#polypeptoids

[ericalagu]

“You don’t have to do this, you get to do this” - Tom Kubis

27/02/2020, Thursday.

Physical chemistry II: On Friday 21st I passed physical chemistry II, theory 🎉

I was nervous and scared before my exam, as usual! Still need to do laboratory part: it was supposed to be on friday 28th... Guess what?

University is closed the whole week! Cause: coronavirus precautions 😅

I do not have a new date yet. But I need to study like due date hasn't changed because if it is postponed for too long I'll have to split my time between study and thesis 🤓

Thesis: it has been two weeks since I was in the lab. I officially finished my samples, no more synthesis for me. Now I "just" have to write it 💻

Self-care: gym is close as well... Slightly mad. Positive aspect? Yesterday I did yoga for the first time in moths! Turns out I lost flexibility! 🧘‍♀️

[ericalagu]

"We may live in an age of instant messaging, instant gratification and Instagram, but there is no way to short circuit the path to success.” - Tory Burch

24/06/2020, Wednesday.

I did it! On 10th June 2020 I graduated 🎓

Since my last post I worked on my thesis (wrote it in English, which is not common for undergraduate students), completed the PowerPoint presentation and kept attending on-line lectured. K. (my supervisor) was extraordinary! Yes, she left all the work for the very last week (almost died of anxiety), but when she got into it she helped me enormously 💪

When the day came, I was more excited to present my work than anxious. I was worried because my graduation was on-line, but everything went perfectly. Family and friends could watch the presentation on the university YouTube channel ☺️

Even if graduation is enough, I could enroll for the postgraduate lectures I wanted! Double the joy 😍

The downside is I had no rest time. I had to start study right after... But I try to do my best, I hope to finish exam in July 📚

Any advice for a postgraduate student?

Personal life had been inexistent, all my forces are in academia. Not a big loss because in Italy there still are restrictions. I kept working out, but I need to do more because spending all my time in the house drives me crazy 😂

[ericalagu]

“Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed” - Terry Goodkind

20/03/2020, Friday.

Another month passed by. It feels like everything stopped, but a lot has changed.

Academical situation:

On february 24th italian universities closed due to Covid-19 spreading. Official reopening on april 3rd, but the date is likely to be postponed because the situation appears to be critical. 

As a consequence I was unable to undergo my last exam (physical chemistry II - laboratory). Formal indications are: it is not possible to take exams from remote, as cheating can occur. As soon as the structure reopens, exams are scheduled. At the moment I do not have a date, most likely mid-april ⏳

Graduations is delayed as well. As previously, no approved date, june is a possibility. If that was definitive, I would be unable to attend first year second semester postgraduate courses and labs. I do not want to lose time... I do not want to wait till autumn... 😡

What am I doing? Temporarily left aside my exam, I am concentrating on writing my thesis and following online classes (I refuse to fall behind) 📚

Personal situation:

Rigid lock down began on march 2nd. I decided not to go at my family house, I stayed alone in my flat. It was the right call because I got ill, yes, it probably was the famous virus (I had the typical symptoms, in a light form, and in november I had myself vaccinated against flu). 😷

I felt poorly for 7/8 days, even had fever on thursday the 12th. But now I am good, it has been 4 days since symptoms disappearance. I saw noone and followed certified indications (those communicated by official organisations). 

I do not find difficult to be in self-imposed isolation, the worst enemy is boredom. Since I got well, I’ve been doing yoga. And I am searching an at-home-training in substitution of gym one. 🏋️‍♀️

How are you dealing with the situation?

Do you have any suggestion on at-home activities I could try? (New organising methods, smart-working techniques, home workouts, yoga classes, books... Recipes as long as they are light)

[ericalagu]

“Things come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle” – Abraham Lincoln via Tina MiModels

07/02/2020, Friday.

One month had passed since last post. I started writing a few times but never finished, I thought I had nothing to share... I realised not posting had a negative influence on my productivity! I am aware it’s stupid, but I am generally more encouraged if I think about sharing my day 🤓

Catching up:

Physical Chemistry II: I started four weeks ago, not giving 100%... I kept postponing “real studying” and kept reading my notes over and over. It seemed like every day I had better tasks (chores, thesis assignments). But now the time has come: due date 21st february! It is so close 😱

Good news are that I find the topic extremely interesting and I have my productively anxiety (about time!) 💪

Thesis: I haven’t started writing yet. First I want to close the exam; that way I can focus on one task at a time! It is still not clear on what my thesis is about... Polypeptoids are the main topic, of course, but we have to decide on which aspect I should focus 💻

Needless to say: the situation makes me distressed.

