ExpBio 2015: Day 3 - Reppin the Blue and Gold

Happy Monday!
Today is Day 3 of the Experimental Biology 2015 conference here in Boston, MA, and it is getting good!
I woke up early today to head to a Post Translational Modifications Session on Arginine Modifications, and it was great! I learned a lot about the research that is going on in my field, and I got to meet another professor who I have collaborated with/tested some enzyme activity. The session was 2.5 hours long, but it seemed to fly by. Each talk was about 20ish minutes I believe, and there are some really interesting things going on in the arginine modification world! One of the most interesting things I learned is about Arginine Phosphorylation in bacteria! If you are knowledgable about the eukaryotic proteasome degradation system, you know that proteins get marked for degradation by ubiquitination, which then signals shuttling/entrance into the proteasome and then the protein will get degraded.
Apparently, some bacteria, specifically Bacillus subtilis have an arginine kinase, that originally was identified as a tyrosine kinase. First off, I didn't know that arginine could get phosphorylated. Second, this phosphorylation is thought to work as a degradation marker for the proteasome in these bacteria! I did not know about this. The fact that arginine, which is positively charged, can become a bulky entity with now a large negative charge, I guess it just never crossed my mind!
After this session, I attended a bioinformatics session on how to find proteins with unknown function through online database searches and groupings. I learned how to use new online tools that I will check out to learn more about my enzyme and its orthologs!

Experimental Bio 2015 Conference Day 2 - Fashion and Recap of events!

Hell everyone!

Welcome to my Day 2 recap of the Experimental Biology 2015 conference!
Today I decided to go for a little more dressy, I recently bought this dressy midi skirt, a la Kim Kardashian (or so it reminded me of her), so I wanted to wear it out. This morning I changed outfits maybe 5 times before I decided on this combination.
I bought this dress skirt last minute at Ross, by Eci New York. It was the perfect size and super flattering. It wasn't tight or too fitted, I could easily move in it as it was made with stretchy fabric. I also wore a coral blouse top with a jeweled neckline I bought at Charlotte Russe. It was perfect because I didn't have to wear a necklace or jewelry after!
Since this is Boston in March, I had to make sure I wore a cover up. I originally was going to walk out of my hotel room without a jacket since it was super sunny outside, but then I realized this wasn't LA. And boy, was I right. IT. WAS. SO. COLD.
Since I grew up in Massachusetts, I didn't think the cold would be such a big deal. But it was, when I wanted to wear something cute like this outfit. The leather jacket that I love (from Express) was definitely not warm enough, because I was FROZEN wearing it. Do not be fooled, I look happy in these photos but I was freezing! Tomorrow I will be better prepared, with a more warm jacket and pants most likely!

Experimental Biology 2015 Conference - Day 1 Fashion and Recap

Hello!
I am reporting to you live from Boston, MA, where I am attending the Experimental Biology 2015 Conference, as a member of the ASBMB! I am going to be blogging about the conference daily, so be on the look out for new posts from now until Wednesday! This is different than my regular posting schedule where I post twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, so I hope I don't overwhelm you with my posts! And I will be talking about some science, but I will try to integrate conference fashion as a relevant topic!

My Conference and blogging essentials: My camera, my conference badge, my iPad to take notes and update social media, and a staple, a statement necklace!

Jil Sander Navy Event in Beverly Hills Recap and Style Inspiration!

Hello lovelies!

In last week's post I talked about a fashion event I went to as a part of LA Fashion Week with a fellow  style blogger at the Jil Sander Navy boutique store in Beverly Hills. I was excited to be a part of this event, and it was a really great experience. The boutique had several models standing in the middle of the store wearing various pieces of the Spring/Summer '15 collection for Jil Sander Navy.

For those of you who haven't heard of Jil Sander, Jil Sander is a minimalist German fashion designer that has been around for a while, and the pieces in their collection are always simple yet super chic and edgy! Granted, the pieces in the Jil Sander collection are rather expensive, and they recently launched the Jil Sander Navy brand, with a supposed more affordable collection while still preserving the minimalist feel of the original brand.
Granted, even with this being a more "affordable" line, the pieces still range between 150-1000... which, on my poor graduate student budget, is impossible.
BUT! That didn't stop me from getting inspiration for outfits and attempt to find similar pieces at a more affordable price, from say, Forever 21 or other cheaper stores.

Here are some photos from the event! We started the night off with some champagne while the models stood and showed off the clothing, and we were able to peruse the store with the awesome collection!

Floral Print for Spring BBQ!

Happy Spring lovelies!

This past weekend I went to a BBQ with some friends up in the valley at Lake Balboa. It was a glorious spring day in Los Angeles, and I was expecting the cherry blossoms to be in full bloom! Upon arriving at the lake, there were no cherry blossoms, but the trees had some I guess... but not as great as in the past when I have come to this lake!

It was a potluck style BBQ, and we all brought a dish to share, and burgers were cooked on the grill!

After stuffing ourselves and enjoying the sun, we decided to head back to west LA for a cat nap/food coma nap. 

I decided to wear this really pretty dress I received from my Aunt for my birthday, from PinkWoman. I adore the floral print on the skirt of this dress! It is so pretty and the colors are super feminine and soft. The black top of the dress is super flattering, and then floats out with the skirt!