Vol. 4 Issue 14 / Apr 26, 2004

Anna Zal

Position: Research Assistant.

Laboratory: Gascoigne lab, Department of Immunology.

Duties: Managing the lab and assisting in florescent imaging studies designed to show how T-cell receptors interact with different proteins.

Background: Bachelor's and master's degrees in Biotechnology from the Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland. Work as a technician at the Polish Academy of Science in Wroclaw and the National Institute for Medical Research in London, England.

Started at Scripps Research: 1997.

Thoughts on Gascoigne Lab: "Nick is a fantastic boss. The atmosphere in the lab is great and a lot of good people work there."

Family Life: Married to Senior Research Associate Tomasz Zal, who works next to her at the bench. "Tomasz and I work closely together. Some people have told me they could never work with their spouse, but for us it is a pleasure."

The Zals have two teenage children, Paulina, 15, and Hubert, 13. The family has also managed to accumulate a household full of pets—a dog, Mona, who was a stray; a cat, Kitcha, whom Hubert brought home; and three aquariums full of fish. "The aquariums started with just one little fish we saw in a pet shop..."

Extracurriculars: Camping and hiking with her family. One of the family's hobbies is to travel throughout the region looking for mineral specimens. Making necklaces and bracelets out of semi-precious stones and pearls was a natural extension of this gem hunting. "My goal is to create elegant yet wearable jewelry," Zal says.

Zal's jewelry will be on sale at the upcoming April 29 Spring Craft Fair along with handcrafted items from other Scripps Research employees.

 

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

 

 

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Research Assistant Anna Zal helps with the florescent imaging studies ongoing in the Gascoigne lab.