DAY 337/338/339

Aug 4, 5 & 6

1) The past days have gotten colder. The weather has become a lot more erratic, as you can see from the pictures below. I've been on my second project for about a week now. Both my Principal Investigators will be busy the following week, leaving me to sort things out for myself. Hopefully I'll be able to make enough progress to justify having me over for the month haha.

2) Knowing that some of you reading this blog are coming over to Dublin next month, I've taken some interesting pics of Dublin in general, as I went for buffet at Dublin 1 last Saturday. Trace my footsteps as I walked from Buffet 79 (Dublin 1) all the way back to RCSI (Dublin 2).

3) I've run out of things to write about, as I'm stuck in the library most of the day - lost in the virtual world as I peer into the computer screen for a variety of reasons. If there's one thing you should do (I'm referring to those coming to Dublin in Sept), it's to study hard and enjoy at the same time, because you're in for one heck of a ride. That's all for my blog update, be sure to scroll down, and I'll see you in the next blog update. Have a nice day, cheers!

Dublin on a beautiful, sunny day :)

Buffet 79 (located at Moore Street)

The Spire (originally The Millennium Spire, 

until they realised it wasn't going to be completed by the new millennium)

Fun fact: the previous year (2015) they shone lights at the Spire to make it look like a blue lightsaber, in anticipation of the upcoming Star Wars movie...

O'Connell Monument, the memorial to Daniel O'Connell, the 19th century nationalist leader, by sculptor John Henry Foley, which stands at the entrance to the street named after him.

What a lovely day for a walk

(all that's about to change though)

Lots of tourists cross the O'Connell Bridge 

(that joins most of Dublin 1 from Dublin 2)

The River Liffey

Street art

Trinity College Dublin

(keep in mind the sunny weather...)

This it Grafton Street 

(arguably one of the busiest streets in Dublin and a main tourist attraction)

And barely two minutes after my passing TCD, the weather has taken a turn for the worse...

Gotta love the weather... NOT ^^

St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre

(most of the RCSI students would come here to buy groceries at Dunnes (downstairs))

The entrance to St. Stephen's Green, a large park right in front of RCSI

(In particular, that is Fusiliers' Arch is a monument which forms part of the Grafton Street entrance to St Stephen's Green park, in Dublin, Ireland. Erected in 1907, it was dedicated to the officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted men of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who fought and died in the Second Boer War (1899-1902).

The LUAS (tram service) is so convenient as it stops at St. Stephen's Green, literally right in front of the College

DAY 284

Jun 12

1) So today there are three important things for me to write about. The first, as you may expect if you've been following my previous updates, is of course on my research. I met up with Dr. Griffith (my Principal Investigator) at around 11am, and it was there that I met Ali, who is also undertaking summer research (albeit under a different project title)

2) Dr. Griffith took us on a tour of all three floors of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry. There, we met the PhD students who would be guiding us with our research. After that , we went over to York House where Dr. Griffith showed us the NMR instrument, used to determine the physical and chemical properties of atoms or the molecules in which they are contained. He also showed us a slew of different apparatus and lab equipment, from HPLCs (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) to THF (tetrahydrofuran). It really was a completely new experience for me.

3) We spent some time outlining exactly my aim of conducting this research, as well as set the list of things I would be required to carry out for this week. For today, he sent some research papers over for me to read, mostly on bismuth and its various potential applications in antimicrobial, antileishmanial, and anticancer therapy. Bismuth is frequently used in quadruple therapy (two antibiotics, a proton-pump inhibitor, and bismuth) for the treatment of helicobacter pylori infections. So the objective of my research is to develop novel bismuth complexes which are effective in these areas of treatment.

4) After the allotted time, I went over to the library. As I've written previously, today is the last day that Mercer Library will be open. After 11pm, it will be shut down for good, and library operations will continue 3rd July at the new academic building. This old building will then be converted for pharmacy students to use. As such, I spent my afternoon there, reading up on the research material that I'd been given to read, as well as taking a nice nap for old time's sake.

5) In the evening, I went for my usual run at St. Stephen's Green. It took a lot of effort to complete 10km (something that I used to do with little effort during my younger years haha), but at least I'm making progress. At least I've the next four and a half months or so to train properly before the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon 2017. I for one, cannot wait.

6) Bought my dinner from Subway, before returning home for the rest of the night. That has been my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks and hope you have a great day. Cheers!

I wonder which "JC2 Student" wrote this? ^^

I've done this before, but which one is mine?? XD

Friendly desk staff

Look forward to meeting everyone again in the new building!!

DAY 273

Jun 1

1) And just like that, our holiday trip is over! In five days, I will be participating in the RCSI Research Summer Programme, with Dr. Darren Griffith as my Principal Investigator. It has been non stop action since our exams ended, so I do appreciate the couple of days' spare time to compose myself and mentally prepare for it.

