When I was picking my GCSEs in Year 8, I never imagined that my food tech GCSE would become relevant to my academic journey. Yet this summer, I find myself reflecting back on my NEA food tech practical, where I had to prepare three dishes simultaneously and see parallels with my project at the moment. Due to the inaccessibility of the proteins and molecules we are using, either due to cost or market absence, everything needs to be synthesised from scratch. Three main ingredients are needed for the experiment we are trying to carry out. Two proteins and a molecule. All of these must be made and properly stored to be viable when needed. This requires a lot of planning and time management skills, which have definitely been tested over the last few weeks. 

So far, we have successfully expressed and purified both proteins. Much like in cooking, where you follow a recipe, we adhere to lab protocols that outline the general steps for each process. The two main lab protocols I have been familiar with so far involve transformation and then the expression and purification of proteins. At this point in my project, I had the chance to carry out these protocols twice to produce the two different proteins. In both of these times, the fundamental techniques remained consistent, but the specific details—like the ingredients in a recipe—varied, resulting in different outcomes.  Many of the techniques and methods we are using I have not had the opportunity to utilise practically during the first year. Being able to actually perform these processes has been really fulfilling as I can start to appreciate the intricacies and nuances of each one. 

Most of the difficulties I have experienced so far have been minor and have only set my project back a few days. There have been three issues with a particular piece of equipment used to purify the proteins. This equipment needs to be equilibrated overnight, and there have been a few cases where we have come in in the morning, and this has failed. In those cases, we have had to equilibrate during the day, meaning we waste a day in the lab. During all this, I have noticed and appreciated the resilience of the PhD student I am working with. In most situations, she has displayed an emotional detachment from the results of particular steps. This is not to say that she is not passionate about her project, but more that she doesn't seem to let the results of a small step of her project affect her emotional well-being. As someone who gets very wrapped up in results, I think this mindset could be very healthy, especially for me. You often hear about PhD students dropping out in their last few years due to the immense stress that comes from trying to obtain the qualification, but by taking a step back, you reduce this pressure on yourself. Whilst I'm not sure I could ever fully remove myself emotionally from my work as I tend towards being morechalant than non, I can now recognise that taking time to reflect on how much something matters in the big picture is important. 

I think the origin of this thought began from listening to audiobook Lessons in Chemistry on the drive to Durham before my project. This book follows a female chemist, Elizabeth Zott, in the 1950s as she navigates trying to perform her research in a sexist and male-dominated world. The protagonist is also an avid cook and unapologetic to the audience in spite of her feminist views. Obviously, at the time most good female cooks would have been belittled to simple housewives but Elizabeth emphasises the importance of cooking in its own right as a way to keep your family happy and healthy but also as a science as “cooking actually is chemistry”. This book also includes rowing so as a rower it was automatically a 5* read. I'd really recommend it!