Scientific Research
Mentor: Dr R. Chiu (PHASE Scientific)
Sofia Chu, Charmaine Hui, Puneet Kaur, Liyan Lam & Rain Li
Our job shadowing experience began with a tour in the headquarters and an insightful chat with the CEO, Dr. Ricky Chiu, and the CFO. In the following days, we were delighted to explore Phase clinical lab and the R&D lab, where we learnt about their proprietary technology involving the liquid phase extraction mechanism, and observed the interdisciplinary structure of a lab, and multidisciplinary thinking that generated reliable results, and ultimately, a reliable product.
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Acquiring knowledge on the technology and research that constructed the backbone of a biotech company, we then learnt about how a product came to life through product management and marketing on the fourth day.
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On the last day, we had the moment to reflect on our time in Phase Scientific with joy and gratitude, and use the insight we had gained from this opportunity in our final presentation, which marked the end of this fruitful experience.
Mentor: Prof. Leung Mei Yee Kenneth (CityU)
Peggy Chan
In my one-day job shadowing, I was lucky to have Professor Leung as my mentor. I have had a more profound understanding of marine toxicity, which Prof. Leung specializes in. I had the opportunity to follow Prof. Leung when he and his team proposed their meaningful plans for coastline conservation. I felt enthusiastic to see how textbook knowledge is applied to real situations. Prof. Leung and his teammates are friendly and supportive, patiently guiding and encouraging me to join their discussion. Prof. Leung also led me around the laboratory at the City University of Hong Kong, explaining to me how experiments are carried out by the young scientists there using high-tech machinery. I have also seen some horseshoe crabs in the mini aquarium in CityU, which we seldom see at the seaside. Prof. Leung also shared his professional views on hot marine conservation topics. It was a rewarding experience, and I certainly gained a lot through this program. I can’t wait to pursue my career in this field!
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Mentor: Dr. Clive Chung (LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU)
Anneliese Chu, Aimee Poon, Megan Kwok & Belle Lu
In the two days of job shadowing, we had the opportunity to perform both chemistry and biology experiments.
For the chemistry part, we reacted benzylamine with chloroacetyl chloride in CH2Cl2 and triethylamine medium to form N-(chloroacetyl)benzylamine. We performed TLC to confirm whether the reaction was completed. After that, we extracted our product using solvent extraction with brine added as the solvent. We then isolated the organic layer using a separating funnel, and dried it with MgSO4. Afterwards, we filtered and collected the liquid. We used a rotary evaporator and a high vacuum pump to remove excess organic solvent, until only a solid powdery product remained.
For the biology part, we subcultured colorectal cancer cells HCT116 while working in a biosafety cabinet. Trypsin was used to digest the membrane proteins on cancer cells to detach the cells from the base of the original culture dish. Then, the cells were transferred to a new culture dish with fresh culture media and incubated the cells. The next day, we added RIPA lysis buffer to break down the cell membranes and extracted proteins from the cells. We measured the concentration of these proteins using the BCA assay and calculated the total mass of proteins.
We are grateful to Dr. Chung, his team and the Careers team, for giving us this invaluable chance to observe the daily workings of a university laboratory firsthand. The knowledge and exposure we gained were truly valuable.
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