2) So my day began with waking up late. Went to AIB Bank to withdraw some money as I had almost none left from my trip, then I went for my appointment with my doctor at Mercer Medical Centre. During the trip, I noticed myself coughing more often, and towards the last few days of the trip it got quite bad. My throat always felt ticklish, and that made me want to cough.

3) The doctor examined me and suggested that it was the aftereffects of my chest infection, which I had had a couple of months ago. He prescribed Ventolin, in the form of an inhaler, which I got at Boots Pharmacy. One puff three times daily was the dosage. Took one soon after buying it and felt instant relief. Here's hoping the cough subsides soon enough :)

4) I was under the assumption that I would be meeting up with my friends to settle some of the payment for bookings and accommodation. However, the meeting was postponed till tomorrow, so I decided to just stay at the library, since I had been waiting there already. Later, I went to Dunnes to buy groceries to cook for the week.

5) Came back after buying dinner at Boojum, where I've been relaxing and just chilling the night out. I'm cooking after this, so I'd best end today's blog update here. Thanks for reading as always, and have a nice day. Cheers!

If I'm not mistaken, the "Congrats!" Balloon was used in the Graduation Ceremony 2017 for the Senior Cycle students

My prescription

Subway sandwich for lunch ^^

Boojum's burrito bowl for dinner

DAY 175

Feb 23

1) Today has been a busy day for me. Oddly enough, we had the shortest amount of lectures ever, at only two hours! So what was keeping me occupied for the rest of the day? Well, for starters, I went to Beaux Lane House (just opposite Mercer Library) after class ended, for an interview with Professor Kathleen Bennett, Associate Professor in Pharmacoepidemiology and Biostatics in the Population Health Sciences Division, RCSI.

2) Along with Dr. Caitriona Cahir, Prof. Bennett asked me about my background and my interests in conducting research over the summer. After a nice long talk, we agreed that I would be doing statistical analysis in the month of August, for approximately four weeks. I was delighted to know that I would have the opportunity to not only gain some research experience, but also to come up with an abstract for the research done!

3) Furthermore, I've agreed to volunteer to test out a new app called Headspace, which basically teaches us how to relax through meditation. Research is being conducted into this and I signed up to provide feedback on it. That means I get a full year access to the app, provided I fill in some questionnaires about my experience thus far. Free access AND better mental health - what's not to like? ^^

4) In the evening, I went over to the National Surgical Training Centre (just opposite RCSI) to chart my laporoscopic surgical skills progress. I finally managed to do all five laporoscopic tasks (which included extracorporeal and intracorporeal suturing) and we were introduced to two new tasks, one which tested manual dexterity by using one hand to fit in pegs into the pegboard. The other task required us to (virtually) position a rotating arrow so that it was perpendicular to a cube. They were both a lot of fun, and will provide valuable research into how our manual dexterity varies over time across a broad range of factors i.e. training, hobbies, sports etc.

5) Returned to the library after that, and it was freezing outside! The winds have gotten THAT much stronger, as if it weren't already cold enough. Perhaps Dublin should try installing one of 'em wind generators, to provide free electricity for everyone XD Anyway, that's all for today, as I have my Card Signing tomorrow. Thanks for reading as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

That's a fully functional artificial human body, capable of reenacting human-like body function

(and reportedly costing upwards of €100k)

That is my last batch of fried rice :)

 

Before the pegs are placed in the pegboard

After ~~

Day 167

Feb 15

1) Today has been quite a busy day for me. We had but three classes today, namely two REGUB and one HBPS lecture. With that in mind, I was bogged down by my individual project, which requires us to download an app and use it for two weeks, before critically appraising it by writing a report. This has taken up quite a lot of my time, and I'm not entirely sure if I'm doing it correctly, hence the pressure haha. At least the deadline is quite far away, April 4th if I remember correctly...

2) In the afternoon, I went to meet up with my Principal Investigator, Dr Darren Griffith. Earlier on, I had gone for an interview with him, to undertake a research project for the summer. Essentially, RCSI has an awesome Summer School Programme, which allows medical students to carry out research under a Principal Investigator (PI) for around eight weeks. But today, I approached him again for help in completing the application form, which would allow RCSI to provide me with a stipend (essentially a scholarship) to cover living expenses for the two months which I'm staying back.

3) We managed to fill in all the details, and all that's left to do is to scan the signed documents into the Mac, before uploading the completed application online. Hopefully, there will be a positive outcome haha. Anyway, I hopped over to the library after that, had a nice short nap, before waking up to study. I have really been slacking off recently, and I need to catch up before our first Card Signings next week! That's all for my today, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

Not the most welcoming sight I would presume

Fun fact: Only in RCSI will someone approach you nearing closing time to offer free boxes of Domino's pizza leftover from an event (I took a box XD)

That's my homemade fried rice :)