1. Washington University School of Medicine at Washington University Medical Center, Campus Box 8111
660 S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, (314) 362-3293, Fax (314) 747-1345
Department of Neurology
July 1, 2012
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this recommendation letter for Ms. Gretchen McGee in support of her
search for a new position of employment. Gretchen has been a Research Technician
I in my laboratory since January, 2010. I have found her to be highly effective at her
job and it is only due to an unfortunate lack of funding that her position has been
eliminated. Gretchen is very qualified as a Research Technician due to her expertise
in mouse work along with basic laboratory research methodology.
Gretchen came to work for me after spending a few years working in the animal
facility at Washington University in St. Louis. She was also involved in the harvesting
of oviducts for re-derivation of mice. I specifically hired her to maintain my mouse
colony for immunology research that I was establishing as a new investigator at The
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. My work focuses on the
antigen presentation requirements in animal models for multiple sclerosis. The
cellular neuro-immunology research in my laboratory heavily depends upon
genetically engineered mice. Gretchen responsibilities in my laboratory have
included breeding and screening over a dozen different mouse lines. Her ability to
organize the animal room has been nothing short of amazing. We developed an on-
line mouse cataloging system and Gretchen has been proactive in organizing and
maintaining this spreadsheet. She was able to learn genetic screening of mice, from
tail isolation to PCR. In addition, she has used basic flow cytometric blood analysis
to screen mice. In essence, Gretchen has performed mouse colony breeding,
screening and maintenance for my laboratory over the past two years and has done
so with high efficiency.
Of note are Gretchen’s connections with the Department of Comparative Medicine
system and employees. She is very aware of the policies, hierarchy, organization
and staffing issues in the animal facilities at Washington University in St. Louis. This
has very clearly benefited my laboratory during Gretchen’s tenure. Of course, her
skills as a mouse technician are reflected by her certification as a Registered
Laboratory Animal Assistant Technician (RALAT). This certification from the
American Association for Laboratory Animal Science signifies Gretchen’s technical
expertise in the field of animal science.
Gretchen has also been involved in other aspects of the research in my laboratory.
For example, she has piloted the purification of microglial cells from neonatal mice. A

2. Washington University School of Medicine at Washington University Medical Center, Campus Box 8111
660 S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, (314) 362-3293, Fax (314) 747-1345
Department of Neurology
member of an outside laboratory showed this technique to her one time. From that
point forward, Gretchen was able to successfully provide microglial cells for
experiments. I find this particularly impressive, as the isolation of microglia is a
technique that requires fine surgical precision along with sterile cell culture methods.
From talking with her, I have learned that Gretchen is very interested in surgical
techniques. She is very motivated to perform experiments in the lab that have a
surgical component to them. Gretchen has also expressed an interested in
reproductive biology, but has not had the opportunity in my laboratory to perform any
experiments related to this.
During her time in the lab, Gretchen has taken an active role in directing
undergraduate students in the laboratory. This has been another bonus for me,
since she can direct daily tasks and chores in a pro-active manner. She is fastidious
but recognizes this feature of her lab behavior. Her cleanliness in the lab has never
been a source of conflict. Rather, she makes a point of keeping things tidy and
organized in a reasonable fashion for everyone. As a matter of fact, Gretchen gets
along well with everyone in the lab. Furthermore, Gretchen has always been very
responsible in scheduling vacations and absences from work, with flexibility in
working around experiments at times. She was also very good about initiating and
maintaining her certifications for the lab (e.g. HIPAA compliance, lab safety) and has
held the responsibility for maintaining all environmental health and safety records and
documents. We have passed our annual lab safety inspection each year under her
auspices.
Overall, I feel Gretchen has been an asset to my laboratory. She is very capable at
mouse work and has learned new techniques such as PCR and basic flow cytometry.
I would very much like to continue having Gretchen in my lab, but due to insufficient
funding this is not possible. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Sincerely,
Gregory Wu, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurology