Amgen Conference at UCLA

My program has brought me to SoCal this weekend for the annual symposium at UCLA. The Amgen Program occurs at 10 campuses across the US, mostly in CA, but 4 in other states. For (most of the program's) mid-summer (my essentially end of summer), we all fly out and spend the weekend at UCLA mingling, networking, and listening to lots and lots of talks. It is now past midnight PST, and I'm tired from a long day of travel and activities, but I will write general updates.

Despite having to get up ridiculously early for the flight here, I was extremely pleased to discover that on Southwest, you still get free snacks!!! A nice little addition to my breakfast :).

I've always heard rumors that LA traffic is always awful, but I never truly believed it could actually be that bad. Well, it is. It took AGES to get from the airport to UCLA, because we were moving at slowpoke speed along the highway!!!!

We finally got to UCLA and got checked into our rooms. They are GORGEOUS. Picture a hotel room with two individual beds, desks, and half the size of a normal hotel room. That is what my room here looks like. It's been unclear whether or not these are also undergraduate dorms, or just for conferences (as the conference hall, basically everywhere I'll be for the next two days, is right down the walkway from my building). If undergraduate dorms, these rooms and buildings are incredible. The photo to the right is the entryway into our little complex, the Courtyard house of Sunset Village complex, and the one immediately below is of the bamboo in the middle of the courtyard.

While I may only think this because I've only eaten here once, the dining complex I ate at for lunch today had the most amazing food. Take their dessert section, for example, pictured here. !!!!!!!!!!!!! LOOK AT ALL OF THE CHOICES. I only had one thing (sweet potato pie), which was delicious. I would have tried everything, but I was too stuffed from eating 8 plates of food. Yes, there was that much selection and that many good things that I had 8 plates of food. 

After lunch, we had a bit of free time before conference activities started, so a few of us wandered around campus and just did a basic loop around the track and athletic fields. UCLA is absolutely beautiful. There are lots of nice grassy patches, the sky is blue, the buildings are brick and gorgeous and castle-like, and it's just a general warm and sunny atmosphere. 

If I knew UCLA had such an amazing looking student center, I would have applied and come here in a heartbeat. What the heck am I doing in ugly Boston? Clearly I belong in California.

After wandering, we came back to our rooms and got ready for symposium activities! Our first was a networking icebreaker, where I saw after too long, two more gov loves who are doing the Amgen program at Caltech, Steph and Mahati. It was so great to see familiar faces, here, after so long! I lovelovelovelovelove my govies :). We hung out and chatted all the rest of the day. 

This is the general photo from the conference hall which
represents having speakers for the rest of the afternoon. 

In the evening, we had an Amgen Game Show which consisted of Jeopardy, Family Feud, and various other random shenanigans which may or may not have been science themed.  We got super spirited by school (most of which didn't actually show up), and we of course put in our best effort and had a ton of fun. It was great pooling the knowledge we had, being strategic, competing, and just being energetic about everything. In one of the non question answering activities we had to do, we stood in a line holding hands, and had to pass a hula hoop over ourselves without letting go until it got to the end. Clearly, I was extremely excited about this activity.

Yup, got my game face on.

Above is us standing in line, prepping for the activity. We rocked this because we realized we could loop around and help the hula hoop go down while still being able to keep hand holding. Our group rocks.  Unfortunately, a certain other school across the Bay won by a landslide, but we won't talk about them. After the game show and the fun, we hung out in one of the center's lounges for a little while before finally calling it a day. The fun resumes in the morning!!!!!

Back in Berkeley-land, I'm starting to finalize my results, my poster is mostly formatted and just needs results photos, conclusions, and acknowledgments added. Unfortunately the answer to my main hypothesis turned out negative, but such is science.

