Free Web NovelChapter 498: Chapter 298: Thought I’d Meet the Teacher... Cough Cough_3
He pointed to the fish in the basin, "Just this one, a useless fish!"
In the end, Zhao Yi didn’t eat the fish.
They went to the restaurant together, the fish was indeed killed, but it was disposed of completely.
Because... they were worried.
The fish had been left in the Biomedical Research Institute’s hallway for two days, and there were many viruses and bacteria in the laboratories there. If someone with ill intentions decided to use the fish for an experiment and put something strange in the basin, it would be terrifying.
Zhao Yi and Ai Lixin ate dinner together while discussing project matters.
He had been keeping a close eye on the lab and was very familiar with Ai Lixin’s work, and he knew about the projects that were being applied for.
The main focus was on one project: a structural study of the AIDS virulence factor Vif.
The AIDS virus has nine key genes, among which the virulence factor Vif is considered to have evolved in response to human evolution during the spread of the virus.
Vif has significant research value.
"By studying the structure of the Vif gene and clarifying the molecular mechanisms by which Vif hijacks immune cells, we can provide a basis for drug development," Ai Lixin said earnestly.
Several smaller projects were also mentioned.
Zhao Yi listened carefully again and nodded, "Submit this as is, no need to modify it, it should be enough."
"Our goal is to carry out a thorough analysis of the Vif gene and investigate the molecular mechanisms by which it functions."
"If the research progresses smoothly, how long do you think it will take?" Zhao Yi asked.
Ai Lixin hesitated for a moment and thought it over, "A year and a half? Research is very uncertain."
He wasn’t sure either.
Similar research is being done in many institutions, so their application might be granted, but whether they can actually complete the research is uncertain.
Progressing smoothly...
It’s hard to define this criterion.
Zhao Yi’s estimate, however, was that their project was similar to the Rheumatoid Arthritis project, and the criterion would rest on the amount of funding they applied for.
There were four people in the lab, and they applied for four projects.
The largest project belonged to Zhao Yi.
The other three smaller projects were under Ai Lixin, Zhang Wei, and Liu Chengjie. Together, the large and small projects had about 7 million in funding.
The largest project accounted for 6 million.
The other three smaller projects only had 1 million in funding collectively.
Zhao Yi believed that the lab could directly apply for projects at this level, but obtaining higher funding would be extremely difficult.
One reason is that the lab’s level is not high enough – there is a lack of researchers at the proper level, as well as not enough personnel and equipment.
Secondly, getting a project with over 10 million in funding would require the entire research institute to apply, and it would be very difficult for just one lab to do so.
It was only because the lab had significantly exceeded the goals of the Rheumatoid Arthritis project that they could apply for the larger AIDS research project, which was otherwise nearly impossible to get approved.
At this point, Zhao Yi felt the limitations of the lab’s equipment and personnel.
There were too few people.
There was still a lack of high-end equipment.
"We need to use the funding to add another high-end gene detector to our lab," Zhao Yi thought aloud. "This new project requires more than just a microarray chip scanner, and we will definitely need to borrow equipment from other labs."
"Yes!"
Ai Lixin agreed with a smile. Every researcher hopes their lab is equipped with more high-end equipment. It makes conducting research much easier, rather than having to borrow or apply for the use of the equipment for every research project.
"We should still recruit more people," Zhao Yi said thoughtfully. "We don’t have enough staff; we should add at least two more researchers."
What he meant was entry-level interns, or Assistant Researchers. It was essential to have more people in the lab who could do the work.
Ai Lixin lamented, "Unfortunately, I don’t have the qualifications to be a supervisor."
No one in the lab had these qualifications. They were all pure researchers, with no teaching responsibilities at the university, so they could not have students. Otherwise, having a few more students to help out would be ideal.
Students don’t know much and need guidance for their experiments, but entry-level researchers can hardly do better.
Supervisors can produce students and achieve results.
If recruiting an Assistant Researcher, there is also the issue of adapting to the working environment, as well as managing interpersonal relationships. The achievements of an Assistant Researcher are not significant to the relationships with other people.
Zhao Yi was considering this issue as well.
He certainly wasn’t qualified to supervise students, and even if he were, he couldn’t.
The next morning, he attended a biology course called "Biological Cell Science."
Zhao Yi usually attended these classes.
While the content of "Biological Cell Science" was elementary and aimed to introduce students to some knowledge in cell science, one of its goals was to cultivate students’ interest in studying cells.
But to Zhao Yi, it felt pointless. He just wanted to understand the content in the textbook, as the undergraduate-level knowledge was essential for a strong foundation.
The teacher for this course, Yan Yi, had completed her doctoral studies as an exchange student in Germany and was now teaching at the university after returning to her homeland.
As Yan Yi stood at the podium and elaborated on the content of the textbook, her teaching skills were hard to gauge. All Zhao Yi knew was that the class felt dull and uninteresting. freewebnoveℓ.com
Many students were falling asleep.
Zhao Yi, on the other hand, managed to stay awake, mainly because Yan Yi kept looking over at him. He touched his cheek, wondering why she was suddenly watching him so closely.
This wasn’t his first time attending the "Biological Cell Science" course.
Before, Yan Yi had always acted normally, so why was she now suddenly glancing his way so frequently?
After class.
As Zhao Yi was about to leave with the other students, he saw Yan Yi approaching, calling him, "Professor Zhao, please wait."
Professor Zhao?
Zhao Yi didn’t care much for the title, but usually, course teachers would address him directly by name, rather than add the respectful ’professor.’
"What’s up, Teacher Yan?" Zhao Yi stopped, puzzled.
Yan Yi looked around, blushing, and whispered, "Come on, sit, we’ll talk later." She continued to look from side to side, worried about being overheard by others.
Zhao Yi sized up Yan Yi.
She was not even thirty!
She had a great figure.
Even though she wasn’t extremely beautiful, she had an enormously... Attributes.
But that wasn’t important!
As the other students left, Yan Yi sat closer, red-faced and struggled for a long time before finally saying, "Professor Zhao, I applied for a job at the Biomedical Research Institute, but no lab accepted me. I was wondering if your lab needs people..."
"Huh?"
Zhao Yi thought he would encounter a teacher... well, he didn’t expect...
This...
A teacher asking a student if his lab was hiring felt somewhat strange, right?
Well, okay.
Zhao Yi answered, "I see, Teacher Yan, let me think it over and discuss it with the others. I’ll get back to you with an answer."
