October - A Day in the Life of...

Postdoctoral Fellow: Chandika RG Babu

As a Lisa Yang Postdoctoral Fellow, I’m trying to understand why deer’s molecular defenses fail when they’re exposed to prions. We are hoping to identify molecular signatures associated with prion misfolding in deer. These signatures may reflect failures in cellular proteostasis pathways, alterations in immune and inflammatory responses, or other molecular mechanisms that influence susceptibility and response to chronic wasting disease. To answer that, I use transcriptomics on samples collected from deer in the field. Right now my days revolve around getting those samples in, but the project moves through other phases too: bench work in the lab, data analysis, and writing up the findings for publication.

6:00 am — Coffee and the latest science
My day starts slowly: water first, then coffee. While it brews, I scroll through Google Scholar alerts for anything new on CWD and prions. It’s a fast-moving field, and I like knowing what’s been published before the day gets going.

7:00 am — Getting ready
I get ready for the day and pack my lunch. I meal prep with my husband on Sundays. Packing lunch is non-negotiable.

8:00 am — Off to campus
I head out to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee campus.

8:30 am — Inbox first
I spend the first half hour on email.

9:00 am — Meetings or grant writing
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays are meeting days. On the other days, this hour goes to reading and writing for grant applications.

woman at her desk looking at computer monitor

10:00 am — Building the sampling pipeline
Most of my day goes here. My six-month goal is to get sampling kits out into the field and back to the lab. That means coordinating with state wildlife agencies, assembling kits, and shipping them out. None of the transcriptomics can happen without good samples, so this groundwork matters.

Key steps in generating genomic data for downstream analyses include PCR and sequencing library preparation within the molecular biology workflow.

1:00 pm — Lunch usually with my email open beside me.

1:30 pm — Back to kits and reading
The afternoon is a mix of more kit assembly and catching up on the literature.

Currently, much of my work involves coordinating sample collection efforts. In this role, I sort and organize materials from various suppliers and assemble tissue collection kits to ship to collaborators for deer tissue collection for transcriptomic analyses.

4:30 pm — Heading home

5:00 pm — Moving and unwinding
I play table tennis and go to the gym, or play tennis outside when the weather is warm. I also make time to read for fun, better if there are more pictures. I recently finished Coco Chanel: The Illustrated World of a Fashion Icon by Megan Hess.

6:30 pm — Dinner prep

7:00 pm — Dinner and a mystery
I eat dinner while working through whichever thriller or mystery series has me hooked. Right now it’s Below on Netflix. I love how it shows the tangled relationship between scientists, local communities, and corporate interests.

7:30 pm — One more check-in
I take one more look at new CWD and prion publications, then tend to my plants.

9:30 pm — Lights out
I wind down and get ready for bed so I can do it all again tomorrow.

I currently have more than 32 species of houseplants! I started collecting them after my first Wisconsin winter because I missed the year-round greenery I was used to. They've become a great way to bring nature indoors, and most are relatively low-maintenance.