On Top of the World

With the Amgen Symposium in LA this coming weekend, and poster presentations just two weeks away (!!!!!!!!!!!), it's certainly time that I should start fudging finalizing data from my experiments. Unlike with many previous projects, I have a fair bit of positive results I could present. One major issue did come up this week though. When making my transparent brains, I tried it on rat brains. The only literature available on this technique, however, is on mouse brains, which are a lot smaller than rat brains. Needing to troubleshoot was bound to happen. Though the experiment worked beautifully on control mouse brains after two weeks, after a month of incubation in the transparency solution, the rat brains (which were the ones I needed to get to work), were still barely transparent. I decided a month was long enough and they needed to get their act together, so I worked some magic (read as: made a new transparency solution and moved one of my brains to see if that would help). Sure enough, after incubating overnight, it got way more transparent, and subsequently grew 4 millimeters ish in length over the next two days. That's a lot for a rat brain! It's over 150% the size it started out as! I'm kind of scared to see what it looks like when I go in in the morning. Regardless, I can now use some fancy microscopes to visualize connections in the brain. Berkeley has some pretty great microscope facilities! Crossing my fingers for a positive outcome regarding results this week.

But now for the best stuff, my weekend! Saturday I spontaneously went to a San Francisco Giants game vs the Houston Astros, and it was AWESOME! It was only my third ever baseball game (second in the major league). AT&T Park, where the Giants play, is a really great and unique ballpark, I thought. From our seats we had a great view of the bay, scoreboard, and whole park in general.

  

 From my poor judgement of what a good baseball game is, I thought it was a good baseball game. No one scored until the wayyy later innings, and at first we thought it was going to be a shutout. The Giants were up 2-0 at the top of the 9th, and somehow the Astros managed to make 2 runs, causing the game to have several extra innings. We all thought it was because their AMAZING pitcher, pictured right, finally left the game in the 9th inning. It was really fun to be able to stay the extra time though and watch the game. I'm starting to really like watching baseball. Who would have thought!

A sea of orange

There were flags all around the stadium. Go Red Sox!

After many extra innings, the Giants finally got some runs, and won. Yay! Gotta support the team of the city I love! 

And now Sunday. I don't even know how to describe Sunday other than one of the most incredible days I've had while out here, if not one of the most incredible days of my life. The inherently awesome thing about Sunday was that I got to hang out with two gov loves all day, Mark and Sarah. We went on an adventure up north to the east peak of Mt. Tamalpais and to Point Reyes National Seashore. 

Unfortunately, it was extremely foggy for most of the day, which greatly diminished the amount of things we were able to see, mostly at Point Reyes. Being that Mt. Tam is a real mountain, and not the baby hills in my backyard in Berkeley that I call mountains, we actually rose up above all the fog/clouds into clear skies. I felt like I was on an airplane! 

The above photos were only from the drive up - not even the good views yet! The drive up itself was crazy windy! But rather fun. I don't think in the time we had we could have dreamed of hiking up the mountain, but the road went almost to the peak, and then hiked for maybe a mile up, and explored the little woody areas and rocks at the peak. 

We watched the clouds roll over the cities 

Mark, me, and Sarah on the trail to the peak

Hello, view. May I stay up here and gaze at you forever?

As I've expressed countless times before, I'm falling more and more in love with the things I see and do in CA every time I do something new, especially pertaining to things like hiking in the great outdoors. Today was no different. Except for the times I've been to places like Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks, I've never seen anything as beautiful as what I saw today. And even though I have seen those beautiful places in the past, each place has its own unique quirks and reasons to appreciate its beauty. From the top of Mt. Tam, especially that we were over the cloud/fog line, I felt like I was on top of the world. I could look all around me and see out into the distance, either into the cities of the Bay or the mountains to the east, and felt like I was in the best kind of fairy tale. But it was real life. Before I came to CA on this trip, and even before I went to NC, I made a promise to myself that I would travel to places where I would look around me and never be able to believe that I was in a place so majestic and beautiful. In the back of my mind, I would make my comparison to Pandora, the fictional planet brought to life in the movie Avatar. Being where I was today was the first time that I felt like I was somewhere just as amazing as Pandora. I thought of it kind of like the Floating Mountains, mostly because the trees off into the distance met by the clouds beneath us gave that sense. It's a little evident in the photo below, but that, and none of these photos really, can ever truly capture the beauty that is the view from Mt. Tam. Thinking about it, I'm sure there are much more beautiful and remote places in the world (unfortunately, much of the beauty here was taken away by electric wires running across and down the mountain), but it doesn't change that I was filled with awe and wonder from this special and magical place. 

