PMAC is a member institution of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) alliance. The VCCC alliance is Australia's first and only partnership of 10 prominent institutions, such as University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital. The VCCC alliance focuses on patient care and the integration of cancer treatment, education and research. 

I work at the Advanced Center for Cancer Cell Isolation and Flow Cytometry at PMAC. I work with sorters and analysers, ensuring they are running smoothly, and troubleshooting wherever possible. I also have the chance to analyse research samples that researchers no longer use (e.g., human, mouse). I am also assigned a project - determining purity of 4 different sorting methods. 

My feelings of anxiety persisted. A colleague mentioned that she had higher expectations and standards on me. She was a Monash University graduate, who also took the same Immunology units as me. Performing quality control checks, operating the instruments, performing the induction training procedure on a flow cytometric analyser - I should be able to grasp this faster than a regular person with no scientific knowledge. It made me write more robust notes as I sat and watched many videos on flow cytometry. I concentrated and paid attention to every detail, during training sessions. 

Once my nervousness and anxiety subsided, I was feeling relieved and thankful. Throughout the past 2 weeks of my placement at PMAC, everyone whom I have met, have been warm, kind and friendly. They have always helped me every step of the way, made my placement hours flexible, encouraged me to attend seminars, and given me opportunities to chat with researchers about their research projects. This strengthened my relationship with my supervisor & colleagues, and made me look forward to each day at PMAC. 

Python is better suited to beginners, with a syntax that is easier to read. It also allows for greater customisation of its models into other software. 

In contrast, R's syntax requires users to undergo a steeper learning curve. R's models are more rigid in structure, and are more suited for statistical analysis. 

This week, I practiced on samples of mouse and human cell line origin. Both samples had different fluorophores and dyes attached. 

Attached are the results I attained for an unstained sample against 4 flow cytometry sorter masks; (i) purity, (ii) yield, (iii) P16Y16, and (iv) single-cell.