Is production of recombinant virus difficult? - anybody done before? (Apr/18/2011 )

I'm a post-doc fellow and supposed to take over a project that two PhD students failed to do in our lab. I'm supposed to produce a recombinant virus by reverse genetics. can't name the virus in here for confidential reasons, but just wondering if anyone around here has done it before?

The method is already established for this particular virus, but the publications don't go into details how they've done it. Anybody know any book or source for that?

Best would be to talk or visit with the authors of the article that reported the result.

Ahm,
If you are supposed to do it, does it mean you still have not started working on that? Considering that two PhD projects were based on that and failed my advice would be to let someone else do that project.

Standard story, if it doesn’t work first 10 times lets take someone else to make it work. If there are publications maybe your boss should or could be in contact with those people and you could get what you need and use it for what you want.

In my lab 3 PhD projects based on the same idea failed. It just happened that during my project (which had nothing to do with others) the reason for failure was identified. There are heaps of papers in agreement but no, they took another student to do exactly the same project because other 3 students were not capable.

See what those 2 students look like now, maybe you’ll end up like them.

I have no choice, I have to start it because I need money. I am newly married and am desperate to earn money to save us both. post-doc is not like PhD anymore, it is a job rather than having stress to fail a degree.

Congratulations on both marriage and postdoc position. Your post sounded like the lab I am still in. These people do not value even postdocs. There is a guy who’s thesis is still most talked about (really nice work) working as a postdoc now. He said the same thing ‘9am to 5 pm can’t be that bad’. He got married, recently became a father, therefore signed a longer contract. He is not even a shadow of what he used to be. Never smiles, avoids people, stares at the ground.

Don’t be too nice and quiet now. Use your position the best you can. This guy didn’t, he is too polite and shows respect for people who don’t deserve it.

This is completely different from the answer you were seeking, but never let them know that you are desperate. What I learned is, the more desperate one is the more unfair superiors are.