Quals emails!
Camila:
Camila’s trip to Trader Joe’s today was far from the normal shopping trip. She was on a quest to obtain simultaneous co-snacking and quals-passing. In order for this achievement to be obtained, she had to procure 4 Trader Joe’s most secret snacks for Gloria.
To find these secret snacks, she had to ask Trader Joe’s employees who then challenged her to questions before showing her the location of the secret snacks.
Immediately upon entering the store, she was challenged by Nick Ingolia. “Can you spell cycloheximide?”
Upon correctly answering with C-Y-C-L-O-H-E-X-I-M-I-D-E, Nick pulled out the “Hold the ‘some DiSPs” from behind some other snacks.
Camila then wandered around, searching for someone to ask about the locations of a few other secret snacks. Camila encountered Dipti and Eva who asked “Do you have any preliminary data to support your hypothesis??” Camila confidently replied “my smFISH data shows some convincing colocalization”
And Dipti and Eva were convinced. They handed over the yummy treats!!
After procuring the “Scandinavian smFISH” and “peanut butteRNR cups,” she made her way to the snack aisle in hopes of finding the “Mac & cheese (packed with protein (folding))”- the last item on her list. There, Hernan asked her a math equation about protein diffusion or something.
Camila replied “”. And Hernan handed over the final sNACk.
With all of her snacks secured, Camila immediately told Gloria and the lab!
Join the BrÜn lab in celebrating MCB’s newest PhD candidate, Camila, on Barker lawn at 3:30 pm!! We will have tasty TJ’s snacks as well as some other goodies ;)
Claudia:
The biggest music festival of the year finally descended upon MCB Valley - Hamchella 2023. Claudia Medrano came a long way to see all of her favorite artists perform, most of all to see DJ Hambo’s purrfect headliner set.
But little did she know she would face several challenges leading up to DJ Hambo.
First up was a back to back killer set with Bad Bunny and Mitski. Claudia rushed forward in the crowd to try to catch a glimpse, but was stopped in her tracks just like a stopped ribosome. Blocking her path was Nick and Liana in the pit.
Claudia: I want to see Bad Bunny perform LUTI me preguntó!! Can I squeeze by you?
Nick: Only if you tell me how many LUTIs were discovered and how many are expressed during meiosis!
Claudia: Mitski’s on!! I want to see Should’ve Been Meiosis! Coming through?!
Liana: I’ll move if you identify new meiotic cofactors for the Upf1 complex!
Claudia skillfully demonstrated her knowledge on this overlooked class of transcripts and detailed her plan to identify new Upf1 binding partners by mass spec. In awe, Nick and Liana moved to the side and Claudia made it to the barricade.
Next was Doja Cat on another stage. Claudia rushed to get there but ran into Britt taking photos with the Hamchella ferris wheel.
Britt: Hey, can you take a picture of me?
Claudia: I’m kind of in a rush, I want to see Doja Cat perform ‘Get Into It (Upf1).’ It’s my favorite song by her!
Britt: It’ll be really quick, I promise. But I’ll let you go if you can tell me if Upf1 is required for nonsense mediated decay.
Claudia blew Britt away with her mastery of the current models of Upf1-mediated NMD. With that, she made it to Doja’s set in the front row.
The last set right before DJ Hambo was SZA. Claudia jostled forward but was stopped by security.
Fyodor: Stop! This is VIP only!
Claudia: I AM A VIP and I need to see SZA perform “Seek & Degrade!” And DJ Hambo is next on the 1s and 2s!!!
Fyodor: Oh yeah? Tell me which transcript features target a LUTI for degradation by NMD!
Claudia astounded Fyodor with her hypotheses on the key features in the 5’ extension she would investigate. At last, Claudia made it to DJ Hambo’s set!!
Gloria: Claudia, jump in the crowd! You're the real headliner of Hamchella 2023.
Be sure to extend your congratulations to the star of the festival and newest PhD Candidate Party happening at 5pm on Barker Lawn!!
