Hello,
So I am wrapping up my Masters in environmental studies and I have a interview with a microbiology lab with the dept. of agriculture coming up. In general the position entails sample intake from a variety of agricultural products and analysis for a host of different diseases and contaminants. My Masters thesis and my course work mostly revolve around restoration ecology and botany, however a large component of my thesis involved measuring PLFA's (phospholipid fatty acids) as a biomarker for abundance of mycorrhizal fungi. I have really enjoyed the lab portion of my thesis work and would love the opportunity to pursue more lab-oriented work. I did not have a lot of lab experience going into this thesis (only general biology/chemistry, cell, and genetics in undergrad) but have learned a lot throughout this process. In my graduate program I took a disease ecology course that had a very mild lab component. Some examples of the work I have carried out for my thesis: use of polar and non-polar solvents for cleaning glassware, muffle furnace operation, n2 dry-down, extraction using solid phase extraction cartridges, use of internal and external standards, use of various pipettes and analytical balances, writing a large SOP, analysis on a GC-MS (gas chromatography - mass spec), and use of R statistical language. Anyhow what I am getting at is I have learned everything I needed to for this specific process but may be missing some 'fundamental' lab knowledge I will be quizzed on going into this interview. Can anyone point me towards a resource or have any pointers for me?
Many thanks!
-Aspiring microbiologist
P.S. I am a huge nerd and pick up new topics quickly so lay on the technical info!
Edited by dmjohn1337, 21 November 2018 - 10:55 AM.