Experimental Heart

by Jennifer L. Rohn

Overview

Andy O'Hara, a post-doctoral researcher in a London cancer research institute, agrees to help an attractive colleague, Gina, who is collaborating with a pharmaceutical company. She is working on a virus-based vaccine but has discovered the company is planning a clinical trial of the vaccine in Africa without preliminary animal tests. Andy gets a tip-off that Gina's corporate collaborator has a shady past, but also discovers a scientific reason why the vaccine may be doomed to failure. As this excerpt begins, Andy and his friend Christine have helped Gina set up an illicit mouse experiment in their own animal facility, a move that could end all their careers if discovered.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780879698768
Publisher:	Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
Publication date:	11/13/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	350
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Dr. Jennifer Rohn is a cell biologist at University College London and founder and editor of LabLit.com , an online magazine devoted to lab culture and fiction. She has appeared on TV, radio, podcasts, live panels, and in print as a science/lit/art/culture pundit, and writes for various publications including Nature and The Scientist . She blogs about the scientific lifestyle at Mind the Gap on Nature Network . Experimental Heart is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

"Scientific publishers usually work diligently to avoid any allegation of publishing fiction. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, renowned for its prestigious scientific journals and books, smashes that mold with publication of its first novel...It’s a thriller whose subject is romantic self-discovery, and its milieu is the complex world of basic and applied life science research. It’s a good read, as Rohn makes her characters in the laboratory and the biotech communities come alive. I hope it’s a harbinger of more ‘lablit’ to come...Rohn’s skill in melding the scientific and literary worlds will give you a fresh perspective on life and work.”

Cell

"[Experimental Heart] realistically and humorously portrays the inner workings of a biology research lab, relations between the scientific community and the public, and the highs and lows of research life...Rohn spins a riveting thriller — replete with scientific discovery, fraud, falsified reagents, romantic darkroom encounters, threats, and even abduction — as Andy searches for personal and scientific fulfillment.”

Science

"Most science fiction is simply bad. Either the story is miserable or the scientific details aren't correct or both. But recently I discovered a book by Jennifer Rohn that, for me as a fan of mysteries and love stories, became a real page turner. There's a wellwritten, engaging plot and the science, ranging from ELISA to SCID mice, is correct (as far as I can tell, not being an expert in signal transduction)."

Lab Times