As part of my research, I reached out to two biologists in the hopes that they could help me with culturing bacteria for my project. I had a brief conversation with Zoie Aiken last semester, but in January, I was able to speak with her in more detail over Teams.
We discussed how I had been culturing bacteria at home and the potential risks associated with doing so outside of a controlled lab environment. While Zoie was interested in the project, she mentioned that she might not be the best person to advise me. However, she did have a contact in the MMU Science Department who might be able to help. She offered to reach out to them first and copy me into the email thread if they were willing to assist. Unfortunately, I never received any follow-up, so I assume that they were unable to provide support.
Additionally, Patricia provided me with another contact at MMU, and I reached out to them via email to see if they could offer any guidance. However, they were also unable to assist me, primarily because I did not have a clear identification of the bacteria I was attempting to culture. Without knowing the specific bacterial strains involved, it would have been difficult for them to offer precise advice or ensure the necessary safety measures were in place.
Although these initial attempts to seek expert guidance were unsuccessful, it was interesting to hear about the lab protocols when working with different types of bacteria and the different risk factors of these bacteria.
