Dr. Katherine Gibson-Corley and graduate student Dr. Rachael Wolters make friendship bracelets and chat about the Translational Pathology Shared Resource (TPSR)!
Video Transcript
Katherine (K): That's okay. We're all phenotypically different.
Rachael (R): That’s very nice.
K: and that's okay!
[laughter]
VI4 Scientists Doing Things
K: I'm Katherine Gibson-Corley. I'm a professor in Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and I'm also the Director of the Translational Pathology Shared Resource (TPSR) which is our pathology core here.
R: And I'm Dr. Rachael Wolters. I'm a graduate student in the Crowe lab and I often use TPSR.
R: It’s like ready, set, go!
[What is the Translational Pathology Shared Resource (TPSR)?]
K: The TPSR is a core laboratory that provides pathology support to really anybody here at VUMC or VU. And so we not only offer histopathology services which are pretty standard. Right? So making slides and things like that. We also offer a lot of comparative work. So how do you phenotype animals? How do you collect tissues appropriately, fix them, decalcify them, all of those things.
[How do you use the TPSR in your graduate work?]
R: In the Crowe lab, which is a part of the Vaccine Center. I study antibodies against infectious diseases. Most of the time we study viruses and I study influenza. And a part of that study is including histopathology, of in this case, the lungs. I had all these research questions that I didn't know how to execute myself. And then it just turned out that there were these world experts like right down the hallway that had an entire facility with all the equipment and I was like ‘oh!’ I like really have enjoyed working with all the cores whether it's TPSR or you know the imaging like CISR. Just like all the people are so helpful and it's not like you have to give away your project to them, they partner with you…They're like your science best friends.
K: Aww..
[laughter]
K: But no and I think that's a good point here at Vanderbilt and VUMC that we have amazing core facilities, that a lot of places don't have, so we're really, really lucky in that. So it's a good tool to utilize. Can I test you?
R: Oh! I tied mine without even checking.
[How can researchers get involved with the TPSR?]
K: Yeah, you can go to the website and then email us directly or email me directly. And usually what my plan is with people is to set up a consultation and to chat about what the major goals of the project are, how pathology can be useful, what we can do in the lab, what we can teach them to do in their labs, and then, you know what kind of support we can offer as pathologists in terms of looking at the slides and really analyzing the data. We get to train you on how we do it and that way you fully understand how it's done, right? And then you can carry that into your work, not only as a grad student but as a postdoc and as a PI. So you really kind of were able to help you gain those skills and we try to always have fun doing it, you know that.
R: That looks so good.
K: Did you see what it says?
R: Do you see what yours says?
K: It says ‘Flu Rulz’.
[laughter]
R: Yours says ‘Anti Buddy’
K: See that's really cute!