Andrijana Popadic

• Working safely
• Calibrating equipment
• Contributing to quality objectives
• Keeping the laboratory fit for purpose
• Performing straightforward technical tasks to prepare samples
• Conducting simple routine tests using manual or semi-automated techniques
• Incubating plates and using laboratory instruments
• Maintained clean, neat, and operational facilities to serve program needs.
• Strict adherence to aseptic procedures in sample handling and processing to avoid contamination.
• Use of autoclaves, incubators, centrifuges, laminar flow hoods, and biosafety cabinets.

• Assisted with ongoing research on viral pathogenesis and host immune responses.
• Performed routine lab maintenance tasks including autoclaving materials, preparing viral growth media, and sterilizing equipment.
• Conducted basic molecular biology techniques such as RNA extraction, PCR, and gel electrophoresis under the supervision of lab staff.
• Aided in viral culture handling, ensuring proper safety protocols and biosafety level requirements were followed.
• Assisted in compiling and organizing experimental data for senior researchers, contributing to reports and publications.
• Participated in weekly lab meetings and contributed to discussions on research progress and troubleshooting of experimental techniques.

During my third year, I had been given an opportunity to help my lecturers assist them with first year lab classes. Throughout the semester students were given the task to, differentiate levels of antimicrobial agents between different brands of raw chicken. I had assisted the students by:

• Teaching students how to prepare and homogenize chicken samples for antimicrobial testing.
• Demonstrating extraction methods to isolate antimicrobial agents from food samples (e.g., liquid-liquid extraction or solid-phase extraction).
• Guiding students through antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) techniques such as disk diffusion (Kirby-Bauer), broth microdilution, or E-test strips to quantify the antimicrobial resistance in bacterial isolates from chicken samples.
• Helping students interpret inhibition zone diameters to determine resistance or susceptibility of microbes.
• Instructing students on how to isolate bacterial strains (e.g., Salmonella, Campylobacter) from chicken samples using selective media.
• Explaining microbial colony counts and calculations (e.g., CFU/mL) for estimating bacterial load and assessing contamination levels.
• Helping students determine the MIC of various antimicrobial agents by teaching broth dilution methods.
• Demonstrating how to construct and interpret standard curves for antimicrobial agents, using known concentrations to estimate unknown levels in chicken samples.