This week was quite busy … In the proteomic lab, I released the first version of IPGPhor2 Reader (see also the previous post). Of course, since we didn’t fail any recent experiment 😉 we don’t see the immediate usefullness of this software. The main purpose of this software is that it allows to see where and when an experiment failed, how the current was given during the IEF and when it was not correctly supplied.
On the 17th (Wednesday), we participated to the Bioforum 2006, a “one-day meeting at the University of Liège between Bio-industries and young Life Sciences researchers”. I presented two posters:
- one with my brother, Laurent (student in engineering), on a new system to monitor rodents activity
- one with Thibaut Libert, from the Applied Sciences Faculty, on a new telemetric device to record rodent’sleep
Laurent, me and the poster (from right to left)
Nandini, my wife, also presented her two posters at Bioforum 2006
In the evening of the 17th, we rushed to Leuven in order to participate to the Indian Cultural Evening organised by the ISAL (see this previous post announcing the event). We had the chance to see beautiful performances of dancing, singing, instruments playing artists. I was just in charge of filming the whole event. I am digitalising the film for the moment. I don’t know what the ISAL is planning to do with the DVD. But, anyway, I look forward for the next year cultural evening.
Some preparations before the Indian Cultural Evening
During this evening, we met a friend of Nandini’s family, Peter. This man is really fond of India and Indian culture. He can talk for hours and hours about it! During a very late evening meal in a quite good Indian restaurant in Leuven, we learn that he is currently giving classes about India at the KUL (the university in Leuven) and that he is showing one Indian film every week. We also learnt that IMEC will organize a big event about India, next month. Stay tuned to know more about it.
On Thursday, I continued to analyse my 2D gels. We made 15 gels (i.e. 45 gels images with the 2D-DiGE technique) in just one week. Now, it already took me more than one week to analyse these images … It will be a long process and we are not even sure to obtain results in agreement with current theories. On Friday, I transfered some of the last rodents I will use from the hospital animal housing unit to my lab. They are 6-months old and some of them weight around 0.5kg! I also supervised a chemist who create dyes for us. Now I remember why I didn’t chose chemistry: it’s full of strange names, all solutions have the same colour, they often smell very bad and, in my research centre, the chemists’labs are next to the radioactive labs …
No wonder we slept up to 11.00 today!
Jean-Etienne's blog 
During the ISAL cultural show evening I met two good friends, Nandini and Jean-Etienne. They are really fond of India and Indian culture. They can talk for hours and hours about it! During a very late (table) poster presentation by Nandini, I learned that she was giving classes about Indian spices in the biggest auditorium of the KUL (the university in Leuven) and that Jean-Etienne had to race 160 km/h in order to make it in time for the grand show. A big dhanyavad for both their contributions for the show!
Nandini was dressed in a saree, which not only looked very nice, but also was vital in convincing the Punjabi restaurant owner to let us enter and serve thalis so late at night. Afterwards it was with pain in my heart that I had to wave their little red Corvette goodbye…but perhaps they and their friends will be back in Leuven to be present on 23 June for the India event at IMEC. I just hope that Jean-Etienne doesn’t have to floor it again on the highway from Liege! (But then again, what else do own a Corvette for?)