Only Connect

A flash of lightning instantly brightens my room, suddenly awakening me. I remember a trick learned during childhood and count, waiting for the deafening presence of thunder -- ten seconds pass, then eight; the storm is getting closer. It's 1:30 am and I get up to closer my window, through which rain -- an amount I've never before experienced, being from the desert of Southern California -- is streaming into my small room. The next day, everyone at work was speaking of the storm. "Well, it was so hot yesterday -- thunderstorms were only to be expected!" This is so counterintuitive to my Californian mentality; it never rains in the summer, and most especially not following a hot spell. Being a tiny bit English at heart, I enjoyed the rainy weather and the opportunity to stop feeling pressured to be a tourist. It was instead the appropriate time to relax and curl up with a cup of tea, a novel, and good company.
The weather, although predictably unpredictable judging from the weather reports (it will be sunny and rainy everyday this week!), has been very nice during my time here. It’s already been almost five weeks (I am afraid my blog is a little bit late) but I feel I’ve taken advantage of the warm, clear skies. Two weekends ago I found myself courageously hiking to the top of the Saleve, the mountain genevois that is actually in France. The difficulty of the ascent was offset somewhat by a quaint town halfway up where I was able to stop and rest before continuing on the journey. Here I met two friendly German boys who were spending the summer, much like myself, working in Switzerland. They were nice enough to let my friend and I use the pass they had bought for the telepherique, a cable car that carries passengers to the top of the Saleve and back, so that we wouldn’t have to hike down the mountain.

Before reaching the top I met another friendly couple who invited us to have drinks with them at the restaurant on the top of the mountain. He was a graduate of UC Berkley, incredibly outgoing, and had moved to Geneva 25 years ago to be with his wife, who was Swiss German and a marathoner. Full of advice and charm, they gave us a tour of Geneva and France from the peak. The view was absolutely astounding and I’m sure the hike made it all the better for the effort. They pointed out the Mont Blanc and the Swiss borders, told about the prevalence of Marmots (which appeared in stuffed form at the gift shop), and gave us lessons on Swiss culture. Apparently it is difficult to meet people in Switzerland, especially Geneva, as people are wont to acknowledge only people to whom they have been formally introduced. “It’s not like it is in America. They think a friend of a friend is fine – they know he is a good person – but with others…they’re not so sure.” Now, in light of this conception, I feel blessed to have met so many incredibly friendly and generous people in the city.

During a trip last weekend to the Musées d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva, I was fortunate enough to meet David, a former student of art history, and had a day which could have come straight from the movie, Before Sunrise – minus the romance, of course. He was enjoying the exhibit at the museum as well, taking in the beautiful sculptures and paintings (some done by painters from Geneva of Lake Leman and Mont Blanc, others painted by various famous artists) and was surprised to run into someone else at the museum (it was very quiet for a Saturday and apparently is always so). He treated me to coffee on the terrace and, being a native Swiss French familiar with the city, took me on a long tour, showing me everything -- places to see live music, good restaurants to try, open-air cinemas, the lake by boat, and even somewhere where I could try basil-flavored ice cream. It was nice to find someone who didn’t fall into the steotype that the couple at the Saleve described as I had a completely wonderful day discussing art, literature, and the differences between cultures with someone I would never have met otherwise!

Other than these excursions and more days spent lakeside, I have been throwing myself wholeheartedly into my work at the lab. My project involves analyzing MRIs (or IRMs, as they say in French) taken at a term gestational age from preterm neonates; the ultimate goal is to be able to accurately prognosticate based on values acquired from the MRI. I’ve quickly realized that 99% of the battle in clinical research is getting the data from your patient population in one place and ready for analysis. When I started and saw that we had over 100 patients and immediately thought that this was great – everyone was always complaining about the number of subjects included in a given study, and here we were with loads of data on our hands. Only days later, patients started slipping through my fingers as I found that there were at least five different protocols used when taking the MRIs meaning that data was inconsistent across patients (a common problem when data is acquired over a period of years and better scans become available), ten patients were missing crucial scans, and 23 needed the data reconstructed (a process that we weren’t entirely sure was going to be possible but, thankfully, were able to figure out on Friday!).

