Dissertation? CHECK!

Well I took a month absence from the blogging world...probably because I took a month absence from a lot of things in my life as I prepared to DEFEND MY DISSERTATION!

June 27, 2013

12:55 pm, all ready to go:

so glad Abby snapped this picture to document this happy day!

Guess what, I PASSED!! I want to remember the wonderful people who came and supported me by listening to me drone on about membrane biophysics. Annie, Abby, Ryan, and Ivan represented the family, and Dad, Mom, the Bosters, and Josh were there in spirit!! (Russia and Texas are a little too far away for a day trip and Josh had to work). My roommates Steph and Marissa came and saw a whole new side of their roommate haha. I had friends from my program (Shalene, Mikayla, and Julie), my ward (Bro. Cope, Patty, Shawney, and Mary), my committee (Dr. Bell, Dr. Judd, Dr. Stark, Dr. Burnett, and Dr. Bridgewater), and supporters from the department (Connie, Dr. Woodbuy, Dr. Thomson, Dr. Kooyman, and Dr. Sudweeks). After my presentation, they dismissed everyone except my committee to grill me. It was actually just a great experience to feel like an equal with my committee as I defended my research. They excused me from the room while they deliberated... then invited me back in to congratulate me, shake my hand/hug me, and sign the paperwork. BEST. FEELING. EVER. 

I have now turned in the final copy of my written dissertation. :) I have decided not to stress about my job search too much today and just enjoy the feeling of accomplishment! Today I wrote the Acknowledgements section of my dissertation and got nostalgic thinking of my time here. I realized most of the people I mention probably won't see the hard copy, so I thought I'd share it here so they know I love them!!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I am so grateful to my family and friends for supporting me and cheering me on throughout my educational career. My parents especially are my biggest fans. I would like to thank them for believing that I could do anything and always encouraging me to develop my talents to the greatest degree possible without ever making me feel pressured to do anything. I loved it when they read my papers and acted impressed, even if they didn’t completely understand them.

I don’t know if I have the words to express my gratitude to my mentor, John Bell. I am so glad I took my freshman biology class from him at age 18 and that he took a chance and let me into his lab even though it was full. Since then, he has taught me how to think, how to write, and how to teach. I will miss our brainstorming sessions, writing parties, team-teaching, talks about life, and inside jokes. He and his wife, Rhonda, are like family to me, and I have loved spending time in their home.

I would like to thank my amazing graduate committee, Allan Judd, Michael Stark, Sandra Burnett, and Laura Bridgewater, for investing their time into helping me develop as a scientist. Dr. Judd especially has been so helpful with both my coursework and research and has become a dear friend. I will miss his advice and teasing.

I am also grateful for the many people that have worked with me in the lab for the past 7 years. I can’t mention them all by name, but they truly were my second family during my time at BYU. I am grateful for Anne Heiner and Rachel Bailey for mentoring me as an undergraduate. As a graduate student, so many lab members contributed to my dissertation: Hannabeth Franchino, Lauryl Campbell, Mike Streeter, Ashley Warcup, Katalyn Pickett, Celestine Yeung, Kelly Brewer, Lynn Anderson, Stephanie Melchor, Mike Murri, Eric Moss, and Amy Hamaker. In particular, Jen Nelson has been both a cherished friend and an invaluable collaborator. Our conversations about science and life will always be some of my fondest memories in the lab.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics at the University of California, Irvine for allowing us to use their two-photon microscope. I appreciate the assistance of Dan Reschke, Trevor Washburn, Ross Ahrendes, and Steve Barben with confocal microscopy and flow cytometry experiments. I would like to thank Connie Provost for doing so much behind the scenes that helped me finish this dissertation. I am also grateful for the funding provided by John Bell (NIH Grant GM073997), the PDBio Department, and the BYU Cancer Research Center.

it has begun...

Dissertation writing.

I am 26 pages in and secretly enjoying it.

Nerd.