[ericalagu]

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” - Arthur Ashe

28/11/2019, Thursday.

Thesis: I synthesized, synthesized and synthesized! It truly is a full time job. Keep loving the topic, but I’m starting to feel tired 😅

Positive note: I received few compliments on how I work, it was most welcome 🤓

Physics II: I am anxious! I don’t have much time to study and I am way behind schedule… My hope was to take the exam right before winter break, but I do not believe it will be possible 😱

[ericalagu]

"Every second of your hard work is going to pay off"

13/11/2019, Wednesday.

Thesis: i've cleaved last peptoid -for now- all on my own! I've been given more responsibilities, makes me nervous but I compensate checking everything multiple times 💪

Next step is analyze all the samples, based on the results decide a course of action!

Physics II: on monday I started to study... In class it seemed interesting, now that I have to actually learn it... Well, far less 😂

My brightest hope is to have my exam scheduled before winter break... Realistically thinking it is not possible! Not with the thesis... But I try to do my best 📖

[ericalagu]

"Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude" - Ralph Marston

16/10/2019, Wednesday.

Thesis: on the 8th october I started my traineership! After a brief explanation on the machine functions, we (research group and me) began the standard synthesis. Which purpose is to establish if the synthesizer works properly 🎉

So far everything fine! We synthesized two peptoids (14/10 and 15/10) and we are waiting to analyze those 💻

Had a positive first impression of the whole research group and I am enthusiastic about the project 😍

In these days I'm starting to work first person and I missed it. Didn't realized that till I've began again! Pleasantly surprised, I feared this wasn't my path (chemistry), but I'm feeling more confident 💪

Complementi: work in progress! Absolutely need to find a new routine. This week I try waking up one hour earlier, in order to work on my exam fresh-minded. Hope it works 😊

Self-care: still no yoga, still no running, but keeping working out at the gym 🏋

Very proud of my eating habits! I manage to prepare in advance lunchboxes, this way I eat healthy and balanced all the week 🍱

[ericalagu]

“A little progress each day adds up to big results”

21/09/2019, Saturday.

Past week was dedicated to articles reading. On Monday I’ll start my university training (how is it called? Traineeship, internship, stage?) in the lab! Currently excited and scared, even anxious (only because I do not want to look ignorant). Can’t wait to begin for real 👩‍🔬 

I just want to understand how my schedule will be in next months, no more classes for me! But still have to study (3 exams to go) 😊

I hope to find balance between thesis, exams and self-care. I refuse to give in training! And I am confident about find space to practice yoga 💪

Here is the articles list:

Polypeptoids: a model system to study the effect of monomer sequence on polymer properties and self-assembly, Adrianne M. Rosales, Rachel A. Segalman,Ronald N. Zuckermann.  doi:10.1039/c3sm51421h (2013).

Polypeptoid polymers: Synthesis, characterization,and properties,  Brandon A. Chan, Sunting Xuan, Ang Li, Jessica M. Simpson, Garrett L. Sternhagen, Tianyi Yu, Omead A. Darvish, Naisheng Jiang, Donghui Zhang. (2017) doi:10.1002/bip.23070.

Probing the Structural Requirements of Peptoids That Inhibit HDM2-p53 Interactions, Toshiaki Hara, Stewart R. Durell, Michael C. Myers, Daniel H. Appella. (2006).

Solid-phase Submonomer Synthesis of Peptoid Polymers and their Self-Assembly into Highly-Ordered Nanosheets. J.Vis.Exp.(57), e3373, doi:10.3791/3373 (2011) Tran,H., Gael,S.L., Connolly,M.D., Zuckermann,R.N.

Polypeptoids: A Perfect Match for Molecular Definition and Macromolecular Engineering? Robert Luxenhofer, Corinna Fetsch, Arlett Grossmann. doi:10.1002/pola.26687 (2013).

Solid-Phase Synthesis of N-Substituted Glycine Oligomers(α-Peptoids) and Derivatives. Adrian S. Culf, Rodney J. Ouellett.  doi:10.3390/molecules1508528 (2010).

Polypeptoids synthesis based on Ugi reaction: Advances and perspectives,Yue Tao, Zhen Wang, Youhua Tao. (2019)  doi:10.1002/bip.23288.

Commentary: Peptoid Origins. Ronald N. Zuckermann. (2010) doi:10.1002/bip.21573.

Note: picture is from article 5.