Megan and I in our lab coats and gloves, all ready to handle the rats!
My name is Kacy Henwood and I am a student at Olathe High School. This summer, I will be an intern at the George Lab at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. I will be studying alcohol addiction using rats. I flew to California and spent a few days visiting my mom’s college friends. Afterwards, I settled into my new home for the next six weeks. Two other Pinterns, Michelle Hoy and Megan Kienapfel, are staying with the same family. On Sunday, we were treated with tickets to the San Diego County Fair.
The testing boxes where the rats push the levers for alcohol.
On Monday, my internship started. I was able to meet my mentor, Adam Kimbrough. Adam will mentor Megan, Hector (a boy from Puerto Rico, and I. On a typical day, we spend the morning in the lab collecting and staining tissue samples. In the afternoon, we run experiments with rats. Before working with the rats, Megan and I were required to take animal care classes and a new staff orientation. The rats have to be moved from their cages to the testing boxes. The boxes have two levers, one for water and one for alcohol. The boxes keep track of how many times the rats press each lever during the thirty minute testing period. There are two sets of rats we use. One where the rats are in withdrawal after spending the night in an alcohol vapor filled room. The second group of rats in the process of becoming addicted to alcohol before being put in the vapor room. I’m looking forward to learning much more in the coming weeks. Thank you Pinhead for giving me such an amazing opportunity!
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