Also...Snow College invited me to interview next week! Ephraim here I come. :)

Round and round she goes, and where she stops nobody knows!

This week I moved 5 jobs from the "to apply" column to the "applied" column! I'm feeling pretty productive. I have applied to various jobs in...

*Kazakhstan

*Virginia

*Utah

*Washington

*California

*Arizona

*Oregon

*Texas

*New York

Too bad it's not like the mission where someone chooses for me. :) It'd be nice to just open an envelope and know it's right. Here comes the months of decision! I'm excited for life's next adventure!!! In the meantime...back to analyzing my data...and writing a dissertation...

Philadelphia!

I am currently in Philadelphia for the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting. Translation: a bunch of scientists from all over the world gather to present their research to each other. Secret confession: I LOVE IT. This is my fifth year attending (see this post, and this one, and this one, and one more) and it's fun to see my progress since 2008. I understand a lot more, I feel more like an equal with the professionals, and I even have friends I recognize every year! I present my poster tomorrow, but I thought I'd share some pics of our sight-seeing adventure today! Dr. Bell, Alyssa, and I walked in the bitter cold (only about a half mile from our hotel) to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were drafted. It got me all fired up about US History and made me want to read some good books about it.

I've also loved staying right next to the Reading Terminal Market! There are sooo many places to eat (Mexican, Chinese, Sushi, Greek, even the Amish are here!), jewelry shops, bakeries, flower shops, and fresh produce (where the man gave us a discount because we are students...awesome). It reminds me of a mix between Pike's Place in Seattle and indoor renoks (spelling??) in Russia! LOVE IT.

Also, I've loved hanging out with Alyssa! We even got free matching t-shirts because we're cool like that.

Riding the subway to church on Sunday and discussing research ideas with Dr. Bell have also been favorites! Once again, I've realized how much I LOVE visiting big cities and how much I do not want to live in one haha. I do love visiting though. I love seeing the sights and getting a feel for the city's personality. Also, my favorite part of some of these cities back east is how you will have these BEAUTIFUL old buildings mixed in with the new ones downtown. Favorite.

2 new check-marks!

This past week I have found myself checking things off my PhD to-do list...

Defend Prospectus....CHECK

Pass Qualifying Exam....CHECK

Complete Teaching Practicum....CHECK!

Complete ALL Coursework....CHECK!

Defend Dissertation....Summer 2013 :)

Let's just saw after about 20 years of homework, I will never again be assigned a project, homework assignment, or test for a class. EVER. From here on out I will be the one assigning things! NBD. Just wanted to share my excitement! Also, after a fun skype with my mom this morning, I find myself very legitimately considering applying to be a professor in Kazakhstan for a year starting next fall. Crazy? Maybe. But I am actually seriously thinking about it! Why not, right?

Also...I just spilled yogurt on my pants...yep I'm still me.

last minute girl

If only I wasn't the procrastinator that I am...

If only I could be super productive and focused when working on a big project weeks before it was due instead of at the last minute...

However, I am secretly proud that I do such good work when under pressure.

Confession: I'm totally in the zone and actually LOVING working on this project at 12:42 am.

Maybe it's because I'm a nerd and I love that I get to teach my class about my love for membrane biophysics tomorrow...

Maybe it's because of the twinkle lights behind me...

Maybe it's because Michael Buble is giving me a private concert of Christmas music (and wooing me in the process)...

Maybe it's because it's my LAST homework assignment EVER! My last chance to procrastinate like this...

Whatever the reason, I'm just going to cherish it. :)

recently...

Recently...

I've tried analyzing these babies about 10 different ways...

...and I THINK the most recent try is a win! We will know once I try it out on a few more runs. Cross your fingers that this one will be the winner and I can move on to the hard part of the project haha. Oh and for those nerds out there wondering...these are images of F-actin!


Recently...

I've been team-teaching PDBio 120...