Aside from these minor mishaps (which are a part of all research), I am so grateful to have stumbled upon such a wonderful lab. My P.I., Dr. Huppi, is such a role model as a clinician scientist and has been incredibly generous in giving me advice about my future career options. The other neonatologist that I’ve been working with closely, Dr. Lodygensky, was generous enough to lend me his beautiful office with a gorgeous view from the 4th floor of the entire city (he explained that he was abandoning it as the hospital puts ridiculous constraints on the internet – a statement which turned out to be true as it took me a few weeks to figure out how to gain access to e-mail). As a huge Mac fan/user, I was delighted to learn that all the computers used in the hospital and for research are Macs…and that program help is but a call away to someone who has now become jokingly referred to as my “best friend.” Dr. Lodygensky was also kind enough to steal a pair of scrubs for me and give me a personal tour in English of the NICU/PICU; he even took me see an examination of a very preterm (26 weeks gestational age) preterm neonate that had just been delivered by cesarean section. “As neonatologists, we run to wait,” he explained, after we had sprinted from a meeting with two Dutch physicians only to find ourselves sitting on the terrace, drinking espresso and waiting for the baby to be delivered. The whole lab threw a party in celebration of the 4th of July, taking me to a beautiful restaurant on the lake in France where I tried traditional Perche caught from the lake and leaving me incredibly touched and a bit surprised to be celebrating this definitively American holiday in Switzerland.

Already, I feel myself being pulled in the direction of neonatology and neurology and am very much looking forward to starting rotations in the hospital. Perhaps I may even be able to come back to Geneva someday for a subinternship (although, it might be best to learn French before then)! Until then, I’m hoping to make some progress on this project in the final stretches of my time here (sadly, only three more weeks left) and enjoy the opportunity to connect with the new friends I’ve made.

First 3 weeks in Lausanne (and its surrounding)

I realized this is seriously overdue, but living without consistent internet access after work apparently has not been that convenient after all!
Anyway, I arrived in Lausanne about 3 weeks ago on June 22nd, only to realize that the 3 weeks to follow are simply amazing, at times breathtaking, and certainly enjoyable. Thus I'm going to fast forward the past 3 weeks in this post!

Academically, without prior arrangement I arrived right on time for Cecam, an European-based computational modeling workshop/mini-conference. Funny but true, I learned more about computational modeling (my field of work here at EPFL) in those 3 -4 days than I did for the past 3 months working on my research project in the same field at Northwestern. The environment here is extremely conducive to research and academics. Being able to learn from, and work alongside leading world experts in science really reminded me a lot of the basic reasons and motivation why I went into science in the first place - something that I nearly forgotten in the midst of the hustle and busstle of the business-based Chicago.

And then every weekend just seemed to be the "life" part of the "work-life balance" aspect of (I guess) an European lifestyle. It's a trivializing statement to only say that Lausanne has the benefit of Lac Leman and the Alps - being able to stand in the hilltops and mountains overlooking the lake truly brings out the best in this amazing landscape.
The first weekend was basically a trip around Lausanne city, it's neighboring outskirts, to get myself accustomed to the people, language and certainly directions. I think it's a bliss for the Swiss, living in a city in and around which nature and development co-exist. Simply, the view for the Palais du Justice not far from Lausanne old town is breathtaking enough to end one's day
from work (below).



I'd highly recommend going to the nearby Lac de Sauvabelin, for those who are just maneuvering yourself around the city. A path through the forest and the Sauvabelin tower gives not only a 360° view of the city but also the peace a small forest can give (below).



Then on my first Sunday (it was a very warm... day) I went to the Lutry vineyards. Breathtaking likewise, but amazing scenery aside it was actually a bad choice otherwise since nothing is open on Sunday. Including wine tasting and everything else. But the view was certainly worth the walk up the hilltop!



And then it's Monday. I finally got my project this week, working rather independently first on data mining and then on statistical regression of the data, to find heats of formation of biochemical compounds.

And time flies ...... it's the weekend again! (I'm just trying to back track all 3 weeks thus the rush LOL). This weekend I rest in on Saturday (woke up at 3pm..), but finally put on the courage to hike the not-too-hard-to-do peak behind Montreux - the Rocher de Naye. What they say about mountain hiking is absolutely true - the view at the top is always, and absolutely worth the effort to get up there. Though I didn't really try that hard (since I'm really tired this weekend I hiked the first 200 m, and took the train to almost the peak haha), it still was an amazing experience. Rocher de Naye oversees Montreux, Lac Leman, and Lausanne at far. The view from up there is simply spectacular, only describable with pictures and perhaps an analogy to the Sound of Music:



Again without prior knowledge, I went down the Rocher de Naye right in time for the 8pm concert at the Montreux Jazz festival - and the best part is, one of my favorite Chinese pianists
Lang Lang had his world premier performance with Herbie Hancock at the concert! Though I didn't like Jazz that much (still), the fusion of classical pieces by the orchestra and jazz on piano wrapped up the Sunday well for yet another week of work to come the next day.

