Setting up our equipment for analysis...
Stephen, Ann-Marie and Rachel are joined by Dr. Sandra O'Brien, PhD students Eoin Brown, Catherine Naughton and Páraic Ó'Súilleabháin (NUI Galway) to set up the lab's new plate reader and centrifuge with Mason Technology.
The plate reader allows us to examine the hormones that we collect from our participants' saliva samples. We pipette the samples in to a plate, which is then read to analyse the levels present in the sample.
The centrifuge allows us to spin down the saliva samples to make them easier to handle for analysis. As we are asking our participants to use one method of saliva collection, which makes it easier for them, we also need to spin the samples down in to easier to manage tubes for processing.
Setting up our large equipment signifies one of the final stages in the establishment of the lab, meaning we can start analysing our participants' samples soon. We're very privileged to be the first study using the lab!