Ben:
It all started at his local fair, when Ben was just a boy. He watched as a blue ribbon was pinned to a smiling poodle, as his precious collection of heirloom Saccharomyces species were swept into the trash. Blinking back tears, he swore it would never happen again.
And it wouldn’t. Ben would take matters into his own hands - choosing the Nucleolar option - to Dynamically Remodel the whole system. (Timeskip - 12 years later).
Ben came out swinging in the 2023 Spring QE Berkeley Pet Show, stunning the judges with his extravagant collection of microorganisms. “Dogs are bad and should not be allowed to enter in the future,” he told each committee member, as he handed them each a uniquely colorful and fragrant agar plate. They marveled at the unparalleled biodiversity he had carefully cultivated in each, his showmanship Rejuvenating their criteria. But as some failed to Sequester and Degrade their old pet show views, it was clear this Division would need to be addressed.
“GUNC-iest pets are best,” he explained, when asked what attributes could make microorganisms better pets than dogs. He pointed to a shiny orange patch growing on one plate. “It is important to choose the RITE one. Take Garfield, for instance. He is creamy, stretchy, and luxurious, just like a delicious lasagna. He is orange and insatiable, like Garfield. But he is not a lasagna. Or a dog.”
Convinced, the last of the judges nodded their heads in approval. With cheers from the crowd, the Pet Show Manager (PSM) placed the blue ribbon on Garfield, crowning him and all of microorganismkind as superb pets. This marked the DON1ing of a whole new pet show genre.
Please join the BrÜn lab next week at Barker Hall (3/31, details TBA) to celebrate Ben passing his qual!
(All most single-celled pets will be parafilmed.)
Amidst cheers of, “Gar-field! Gar-field! Gar-field!”, a few observant members in the crowd hear him quietly muse, “And if you thought that was cool, just wait until you hear about my arrayed screen to uncover the genetic determinants of nuclear damage partitioning in budding yeast gametogenesis…”
Matty:
Earlier today, Matty embarked on a noble DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (D & D) quest to answer a question that has haunted mankind since the dawn of time: what factor(s) are necessary for the transient disruption of the nuclear permeability barrier during budding yeast meiosis??? Armed only with her (un)trusty Deltavision Microscope and stalwart CellAsics Microfluidics ONIX2 System, she crossed through the Phototoxic Forest and swam across the Low Resolution Reservoir. She encountered many obstacles along the way – red/green color schemes, misaligned figure panels, confusing AND inaccurate model figures – but righted all wrongs in her wake
She also befriended and characterized many an NPC NPC, including the legendary Nup170 Entertainment Chickens (see Figure 2).
Her final challenge was vanquishing a hideous four-headed hydra, each head more frightening than the last, that she captured in a crochet net and forever sealed away in a GLORIOUS tetrad (see Figure 3).
Alena:
Alena’s stress pathways were highly activated going into her qual, but she brought the heat and shocked her committee. To study she had to Seq out decades of literature in aging and stress biology, convincing her committee that she cannot be depleted.
She experienced moderate stress activation when they kept Yap-ping about normalization methods, but she Hac’ed her way through. In the end, her committee left feeling rejuvenated and Alena is ready to get back in the lab and ChIP away at her project!
Adriana:
Adriana climbed up to the very top of her favorite giant rock, where her committee has crowned her the Queen of Quals after a grueling monthslong tournament!
On game day, Adriana made the first move, boldly maneuvering nucleosomes into a classic Closed Chromatin. At first, her committee tried to ChIP away at her proposal, but Adriana hit them with the cold, hard FACS after playing out all possible moves in her head. She transcriptionally repressed her committee's questions, booted them to a distal promoter, and said a final goodbye-otin.
After (histone)exchanging their thoughts in a time-out, Craig, Liana, Mike, and David promoted Adriana to PhD candidacy! She will revoLUTIonize the gene regulation field!
Maia:
Maia Reyes is now qualified!