Fast forwarding to the previous weekend (July 11th), I probably had my best and real hiking experience ever. With Jason Qian and 4 of his friends, we went up the Vallorcine, a mountain by the Fraco-Swiss border at South-East Lac Leman, all the way up the Col de la Terasse (@2648m), and then through the valleys of Le Beut etc, and down [refer to Jason's post for more details of the route/location. My complete ignorance of the French language render me susceptible to not knowing where I am... ;) ]. The experience of actually hiking up more than 1000 m, and then down the same altitude was, although painful and scary at times, one of the best outdoor experiences I've ever had. Again, the view at the top is breathtaking. The best part? We saw snow and actually hike through them!




Plans for this weekend? I'm not sure at all! There's lots of options, including exploring nightlife in Lausanne.... etc. But there's one thing I'm absolutely certain about - Switzerland will absolutely quench my thirst for nature this summer!

Architecture in Zurich

I've been in Zurich now for exactly two weeks, today. I got here later than most of you and I'm in the middle of my second week at the ETH, the Polytechnic University of Switzerland. I'm working with Gramazio and Kohler, two Swiss architects, who are pioneers in digital fabrication research and do a lot of prototype work for their professional firm using their research group based at the ETH. I landed right in the middle of a project that's going quite quickly and under a strict time schedule, so the beginning has been exciting and strange as I've figured out how I can help and learn at the same time. "Research" in the setting of architecture still necessitates the building of something, and in this case that building is an actual project, so while the principles behind the processes at work in the studio are cutting edge and truly experimental, there is also the added pressure that the final product needs to function, work, and ultimately be built.

Mr. Robot

The short version of the project is best described as a brick installation meant to be built on a New York sidewalk in front of an art and architecture gallery in the west village. The firm where I am doing my research is a pioneer in pushing the limits of brickwork, and uses a robotic arm to built undulating and winding walls out of brick with no mortar. Computer models generate the design and complex programming translates the design into coordinates that the robot uses to place the bricks in place. The firm has done a number of projects so far using this method, but the NYC project that I am working on adds the challenge of using a mobile robot, one that is on a flatbed truck that reaches out onto the sidewalk to lay the bricks. There are a lot of technical and design issues associated with the process, so I've been involved in trying to fix some of those problems. While architecture work is inevitably going to involve a certain amount of dirty work when you are at the bottom of the food chain, its been great so far in that I've also been able to engage a lot in some of the more interesting and complex issues.

NYC Wall Prototype

Outside of the firm, life in Zurich has settled in. I found an amazing apartment with a balcony, huge kitchen, and huge windows right in the middle of the city by the little river that eventually flows into the Limmat by the main station. The guy from whom I rented the apt is letting me use his bike while he's gone, so I'm very mobile and constantly exploring. I've been out for a short hike near St. Gallen and also visited my roomate's family's farm, which was a great treat.

This weekend, more hiking to come, with some good weather also allowing for some lakeside swimming and relaxing to boot.

So far so good!

Lost count of the weeks, but appreciating every second...

First off, we had our first Lausanne-people gathering on July 1st. Being still unfamiliar with Lausanne downtown, Erin, Ishita, Jonathan, Yee Hoong and I hopped around Lausanne to find something traditional Swiss to eat. We unanimously opted for the Swiss Fondue and accidentally ended up eating at one of the most locals-coveted place to eat the famous Fondue, Café de L'Evêché, which literally means the Bishop's restaurant. The name comes from its location right next to the Lausanne Cathedral. Their in-house specialty fondue, Fondue de la Bière relevée a l'Armagnac, is a must if any of you go eat there.

My research project is still going great, although my mentor was away for the past two weeks for a conference. I have been figuring out and optimizing which immune response pathway is activated by nano-particles. The big idea is to use nano-particles to activate a controlled and specific immune response in order to target tumor. In order to achieve a specific targeting, we are conjugating different tumor-specific antigen onto the nano-particles. Finding a method to create a controlled immune response is a more challenging problem; if the immune system is uncontrolled, it can attack one's own organs. My next step is to determine what factors comes into play for nano-particles to provoke a managed immune response.

