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the radical botanical

a science blog: intersectional science, disability discussion, playing with plants

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Check here for interviews with my other PhD and ECR peers about their research in a few weeks!

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the radical botanical is a science communication blog: giving a voice to intersectional scientists, sharing plant science, and discussing disability. created and curated by phd student emily may armstrong.

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the past two months in the lab have been non-stop! I've been performing #chromatin immunoprecipitation on three different #arabidopsis lines for qPCRs to see how much #DNA is bound to a specific #histone modification. I've also been training a technician to help with a very complicated protocol called INTACT (or isolation of nuclei tagged in specific cell types). This protocol allows recovery of nuclei (so I can get at the chromatin inside) with a magnet system. my nuclei (shown here in blue using a nuclear stain in a confocal microscope) are covered in biotin, which has a very strong affinity for strepdavidin. the black beads are coated in strepdavidin and are magnetic. when we pass the bead-bound nuclei through a magnet, we collect them and can check that our purification has been successful. you can check our magnetic rack set up in the second photo. it's a tough protocol - we have to do everything at 4°C! I've also successfully supervised my 7th & 8th MSc students through their final lab project - it's been a busy summer! #biology #genetics #plants #chip #epigenetics #plantscience #instascience #plantbiology #stressbiology #outreach #scicomm #PCR #science #PhD #womeninSTEM #disabledandSTEM #confocal #DAPI #microscopy

NEW ! BLOG! POST! wondering where I've been for the past few weeks? Check the link in my bio for a full update of all the academic stuff ive been up to (conferences, outreach, disability liberation, graduation, publishing, & grant applying) #science #scienceblog #university #genetics #plantscience #biology #publishing #graduation #blog #sciencecommunication #scicomm #communication #outreach #disability #disabledandSTEM #queerscience

I graduated! (Two weeks ago...) from @uofglasgow, finally! My master's by research was the hardest year of my life. I lost the use of both of my legs (& got them back again), lost all my confidence in my research and abilities (& got them back again). It was an uphill battle but I got there eventually. v grateful for all the support, friendship, and stupidity I experienced along the way. // I got through to the final round of The British federation of Women Graduates PhD student grant competition, wish me luck! #graduation #genetics #bioscience #uofggrad #grad18 #msc #res

haven't posted anything personal on here for a while SO here's a bad hotel mirror selfie. in the past two weeks I've given two talks at the most prestigious conference in my field in the states (+ 4h poster sessions). I won my uni's biggest science outreach competition. I presented a framework for restructuring research around disability in science at a sold-out disability & diversity day. I officially received my master's degree (& I graduate next week). I got my first co-authored paper published in a top plant science journal. Six months ago I couldn't leave my house without having a panic attack or flashbacks. I'm feeling v thankful for the incredible support network I have in glasgow, and excited to see what the rest of this year brings (a rest, hopefully.)

Boston! New Hampshire! Waterville Valley! The past week was extremely tiring, inspiring & fun. My first time in the states has been incredible. Sharing my research with the top academics in my field was equal parts petrifying and fun - I received loads of amazing feedback on my work and am feeling ready to get back into the lab after my two weeks off. V excited to see my nearest/dearest back in glasgow & start celebrating my #UofGimpact video win! My video will be displayed all across Glasgow & at the science centre! Massive thanks to all my likers & sharers who made this blistering win possible for me. About to enjoy my last day of rest with a big takeaway and a bath... (Edited to add I just got invited to do my first peer review yehhhh!) 💫💕🎉🌱🤘🌈 (PS happy pride bbs) #pride #queer #science #conference #outreach #biology #salinity #salt #gordonconf #newhampshire #waterville #watervillevalley #research #genetics #disabledandstem #scicomm

Perfect blend for a lack of sci-comm over the past month: conference preparation, (1 poster + two different talks), health flares (kidney infection, dislocations, insomnia, anxiety), making #disability advocate videos, & finishing off the most physically demanding experiment of my #PhD so far. // Giving a talk today at the prestigious salt and water stress tolerance in #plants conference in NH today! (Another on Monday to the main #conference) Extremely jet-lagged & sleepy - let's see how this goes 💫💕🌱 #scicomm #outreach #salinity #gordonresearch #newhampshire #watervillevalley #instaplant #glasgow

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