Maia astonished her qualifying exam committee with her knowledge of the proteasome and degraded any doubts of her Qual-ifications. She stoichiometrically combined PIs from disparate fields of Biology and complexed the ultimate committee. When the exam got tough she translated her knowledge of sporulation and differentiated the defense of her proposal into an offense.
Andy Martin commented “I learned so much about the proteasome”.
Gloria Brar says “Unqualified Maia? Unqualified Maia is just (RIBO)SOMEone that I used to know."
The Brar and Ünal labs invite everyone to join us for a virtual celebration at 6pm, to raise an ice-cold SPO-ba tea to toast to Maia’s success.
Cyrus:
To whom it may concern:
Below, we have included research findings of extreme interest to your field.
Abstract: During the second year of graduate school, UC Berkeley students undergo a poorly characterized developmental program known as qualifogenesis. Here, we investigate the role of mitochondrial function during qualifogenesis in the extreme foodophile Cyrus ruedigerii.
Methods: Qualifogenesis progression was stimulated by growth in SPO (an emulsion of Salad, Processed chicken nuggets, and Orange goldfish) media. Time-lapse microscopy was used to monitor mitochondrial behavior and energy production.
Conclusions: Extreme food consumption was necessary and sufficient for mitochondrial remodeling and progression to PhD candidacy in C. ruedigerii. Future studies directed at investigating the role of food consumption on PhD completion are ongoing.
Upcoming Departmental Seminar: To celebrate qualifogenesis in C. ruedigerii, please join us at 5:00pm on on Zoom.
With Love,
The Br-Ün Lab
Costa:
Dear students,
This message is an update on the unprecedented rise of COSTA-19, an emerging PhD candidate in the department. To combat the rapid spread of COSTA, the CDC is introducing new guidelines:
1) It is now recommended that everyone wear shorts at all times while in public. An example of approved attire: ([redacted photo of Costa])
2) Should you begin showing symptoms of COSTA, chug 5-7 root bxxr floats and consult with your doctor immediately.
3) Attend COSTA's qual party ONLY when it is safe to do so. It's gonna be pretty tight. (Tighter than Paul’s pants? Probably not. But close!)
In the meantime, please get in touch with Costa to congratulate him! sUPR job, Costa!!
Amanda:
Amanda entered her qual activated and ready to hit all the targets. Her committee caught her ORF guard with a few questions, but she SWItched on her 5’ thinking cap and they could not interfere with her success. After cyclin’ through many rounds of questions, they all agreed she has differentiated from a budding scientist to a PhD candidate. Come overexpress your excitement with us in the Barker Penthouse!
Party happening now on the 6th floor of Barker!
Kate:
Nothing β about THIS Gal!!
Kate is pupped up and bouncing with excitement after a hugely successful qual. Her committee Set2 or 3 traps in the polyQ region of the exam, but couldn't suppressor in the end. She Snf'd out their questions, leaving nothing undecoded. They declared her a leader in the field of gene regulation and decided to promoter to candidacy!
Come join us in the 6th floor Barker penthouse at 2:00 pm to celebrate Kate!
Best,The Ünal and Brar labs <3
Anthony:
This just in...Sum1 is officially qualified!!!
Anthony has joined the prestigious ranks of the Qual Avengers.
His committee tried to break his spirit, but he ChIPPed away at their strength and stamina, finally stunning them with a fluorescent reporter of impossible power.
Come celebrate his triumph in the Barker Penthouse (Barker 624).
Andrea:
Attention mesdames, messieurs, et al.!
News that Andrea has officially mORFed into a PhD Candidate has just been TRANSLATED.
Despite some rocky questions from her committee, she PUShed herself and climbed to the PEAK of success.
Ready to tell Andrea "toutes nos félicitations" (congratulations)?
Enjoy a French 75 cocktail while dining on a delicious crepe in the Barker Penthouse (6th Floor).
All are welcome to celebrate with Andrea, so bring your best BUDS and stop by!
Alec: Oh. My. Osis. Alec didn’t just pass his qual—he creamed it!