...and LOVING it. For real. I'm all kinds of happy and excited after I teach. Up until now I've taught portions of most classes, but today was my first day teaching the whole 50 minute class! I think it went well! I love getting to know more and more of my 200 students. Yep, definitely thinking I chose the right career. :)


Recently...

I've been having fun...

...country concerts, Jazz games, BYU football games, hipster photo shoots, family get-togethers, perspective-gaining drives up the mountain, 3D movies, intense workouts (yes that is a cupcake), pumpkin carving parties, haunted forests, etc. 

Recently...

I caved and bought a cd on itunes...

...and have been listening to it for days! I was doing so good with my resolution not to buy music, but I couldn't help myself. I have a weak spot for music.


Recently...

I've been learning a lot about how I sleep...

...using this super crazy app on my phone. It lays on the bed and uses my movements to track my sleep cycle. Best part? I give it a 30 min window and it wakes me up at the most ideal time. I honestly feel great when I wake up now because the alarm isn't jolting me out of deep sleep. The future is here, folks.


Recently...

I've started apply for teaching jobs...

...and I can't believe I'm going to be all grown up with a real job in less than a year! Crossing my fingers somebody will want me!

cat dissection?

So I'm having one of those days where you realize there IS going to be life after grad school and that perhaps you should think of future plans just a LITTLE bit. So I was searching for faculty position openings around the country to get an idea of what's out there. I found one that looked pretty interesting, and I was reading the qualifications to see if I am, in fact, qualified. You know how it goes: "PhD in life sciences...CHECK...teaching experience...CHECK...well-versed in the biological sciences....CHECK...(and just when you're starting to feel really good about yourself, 'man I could actually get a job!!')...experience with cat dissection...WHAT THE?? CAT DISSECTION??" Yup, interesting field I am in isn't it? Let's just say I have ZERO experience dissecting cats.

looking forward to...

I always blog about things AFTER they happen...but turns out being excited about them BEFOREHAND is the best part :) so here's what's up next in the exciting life of liz:

(1) FINALLY starting the last chunk of my dissertation...photographing the cytoskeleton! excited for cool pictures...perhaps tomorrow will be my maiden experiment :)

(2) STEPH'S BIRTHDAY on friday! i may or may not have an adventure planned for us to do before the dance party that night..

(3) my first big ward activity in my new calling on SATURDAY.

(4) BEAR LAKE with friends in two weeks!

(5) the hobbler HALF MARATHON on july 7th...just signed up today! excited to run with my brother ryan.

(6) earning a little extra cash by HOUSE-SITTING for my professor during the month of july... not to mention bonding with his bird, kiwi, who is basically like a toddler.

(7) my trip to san antonio on the weekend of august 3 to see JENNY and JONATHAN and JAMES and ELLA :) spontaneously bought my ticket today!

(8) three weeks in russia starting the very next weekend! can't wait to be with my dear MOM and DAD again :)

love the anticipation.



A random thought to tag on the end of a random blog post:

Both a recent relief society lesson and a chat with a friend last night have had me thinking recently: what really brings happiness? Often, we think of some future event that will finally make us happy, but happiness can only be found now. What we imagine in the future is always rosier than the reality we currently face, but all phases of life have their ups and downs, their joys and their challenges. It's up to us to BECOME a happy person despite situations or circumstances. We need to actively CREATE happiness now instead of waiting for happiness to just HAPPEN. Anyway, I realized that the key to all of this, for me at least, is PEOPLE. It's all about relationships. My relationship with Christ is my truest source of happiness, but this should be a pattern for relationships with other people as well. I'm always happiest when I'm close to others...not just doing things with them but getting to know who they really are and sharing each others' lives. Focusing outward, on others, has always brought me joy. When I get caught up in selfishness, I'm never content. So here's a shout out to all of the people in my life: you are my happiness :)

ps - I'm so mad...I thought I included pictures of a big group photo of high school people and one of lab friends, but I didn't realize I forgot until the collage was made and I was too lazy to start over. So  just know I love you :)

randoms

(1) I PASSED MY COMPREHENSIVE EXAM!!! basically this means my coursework is complete and i am officially a PhD candidate! sounds official eh? so now i only have my dissertation left to complete. psh that will be cake ;) currently, writing this paper takes up most of my day...

