition that would render him unable to follow through with the final stages of the project. It was only recently that I learned of Wes’s condition, and hence the delayed response.
Though the project was not completed, it was certainly a worthwhile undertaking. It opened me up into the world of bioinformatics, and exposed me to the rigorous statistical considerations involve in computational biology. In my current job, I am working in a similar field, and were it not for this experience, I would not have as deep an understanding and appreciation for the product line that I currently sell.