By Rick Peterson
A one-sentence message on the white board in the Purdue University office of biochemist Phillip Low completely changed Lin Zhao’s concept of research.
The Lawrence biology and philosophy major from Tainjin, China, quickly came to appreciate the truth in Low’s 12-word maxim: “One day in the library is worth 1,000 days in the lab.”
One of 11 students who participated in the pilot program of Lawrence’s new research initiative, LU-R1: Partnership Opportunities for Students, Zhao spent the bulk of her summer among 20 researchers in Low’s laboratory studying immune responses as they relate to asthma.
“Before I came to Dr. Low’s lab, I was fascinated by all the techniques involved in biochemistry research and knew it was important to have experience in the lab,” said Zhao, who first conducted asthma-related research at Lawrence in the summer of 2009 in the lab of Associate Professor of Chemistry David Hall. “At Purdue, I also learned that research is not just carefully conducting experiments, but it is about working hard in the library, too. It’s a valuable skill to be able to find relevant papers on the idea you’re exploring, to see what others have done before you and to learn why something failed. The lab is not just about technique, it’s about proving your ideas.”
When she wasn’t buried among the stacks, tracking down vital background information related to the questions she and her lab colleagues were investigating, Zhao conducted experiments with mice. Working alongside Purdue graduate student Jiayin Shen, Zhao injected mice with OVA, an allergen that induces asthma-like symptoms. Later, she examined the lungs of the mice, specifically looking for macrophages, a type of white blood cell, for evidence OVA caused an inflammatory response.
The goal of the research is to develop a drug that will target and selectively “kill” overactive marcophages, thereby reducing the effects of asthma.
A highlight of Zhao’s summer at Purdue was the opportunity to work with a gravity-based nickel mesh filtration system — one of only three such instruments in the country — that measures the size and flexibility of human red blood cells. “I kept thinking, how many chances in my life would I ever have to work with a machine like this,” Zhao recalled.
Zhao credited her LU-R1 experience with enabling her to see how graduate school operates. She also acknowledged Low, who co-founded a biopharmaceutical company that develops therapies for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases, who helped broaden her horizons.
“Dr. Low was a wonderful role model. He broke down my idea of what a scientist is and showed me what my career choices could be. He made me realize it’s not just a one-way road, that I could be everything from a full-time researcher to an entrepreneur.”