“MOLECULAR DETAILS OF MEMBRANE FLUIDITY CHANGES DURING APOPTOSIS AND RELATIONSHIP TO PHOSPHOLIPASE A₂ ACTIVITY”

Gibbons E, Pickett KG, Streeter MC, Warcup AO, Nelson J, Judd AM, Bell JD

(2) with the semester over I get to do research full time for the summer! i'm super lucky because i got a fellowship with the BYU Cancer Research Center....so they basically pay me more money than i would usually make to do the same research i would have done anyway! lucky me. (oh and they took me out to lunch at la jolla groves in the Riverwoods...BEST. SALMON. EVER....oh and the bathrooms were pretty shnazzy as well...bonus)

(3) I may or may not have tripped on like 3 chairs at once the other day while i was all alone in the lab. i may or may not have fallen HARD CORE all the way to the ground, right on my knee. i may or may not have a huge black bruise on that knee.

(4) my bro-in-law ryan and i decided which half marathon we're going to do this summer! the hobbler half marathon (no pun intended) is 12 weeks away so this was my first week of training! I've run 3 out of 4 days this week so i'm feeling pretty heroic. saturday  i'm running a 5k with steph in payson for her school so hopefully i can beat my sad rex lee run 5k time from march. (sidenote: it's super depressing to start running again after you've been slacking. hopefully my body will forgive my recent neglect)

(5) so i get asthma when i'm running...but the more i run the better it gets and it usually only lasts about 1 mile. who cares though...the funny part is what i think about when i'm running with asthma, all i can picture is a diagram dr. judd drew me of a glob of mucous in my airways hanging there making it harder for me to exhale. we called it the loogie explanation and got a good laugh out of it (because i wondered why mucous in the airway wouldn't prevent inhalation as much as exhalation ... turns out there's this thing called gravity making the loogie hang the way it does). disgusting i know. sorry about that. i may or may not have drawn this on the board during my final review for the physiology lab i TA. good times.

(6) one of the highlights of this week:

we got to meet the Guschins! they are my parents' good friends in Novosibirsk and were visiting the United States from Russia for their daughter's graduation. we had such a fun visit with them...they were so kind. it made me happy to feel a little more connected to my parents since they seem a world away. it made it more real that they're actually in Russia. a favorite quote from Brother Guschin: "your father IS russian...he is a russian man." :) so proud of my jukie and pops.

(7) When i was growing up, my mom would always make the 4 girls matching Easter dresses. they were usually the same pattern but different colors. it seems like annie was always blue, jenny always pink, and then abby and i were purple, yellow, or green or something. we were pretty cute. if i had old pictures on my laptop i'd put one on for your viewing pleasure. since i DON'T...here's one from THIS year :) some things never change...

(8) did i mention i bought a fedora? sometimes i'm random like that.

(9) i finally applied for my passport so i can go to Russia in August!! SO EXCITED.

(10) so i was just looking up something on Craig's List...and thought this was funny/weird. sorely tempted though. enjoy...

FREE PHYSICAL LABOR

My name is Mike and I'm looking to do some physical labor for anybody who needs it. Why am I offering this? Lifting weights is incredibly boring! I'd much rather help somebody move a bunch of bricks, dig a hold, pull some weeds/plants etc. The catch is it's gotta be something that will give me a good sweat so I can get a work out. I'm 6'3" and a big strong guy, so give me something difficult! I need to do this! Give me a call anytime, leave a message if I'm not there. I teach piano so that's the recorded message you'll hear when you call. Thanks!

