Taiwo "Tee" Ijatuyi: My Western blot journey, from clueless to confident

Tee in her lab coat with a pipette in her hand, performing a Western blot. — Taiwo "Tee" Ijatuyi runs a Western blot in the laboratory. Photo courtesy of Taiwo Ijatuyi.

This piece was written in the spring of 2025 by GRAD 5144 (Communicating Science) student Taiwo "Tee" Ijatuyi as part of an assignment to write a personal narrative about her research.

When I first joined Dr. Paul Morton’s lab in the Department of Biomedical Science and Pathobiology at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, I had no idea what I was doing. Excited? Yes. Clueless? Absolutely.

“Tee, start with GAPDH,” Dr. Morton said. “It’s a control protein. A good way to learn.”

I nodded like I understood. I didn’t. What did he mean?

Trial 1: Total Failure

Sara, the lab tech, helped me set up my first Western blot. She explained that the technique helps to detect a specific protein in a complex mixture of proteins. I followed the protocol step by step, ran the gel, transferred the proteins, and added the antibody. I was so sure I had done everything right.

I put my membrane in the imaging machine, held my breath, and saw nothing. Just a blank screen.

Panic.

“What did I do wrong?!” I asked Sara.

She took one look and sighed. “Tee, did you put the membrane the right way during transfer?”

Oh. I hadn’t.

I felt so dumb. First Western blot, and I had already messed it up completely.

Trial 2: Still a Mess

The second time, I made sure to place the membrane correctly. I was feeling confident. This had to work.

I developed the blot and something appeared. This time it was not a blank! But instead of nice, clear bands, it was just a big, dark membrane.

Dr. Morton glanced at my blot and said, “Too much antibody. Try diluting it, and also, do a good blocking process.”

I was so frustrated. Another mistake. But at least this time, there was something.

An image of a protein blot of GADPH, showing clear bands in columns. — A protein blot of GAPDH, otherwise known as glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Photo courtesy of Taiwo Ijatuyi.

Trial 3: Finally, Success!

For the third attempt, I was extra careful. I read about the theoretical aspects of the work before starting the experiment. I asked Sara a lot of questions that were bothering me. I carefully prepared my reagents. Measured everything twice. No shortcuts.

I put the membrane in the imaging machine, crossed my fingers with much anticipation, and saw beautiful, clear bands exactly where they should be.

“Oh my God, I did it!” I whispered. I was smiling so hard.

I showed Dr. Morton the next day. He nodded. “Good job, Tee. Now, let’s move on to real samples.”

I couldn’t stop smiling. I had finally figured it out.

Looking Back

After that, Western blotting became way easier. I got faster, I got better, and I even helped others when they struggled.

Thinking back, I realize that my mistakes weren’t failures, they were just part of learning. And it all started with GAPDH.

Note: GAPDH is an acronym for the name of a specific protein, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. GAPDH does lots of things in our bodies – but the important thing for this story is that I was able to find it on a Western blot!