Floating Mountain of Pandora?

Wimpy rock climbing, since I was too freaked out to
climb on top of the taller one. 

View down into the valleys

This rock I did climb! 

Not the rock I climbed in the previous photo. But there
were lots of rocks to explore in the little woody area
at the peak, all of which offered incredible views.

After staring in wonder at the view for what could never be enough time, we headed to Point Reyes. Unfortunately, we drove back down into the fog, which never cleared up. Going through Point Reyes, we barely saw any ocean or beach. We got glimpses of the cliffs, which were that much more menacing in the fog. Although it must be a beautiful area when not completely covered in fog, the fog made it a very different experience, with its own special type of beauty.

We did two very simple destinations in Point Reyes, the lighthouse (pictured below) and one easy trail. The lighthouse was a short walk through a canopy of trees and along some cliffs.

Looking straight down from the cliff area, we did see the Pacific Ocean. 

 Or through the cliffs...

...which rose up through the fog in a scary but wonder-inspiring type way.

We next drove a little ways to get to a trail which runs along one of the little bays that comes into Point Reyes. If we had several more hours, we could have taken it all the way to the ocean, but I really enjoyed what we did do. We walked through the woods before coming out on the bay, and then walked along the hills/mountains, whatever they are, around the rim of the bay for about an hour. All of the photos are going to appear grey, because the fog settled in right over the entire area. However, again, it provided a different experience which was really special. I don't think I've ever been anywhere so serene. If Mark, Sarah and I stopped walking and chatting, there was complete silence. We were just surrounded by a vast expanse of mountains covered in trees, settled fog, the bay, birds that would fly over the water and into the distance, and to top it all off, a lone kayaker in the middle of the bay. I have never experienced such tranquility as caused by the presence of nature such as this. It really would have been a great place to come out, hike for several hours, sit, and just take in everything, relax, and think. 

Sarah and me

Moral of today's story: I WILL do whatever it takes to come to graduate school out west, because I am a determined individual who can succeed and make her dreams come true, and when I'm out here for graduate school, I not just explore and take advantage of all that California has to offer me, both what I have and haven't seen in my time here this summer, but use it as a stepping stone to travel the world and explore what everywhere else has to offer me. 

Minors go to Wine Country

Yesterday was a scholar birthday! Only a 20th, but that didn't stop us from having some awesome plans! Bonnie (birthday girl), Amanda (her roommate), Mark and I went to wine country! (Yes, for a 20th birthday. It was still a great time). We went to two wineries, both very different atmospheres but very enjoyable.

Our first stop was Benziger Winery in Sonoma Valley. It was one of the two wineries I was able to find that specifically said people of all ages would be welcome on their tours. I liked the use of "minor" on our ticket (you'll see why later).


This tour was unique in that we took these elongated golf cart things  out into the vineyards in addition to the general tour about actual winemaking. The winery is on rolling hills and the patterns of the grape vines are beautiful on the landscape. As is with everything else I've done in California, the pictures do it no justice to actually going there and experiencing this. Not only was the landscape at the winery beautiful, but it was surrounded my mountains/hills/whatever you want to call them, and it only added to how
 beautiful the whole experience was. 

Benziger practices biodynamic farming, so it's really eco friendly. We learned about things like water irrigation and animals that help with the farming in addition to general things about growing grapes. One of the neat things they had on display was an actual model of the different levels of soil and how root growth into the different layers is actually really important for the quality of the fruit and absorption of different flavors. Who knew!

The next stop on the tour was the area where they have all the machines to actually make the wine. None are in use right now because it's not picking season, but we learned all about how the grapes come off the stems, what the sorting processes are, and the differences between making reds and whites (which was actually really interesting to learn about, it's a difference in the way they're allowed to ferment).