giving in to my brain

remember this post about how i have a short attention span and get distracted before a task is complete?? well i finally figured out today that i shouldn't fight it, but embrace it.  example: so i am working on my comprehensive exam (yeah everyone i know is sick of hearing about it but no worries...after friday we will never speak of it again), and I can work hard for about an hour and then i am done. meaning, even after taking a short break to recharge the brain, i just don't want to go back to that question i was working on. well i finally realized there are 7 questions in varying degrees of done-ness.  some are half done...some are done but could use some tweaking...some are almost done but just need one more thought. so turns out if i just switch off which question i'm working on every hour, then i never get bored!! exciting huh?? i have been SO productive today.

this blog is turning out to be liz ranting about nothing. sorry about that.

on a more exciting note, the soccer team steph and i are coaching has their first game in 2 hours! i'm so excited. did i tell you that we voted on the team name and it was unanimous? go LIGHTNING CUBS!!! (random i know, but they chose it and loved it).

insight into liz's brain

so i'm one of those people who can't just do ONE thing. i have to be doing 10 million things at once. i start doing something, and then my mind jumps to something else i also need to do, then about 10 minutes later i think, "wasn't I doing something else?" so then i go back to the first thing, leaving the 2nd thing half done. then all of a sudden i think, "I didn't finish thing #2!"  This cycle can expand to five or six things! luckily, somehow, i usually get everything done...just snippets at at time.


today is a good example: i just barely turned in a research fellowship application (up to $15,000 EXTRA dollars next school year...here's hoping!) that was due by 5 pm today.  So obviously that was priority #1. It was one of those applications that couldn't just have everything in one document. They wanted a file with the proposal body, one with a statement of academic merit (whatever that means), an abstract, AND a curriculum vitae (PS - if you ever feel like you don't accomplish things, make a CV...nothing like writing down all your accomplishments to remind you your life is productive).  So of course i had a bajillion word documents open PLUS a thousand tabs open on google chrome. (do you always have a million things running on your computer at once like i do?)  also, NONE of these things were completely done, so i needed to put finishing touches on all of them.  so of course, i start editing the proposal, then remember "i haven't even started the statement of academic merit!" so i start working on that and i'm super productive for a good 30 min without stopping. then i get distracted by NCAA score updates. when i go back to word, i open the proposal and it hasn't made any progress since i wrote last and i think, "wasn't i just working for 30 min straight??" then i remember it was on the statement of academic merit! so then i start doing the proposal again, and then i got distracted by proofreading my CV! i'm telling you people, it was a crazy day. but i somehow got it all done. all is well. for now.

sidenotes: my ncaa bracket only stayed perfect for like 3 games. sad day.  also, hasn't the weather been GORGEOUS?? it makes me feel like this:

which reminds me...i just got passport pictures taken and they told me i couldn't smile and i definitely did not look as happy as i do above. i'm sure glad we smile in pictures these days (as opposed to the old days when everyone looked depressed in pictures like this...

L-I-F-E

long time no blog. time for another edition (or rather the first edition but "another edition" sounds better) of...

the AMAZING, the DULL, the NERDY:

first up, the AMAZING:

Brian Regan concert (FREE)

Lady Antebellum on valentine's day:

Long overdue hangout with Annie and the Shawcrofts:

(you get to imagine a photograph here that doesn't exist. picture this: homemade mac and cheese, smallville, qwirkle, and mexican train. also imagine...the later it gets, the harder we laugh...the weirder we get...the more scared ryan gets. good times all around)

Two free nights of bowling in the past month...high score of 85...sure beats that one time in high school i bowled a 9. yes folks...10 frames, 9 pins total. i'm pretty good.

now on to...the DULL (although i am pretty easily entertained so these are all things that make me happy even though they may appear dull to others):

i joined a DINNER GROUP! you know what this means: i'm eating better, I'm spending less, i'm honing my domestic skills and cooking, and making new friends. love this.