Alec impressed his committee with his flexible linker, which more than compensated for his small, truncated proteins. They made a FUS when he showed them his ASS reporter, but he wooed them back with his mating pheromone expertise. In the end, they decided Alec was a good spore and Lyft-ed him to candidacy.
Come celebrate with the newly budded candidate and social media stud at Barker Penthouse (6th floor Barker). It’s about to get noncanonical.
Emily: Emily crushed her qual like six feet of fresh Tahoe powder. She established dominance early, inviting her committee to "cash her ousside" if they had any problems with her proposal. Thankfully, Randy was too distracted by the cheese platter to notice the threat, and once the pepper jack was gone he had to ski-daddle.
Her committee tried Pusheen her limits, but they had to paws as Emily enthralled them with her description of regulated ubi-kitten synthesis during meowsis. By the end, her mastery of translational regulation had Kitty Cate purring. She passed by more than a whisker, securin her place as the Brar lab's newest doctoral candidate!!
Join us in the Chiron Room (434 Barker) at 4:00 for a Fancy Feast! PBR, shotski, and deep-fried oreos are all on offer!
It wasn't all smooth sailing though - follow link here (goo.gl/BdRTYu) for footage of one of the testier moments during Emily's qual.
(subject line: CATS MEOWSSIDE, HOWBOW DAH?!?)
Helen: Hel yea!! Congrats Helen!!!! Her committee reported that she did a sUPR job as she SOD through their questions with ease. When they challenged her on her claim that ROS is not a cool cat, Helen told her committee to SOD off... It was super effective. Help Helen optimize her in vivo assay for alcohol dehydrogenase activity at her party, happening NOW in Barker Penthouse - it’s free AND radical!
Jay: Jay passed! His committee’s questions were no match for his stress tolerance. Their questions about autophagy were self-(def)eating, because Jay already knew it all. Come celebrate our Little Star in the Barker Penthouse (aka 6th floor).
Grant: Grant pored through all his knowledge and successfully exported it to his committee. In other words: He kaled them softly with his sweet microscopy. Come celebrate with Grant in the Barker Penthouse (6th floor Barker). Kale yeah!
Amy E: We are hoppy to announce: Amy passed! You’ve probably always wondered… What is a yeast? Amy has finally answered this time-old question. She intoxicated her committee with her BeerA fusion proteins and used her mastery of lactimidomycin at the start to halt them in their steps. Come join us at altORF Brewery (aka 6th floor Barker) to celebrate!
George: Yop, that’s right! His committee found his knowledge inSPOrational and his proposal well-Rtn. They tried to perturb his network of thoughts, but he maintained homeostasis. Atlastin, George can kick back and enjoy his favorite growth medium: cold brew coffee YPD.Come join us in the 6th floor Barker coffeehouse at 2pm to celebrate with a Reticulon Brew. Don’t drink so much that you go to the ER….
Eric: Good News MCB! Eric was the powerhouse of his qual and the star of the SPO. He struck FEAR into the hearts of his committee, induced the collapse of their (mitochondrial) network of questions, and escaped without (bud) scars. After much hard work he can finally relax and respire with his buds. Join us for an official celebration of Eric's awesomeness next Thursday (April 7th) at 4pm where we will be PARKIN in the Barker penthouse. Prepare to go yeast mode!
Ze: Ze was in the ribozone and scored a hat trick with three perfect aims. Come join us on the 6th floor of Barker for brunch and video games!
Kelsey: Kelsey’s committee failed to induce her stress response because she really knew her FACS! She HACked away at all of their questions, so come join our (Ocho) Cinco de Mayo party on the 6th floor of Barker!
Amy T: Amy ChIPped away her committee, so now she is ready for her random animal facts party! Come join us in the Barker Penthouse (i.e. Brar-Ünal lounge, 6th floor) to celebrate!
Jing: Jing kinetoTORE her committee apart, so come party like it's 1999 on the second floor of LKS! #JingThings #WWJD #NailedIt #WhyNotJing?