The video begins with some playful music and we see shots of a Brandeis student working on a dimly lit lab. We see the student on screen and she says: “my name is Fiona Stewart, I’m a double major in physics and biology, and I also conduct research in the Gelles lab, which is a biochemistry lab here on campus where we do a single-molecule, multi-wavelength microscopy. So you can look at the binding of individual molecules in real time.”
As the student talks we see shots of her working on a microscope table. She continues; “My research looks at the regulation of gene expression in E. coli bacteria and we look at that at the transcriptional level, so that’s the first step where DNA which is the genes gets transcribed into RNA.”
We then see close up shots of the microscope table. The music changes and the student says: “So this is the single-molecule multi-wavelength fluorescence microscope. It’s contributing to our molecular scientific knowledge, but it could actually have practical implications with studies and development of antibiotics. Transcription initiation is a target for antibiotics such as, tuberculosis. If you could make an antibiotic that knows how to target this protein, then you could more easily kill off the bacteria.”
We see different shots of the student working on the lab, we see her working on a computer and with the microscope. She continues; “I have gotten a very special opportunity to be in a lab pretty early on in my undergraduate experience, which is an opportunity that is unique to Brandeis. They built the microscope here in this lab. I wouldn’t be able to do any of these experiments if I didn’t get the help and mentorship and training of the other scientists in the lab. I’m extremely grateful for all the help they’ve given me. And all the guidance. I learn so much from them every day.”
As the video comes to an end, we see shots of the student working, the Brandeis logo fades in and the music comes to an end.