This past Saturday, a few friends of mine, Yee Hoong and I went hiking the French Alps to the "Col de la Terasse" at 2648 m high. What was supposed to be a 5-hour hike turned out to be an unforgettable 10-hour journey. None of us saw the hours tick away for it was such an amazing day and hike.

Vallorcine, a small village in between Montreux and Chamonix, is approximately a 2-hour drive from Geneva. We started hiking at 11 am from 1300 m and reached Col de la Terrasse at 2:00 pm to 2600 m, including a half an hour lunch break.

Our plan was to continue hiking to the Cheval Blanc (White horse) which is, ironically, a completely dark mountain in the summer, but we decided it would be more feasible to start hiking down if we were not to sleep overnight on the mountains. Indeed, we returned to the car by 9 pm.

The view from Col de la Terrasse of the endless trails of glaciers and rows of mountains was absolutely mind-boggling. The crushing rumbles of waterfalls and rapids caused by the glaciers' melting was also quite an acquaintance with nature's grandeur and beauty. I could go on forever, but I'll let Yee Hoong describe his experience and upload some pictures of the hike.

Detours

Early last week, my very first at EPFL, a group of architecture students (including myself) gathered in Neuchatel to celebrate the unveiling of the “Fantastic Form Pavilion”. Part of NIFFF, the city’s annual International Fantastic Film Festival, the pavilion, it’s design, fabrication and assembly, are a capstone project of the Digital Design + Production class at LAPA (Laboratoire de la production d'architecture). As fascinating as the pavilion was, this event gave me an excuse to explore a small town that I wouldn’t otherwise have.

The "Fantastic Form Pavilion", Neuchatel

Neuchatel's conservatorium (by Bauart Architekten)

Wandering about in Neuchatel’s medieval streets, like in so many other cities across Switzerland, one is bound to encounter pleasant surprises of excellent contemporary architecture, always hidden, humbly complementing its existing historical surroundings. This is the case for the town’s brand new conservatorium and for numerous carefully crafted infill projects in Lausanne and Geneva to only count the south-western Swiss cantons.

Lausanne-Flon

This, in a nutshell, is why Swiss design is so unique. It’s never a centerpiece, but always a naturally equal part of an existing whole, as if it was always there, but yet boldly defying tradition and conformity. There to serve specific functions in the most efficient manner, but always producing an added value for the benefit of the greater public.

Montreux

Geneva

As it turns out, in Swiss cities, it’s not necessarily the shortest way between two points that offers the most satisfaction. Go ahead, wander off, you are guaranteed to be pleasantly surprised.

P.S.

Many more great Swiss projects: http://www.jantscher.ch/web02e/home.cfm?start=1&then=1

Week 1 for Amy was amazing!!!

Hi all! For those of you who don't know me yet, my name is Amy Hopkins and I am taking part in the Summer Research Program at EPFL. Briefly, I just graduated with my BS in Bio/BME from Tufts and will be continuing my work there as a PhD student in the fall. I am planning to work with Dr. David Kaplan at Tufts on silk as a biomaterial. Here at EPFL, I am characterizing different polymers micelles for drug encapsulation.

Where to start?! This week has been absolutely fabulous for me - how can I complain about copious amounts of sun, water, mountains, chocolate, and cheese? Not to mention the good company . . . (I should let you know that #1 - I am VERY fond of the outdoors; especially hiking/running in the mountains and was very excited to find my labmates eager to get out of doors also; and #2 - I'm quite a biomed/med nerd that could go on and on about my research . . . I apologize in advance!)

Anyway, I will begin by introducing my lab a bit. I am working in the Hubbell lab, which has turned out to be a dream come true. The atmosphere is quite laid back yet everyone is so passionate about their work and contributing their research to science. I have been inspired by the collaboration that takes place - it seems as if people just know when to meet and what to talk about in order to get things done - often over coffee and pastries it seems, which I'm growing quite fond of. Another unique quirk to the Hubbell-Schwartz dyad (their labs are physically right next to each other) is the ubiquity of couples. Not only are the professors married, but so are at least two other pairs in the lab . . . as a career-oriented female with my own familial aspirations, I find it inspiring that scientist couples can find themselves at home at EPFL.

