Journal of Undergraduate Research

Madison Wilson and Jason M. Hansen, Physiology & Developmental Biology Introduction Valproic acid (VPA) is a common drug used to treat epileptic seizures as well as bipolar disease. Over the past decade, the use of these drugs has increased dramatically as they are now being prescribed as antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and are currently being tested […]

Alyssa Palmer and Jason Hansen, Physiology and Developmental Biology Introduction The causes of the majority of birth defects remain largely unknown today. However, many chemicals known to cause defects are also known inducers of oxidative stress, resulting in faulty cellular function. This suggests an important link between oxidative stress and normal and abnormal embryonic development […]

Juan Mejia and Juan Arroyo, PhD, Physiology and Developmental Biology Introduction The placenta is an organ composed of highly vascular tissue. It plays an essential role in healthy fetal development as a mediator of gases and nutrients between the mother and fetus. Many complications can occur in this stage of fetal development, such as intrauterine […]

Kaleb Egbert and Paul Reynolds, Physiology & Developmental Biology Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a well-established cause of respiratory illness in infants and children who live in environments where exposure is common. Recent studies have been performed to examine the potential effects of SHS exposure on fetus’s before they are born1. The data collected suggests that […]

Patrick Badger and Dr. Jason Hansen, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology Introduction Ultraviolet light (UV) plays a critical role in the etiology of skin cancer, contributing to over 95% of both melanoma and non-melanoma diagnoses. It consists of several wavelengths, among which UVB is the most harmful, causing inflammation associated with sunburn and constituting […]

Mark Roth and Dr. Jonathan Alder, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology Conditional cell lines are widely used throughout biochemical research. The basic concept is that you can delete a gene you are studying upon the addition of a drug, to cells in culture, and then use the knockout cells to study the genes effects. […]

Brian Parker and Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Bikman-PDBIO Introduction The growing worldwide incidence of obesity and its associated pathologies, like type 2 diabetes, has received much deserved attention. However, despite this attention and substantial research efforts, little meaningful progress has been made in slowing or reversing the growing cost and trends of obesity worldwide. As of […]

Todd Dunaway and Paul Reynolds, Physiology and Developmental Biology Introduction: Preeclampsia (PE) is a complicated obstetric complication characterized by increased blood pressure and decreased trophoblast invasion. PE is one of the leading causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality in developed countries. The growth arrest-specific 6 (Gas6) protein is known to induce different responses […]

Nate Batey, Zach Frederich, Morgan Fronk, Nate Jenkins and Jonathon Hill, Physiology and Developmental Biology Introduction Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is the most common type of birth defect in the United States, causing more first-year infant deaths than any other birth defect (1). While the causes of CHD are varied, genetic defects are known to […]

Michael Goodman and Faculty Mentor: David Kooyman, Physiology and Developmental biology A correlation between Osteoarthritis (OA), affecting over 27 million people in the US [1], and metabolic syndrome (MS), affecting over 340 million people worldwide [2], becomes strikingly important as the search for an effective treatment for OA continues. Increasing evidence has shown that OA […]