After visiting all of the wine machinery, we went to the caves where the wine is allowed to age. The entrance was beautiful! Here, we learned all about barrel making and storage. Barrels are EXPENSIVE, and so much work has to go into them to make sure that the wine is perfect! The oak which faces the inside of the barrel can actually be "toasted" to different levels, and each level adds a different type of flavoring to the wine. The caves the barrels are held in also contribute to the "biodynamic"ness of the farm, as the land is being double used - since it's on a hill, they can have grape vines above, caves below!

A visit to the caves completed our winery tour, and next was the tasting room. Bonnie and I, being minors, could not participate, but we were allowed to eat little merlot chocolates that the winery paired with the dessert tasting wine! We were told by the over 21 in our group that the wines were pretty good. The winery did put out some of their best wines, bottled on site, for the tasting, probably because they are a smaller family owned place.

Before leaving, we toured a little walk through outdoor exhibit on biodynamics (the fountain pond in the photo below). They had lots of signs and information about the process which was really neat to learn about beyond what we learned on the tour.

Lunch plans were never decided beforehand, so we asked the people at the winery what they would recommend as a good lunch option. We ended up at Cafe Citti's, a little Italian place. It's super fancy in all aspects except ordering at the counter, and the food was mouthwateringly delicious. I still salivate when I think of that meal. I had a penne with mushrooms and a creamy garlic wine sauce. There is really something to be said about the little, local restaurants, especially little Italian ones out in wine country! It is definitely a place I will remember and would go back to in a heartbeat on future trips to the area. 

The next stop was Sterling Vineyards, about half an

 hour north of Benziger, not in Napa or Sonoma Valley proper. Minors were also allowed on this tour, BUT LOOK AT WHAT IT SAYS ON OUR TICKETS. Children. Pffftttt. 

 This vineyard visit was particularly special in that you took an AERIAL TRAM up to the winery, which is a huge Greek-castle style estate on the top of the hill/mountain. What makes it even more special is that you can see views of that whole area/valley from the tram and the top, which is of course so beautiful. Below are photos from the tram ride up. 

And finally we're at the top! We didn't have the proper views of the castle to take a photo of the whole thing at once, but even in these, it's pretty stunning! In the left photo below, you can see the whole valley peeking out from behind the wall.

This vineyard was a lot bigger and had a lot more of a detached atmosphere than Benziger did. But hey, I'm not complaining about the gorgeous tram ride, views, estate, and allowing of minors on the tour, even if they did call us children. This tour was self-guided through the wine-making and aging facilities, all contained within the estate. As seen by these huge and numerous fermentation tanks (and the GIANT aging barrels below), it's clear that this is a much higher capacity winery. They do also have a large area for small barrel aging, though it's not in a cave, just a very large, cold room. 

As mentioned from the tour at Benziger, the insides of oak barrels can be toasted to different levels to enhance the wines with different types of flavors. Sterling had a great little cheat board talking about the toasting and what the different levels contribute to the wines.

After walking through the estate, we came out to the terrace, which as expected, had an amazing panoramic view of the valley. Amanda and I got fixated on a castle and tower across the way, and I've also included several viewpoints from the terrace. It kind of reminded me of being in a spy movie, where everyone is out on a terrace overlooking a valley, sipping wine, all fancy-like, and there are lots of secret missions going on. I think I was the only one who thought that, though. 

Amanda, me, Mark, and Bonnie on the terrace
in front of the main area of the valley 

The wines here (I'm told) were okay, not as good as the ones from Benziger. Although Sterling did offer a good sampling, it was probably not as fancy as Benziger because they are a lot bigger and probably have a much wider array of wines, and weren't necessarily going to put out their best, grown and bottled on site, wines on the general tour. 

This was the driveway into the winery

And thus ended our day in wine country. I was very sad to leave, and still am thinking about how amazingly pretty this area of California is. It's one of the reasons I love it here so much - EVERYWHERE you go is stunning. But anyway. Visiting wine country was an unforgettable experience, even if I wasn't of age. I learned so much about the wine making process and got to visit two beautiful places (not including the drive there, which was amazing in itself!!!). I feel so fortunate to have been able to visit this magical place.