As for my research, I have completed some of my first experiment already and am excited to finish it up this up coming week. I used four different polymers to encapsulate the anti-inflammatory dexamethasone and tested them for their efficiency in uptake and release. The idea is that the PEG-PPS polymers differ only in their hydrophobic side chains that soak up the hydrophic drug. Hopefully, I will find a polymer that has high encapsulation efficiency and slow release profile. I am also experimenting with a couple different encapsulation methods . . . we'll see what this week's results reveal!!

It has been so amazing to get to know everyone participating in SRP at EPFL this summer. There is no other experience like getting to know a group of people from 14 different countries. We are all learning so much about each other and the places we come from that couldn't be learned from a text book or infomercial. I find myself curious about everyone's language . . . school . . . home life . . . hobbies - the world is an amazingly diverse place.

So far, we have all enjoyed social events such as La Festivale de Cite in Lausanne, the Montreaux Jazz Festivale, jogging along Plage de Vidy and Lac Lemon, and hiking to Rochere de Naye. Personally, I have really enjoyed the outdoor activities and can't get enough of the scenery. Below are a few pictures of our outings - enjoy!!

Some of us at the beach on Lake Geneva across from EPFL!! (L) Lake Geneva from Montreaux at the Jazz Festival (R)

Below are concerts at La Festivale de Cite (L) and the Jazz Festival in Montreaux (R)


































A silly pic of some of us at the Montreaux Jazz Festival (L) and the vineyards I ran through in Lutry (R)















Me on the hike up to Rochere de Naye (L) and the view from the top of Lake Geneva and the French Alps (R).

Biking

I can't believe it is already the middle of July! Sadly the days keep slipping into weeks. Before I know it I will have to leave Lausanne. Well, before that happens I am trying to make sure I see a good chunk of Switzerland.

To accomplish this, I bought a bike. It is an entry level road bike. Buying the bike and the adventures it has taken me on since make for interesting stories which I will share here.

I knew I wanted to have a bike during my time in Switzerland. I figured I would buy one on one of the craigslist type sites here like anibis.ch. Well, the used road bikes that were in my price range were very, old... like from the 70's old. The new ones were well beyond my budget. My next strategy was to go to a local store and buy an entry level bike. After going to two stores in Lausanne and finding road bikes for as little as 900 CHF my asperations of buying a bike were dashed.

After a day of mourning I was re-inspired by the wonders of the internet. I figured I would just buy a bike online and ship it to Switzerland. I of course started at amazon.com and after finding a bike for only 250 Euro I went to buy it and have it shipped to Switzerland. But it turns out this product could not be shipped across the border! I know there are many reasons why Switzerland has chosen not to be part of the EU, but this is one definite negative for not joining. Again my asperations were dashed.

After another day of mourning I was again re-inspired, this time by the central proximaty of Switzerland in Europe. I found a new road bike in Annecy, France for only 200 Euro! This was on a Friday. On Saturday I took the train to Annecy, went to the store and bought the bike. I left the store and said to myself, "time to bike home." Annecy is about 45 km from Geneva, and Geneva is 55 km from Lausanne.

After an hour and a half I was already in Thones. I stopped to eat and get directions. To my dismay Thones is not in the direction of Geneva. So I biked back the Annecy. I eventually found the right path and continued on my way to Geneva. Upon arriving in Geneva each pedal rotation was very unpleasant. I threw in the towel and grabbed a train back to Lausanne. But now I had a bike!

The next weekend a friend from Lausanne and I went for a bike trip. We went up through the vineyards to the East of Lausanne overlooking the lake. It was georgous. I was in amazement. I kept thinking "I wonder what the guy who first started this vineyard on the side of a mountain was thinking." After a while we headed north and did a large loop around to Moudon and then back to Lausanne. Although these were the foothills to the alps (if even that) they wore me out. This was about a 100 km trip.

This past weekend I did a tour by myself. I started heading east towards Montreux, which is one of the more beautiful towns I have ever seen. I was feeling good and decided to make a day of it and go around Lake Leman (Geneva)! It was a beautiful ride. In total it took about 9 hours and was 180 - 200 km. Although I couldn't walk the next day, I would gladly do it again.

Those are my bike adventures to date. I hope to do a few more big trips while I am here. I will keep you up to date. For now though, I should get back to research.

JB