No Longer Skittish

By: Marissa Stafford

Grab your lab coat, were going to help Terry out with the participants samples. I followed
Dennis out of the lab, down the hall and into a small enclosed room; the rows of different colored caps
caught my attention, I felt a slight chill run throughout my body. Im in a blood drawing lab I thought
to myself. Having the chance to work in the phlebotomy laboratory was one of the most interesting parts
of internship. The phlebotomy lab is the step before lab analysis, because you need samples and in
order to get those samples you need participants to donate their blood. I had the opportunity to watch a
participant getting her blood drawn. My coworker Terry began the process by wiping her forearm and
tightening a band on her upper arm. Then he flashed an accuvein light where he was going to draw the
blood from. The light is red and lets the phlebotomist know what vein is the best choice by reflecting a
infrared image onto the arm. I felt slightly light headed as I watched the blood flow from the patients arm
into a tube with a purple and tie dyed cap.

Dennis what exactly is cholesterol? Where is it found? Isnt cholesterol bad for your body? I
was overwhelming my mentor with all of my amateur questions. How about you look it up at home?
He answered. And so I did just that. Cholesterol is a fat compound found in cells. There are two
different types of cholesterol, HDL and LDL. LDL cholesterol is known as the "bad" cholesterol,
because high levels of LDL create buildup in the arteries. HDL cholesterol is looked at as the "good"
cholesterol because it carries cholesterol from all parts of your body to your liver, where it is removed
from your system. Cholesterol is not always "bad" because it also helps develop hormones, vitamin D
and digestive properties in your body. Cholesterol is found in animal products such as meat, poultry,
and dairy products. Some examples are butter and eggs. My task for this project was to measure the
levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL in different participants plasma samples. I used a
instrument, pipette along with insert trays in order to measure the levels of HDL, cholesterol and
triglycerides. LDL on the other hand, needed to be calculated using a mathematical formula. The
formula required me to divide the level of triglycerides by five. I then had to subtract the divided
triglycerides and HDL from the cholesterol in order to get the LDL levels. Yes everybody, what we
learn in math class is actually useful in the real world.

My task during my second project was to calibrate the HPLC (high pressure liquid
chromatography) machine by using carotenoids such as alpha carotene, beta carotene, lycopene, lutein
and beta cryptoxanthin; these carotenoids make up Vitamin A. I know how you must be feeling, I was
confused when I read that list for the first time too. In order to undo the knots in my brain from thinking
too hard I asked a load of questions. Wait, Dennis, what exactly are carotenoids and what am I doing
with them? Sorry Im asking so many questions, Im just confused. Dennis smiled and explained to me
for the second time. Carotenoids are organic pigments that come from organic materials like plants,
bacteria and fungi. I had to dilute these compounds, and create a reagent for the machine. In order to
create the reagent I measured 700 ML of acetonitrile, 200 ML of methylene chloride and 100 ML of
methanol. After measuring each chemical I added them to a large brown bottle, and my regent was
completed. Next I had to dilute each carotenoid which meant putting ethanol in multiples of two into 10
different tubes that contained the same carotenoid. I had to complete this process for four other
carotenoids. After the dilution process was finished, I had to put every sample into the machines tray.
The HPLC machine then created a graph based on the levels of each component. My project was
finalized by completing the graph. I felt really accomplished because the material I was learning was
complex; even though I faced challenges, I managed to comprehend it and complete my project
successfully.

This is where it all happened, where I spent the four busiest weeks of my life, a lab with lights
that were a dim yellow. The nutrition lab contains no white fluorescent lights, which seemed strange to
me because I was so accustomed to being in rooms that withheld bright lights. My mentor explained to
me that if the lights were not a dim yellow, the vitamins in the blood samples would be damaged, and
this would prevent the company from conducting their studies. Another point of interest that I observed
while working in the lab was that everything contained a label. Labeling is critical in a laboratory, there
are so many sample tubes and containers that resemble each other, and if they are not marked it is very
difficult to tell them apart. It is crucial to label plasma and blood samples because they belong to specific
patients. There are also a lot of freezers that are used throughout the lab. There are two freezers in the
lab, and there are four others kept in the basement. These freezers contain samples from recent studies
as well as samples that go back to studies done 20 years ago. I was so grateful that I had the
opportunity to work with materials and instruments that were immensely exclusive. As I walked out of
the lab and into the lobby, my mentors words echoed in my head, If you can change things then have
the courage to change them, if not have the wisdom to accept them.