MY ROOM IS CLEAN! that's right. this is big. i finally pulled my life back together over the long weekend and man i am so much happier. it makes a huge difference. "only the home can compare to the temple in sacredness" = true story IF it's clean. sweet deal.

i hung up a shelf in the kitched and put cute little things on it. i'm not usually good at stuff like this, but dang it looks good and homey now. yay.

I discovered wordle.net.  mom and dad, i finally went on the site and i'm addicted to making word clouds now! they are so legit. i made one of my patriarchal blessing and my prospectus hahaha. these may or may not be hung in my room in the not-so-distant future.

and on to everyone's fav: THE NERDY:

i have officially scheduled my oral exam for the last week of march! i'm super nervous, but i've started doing review sessions every week with one of my professors and it's secretly getting me kind of excited. yeah we all thought i was a nerd but now it is proven.

i just printed my poster today to present my research in san diego this week!! pictures to come from my lovely nerd adventure.

my friend josh and i went into steph's 6th grade class as visiting scientists to teach about microorganisms! they swabbed for bacteria and everything. this might have changed my life. cute girls writing you thank you cards that say "i might want to be a scientist someday" and kids telling each other, "hey science is COOL" make me happy.  yay science!! we may be going back from round 2: heat, light and sound...so stay tuned for that. oh and also, they call me Dr. Liz. enough said.


well that's another edition of...the AMAZING, the DULL, the NERDY.  that kind of sums up my life recently. except for the dull part. mostly nerdy and amazing.

flies have it so easy

so here i am reading some papers for my developmental genetics class tomorrow and i learn that the males of a certain species of fly (Drosophila biarmipes to be exact) have a pigmented spot on their wing to attract the females.

they flash that baby during courtship to help the females choose a mate. so it got me thinking...LUCKY! all the females have to do is look for male with the best SPOT on their wing. that's it. they have it so easy. if only human males had a spot on their forehead and that's the only thing i had to look for :)

other random tidbit...i am so tired i thought the name of the fly species had the word "armpit" in it and i found it quite humorous until i recognized my error. i wouldn't put it past those developmental biologists to name something "armpit". i mean when you have a ligand called "sonic hedgehog" and a mutant called "one-eyed pinhead," "armpit" doesn't seem so far out there ya know?

have i mentioned i love being such a nerd?

did i also mention that steph and i went to the brian regan concert tonight? amazing. hilarious. i was literally exhausted by the end because i laughed so hard for such an extended period of time.

back to studying fly wings. later.

2011...looking back :)

let's see...in 2011, I....

*started back up at BYU (after a 21 month hiatus) to finish my master's degree

*moved in with total strangers that became great friends :)

 Stephanie, Mandy, and Chelsea

*ran a 10k, 3 half marathons, and a 5k!

*flew to San Antonio to see the Bosters twice! the 2nd time around I got to meet my niece Ella Bay :)

*took a trip to Baltimore, MA with the lab to present my research

*witnessed my little brother receive his endowment in the Salt Lake Temple...first time the whole family got to go together!

*said goodbye to Josh for 2 years! lucky mexico :)

*went to Abby's graduation!

*played with the fam a lot :)

*shipped my parents off to the MTC and then to SIBERIA

*bought a laptop

*fell in love....with skype ;-)

*decided to switch to the PhD program and got accepted

*took pretty pictures of cells (at BYU and UC Irvine)

*had way too much fun in my lab

*went to a lot of free stuff with steph...

*pierced my ears!

*let go of some things :)

*passed my prospectus defense!

*moved into a cute townhouse and made some new friends!

*was reunited with mission friends (including reunions, a roadtrip back to SEATTLE, a trip to california to see Diane, skype sessions with asia, and other fun times)...

*and other dear friends!

*made a lot of mistakes, felt lonely at times, got frustrated with myself, had financial worries and learned how expensive adulthood is (but of course spent way too much money on country music on itunes), and was once again reminded life doesn't always go as planned! yet still genuinely happy. how?

*missed the parents A LOT, but grew closer as a family!

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES 2011!