Darren Goring and Dr. David Thomson, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology The original purpose of this study was to elucidate the effects of muscle stimulation on gene expression for mitochondrial proteins in mLKB1-KO mice (mice in which the LKB1 gene has been knocked out of the muscles and heart). LKB1 is an important protein […]
Trash Brings a New Diet Water Conservation in Cape Verde, Africa
Tanner Goff and Dr. Bruce Woolley, Department of Physiology and Development Biology In Sub-Saharan African countries the resource of most significance, we Americans take for granted: water. The African people know this and strive to minimize wasting such a precious resource. However, with little education on how to conserve water, waste is inevitable. The country […]
Exploring Folate Uptake in Chicken Understanding Prevention of Neural Tube Defects
Bret Gardner and Dr. Michael Stark, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology Neural tube defects (NTDs) are among the most common congenital malformations, afflicting .5- 8/1000 live births (Saitsu, 2003). Examples of such defects include spina bifida and anencephaly, resulting from failed closure of the posterior and anterior neural tube, respectively. The neural tube is […]
The Role of Nectin In Zyxin Localization
Jace Bullard and Dr. Marc Hansen, Department of Physiology & Developmental Biology Abstract A major difficulty of treating cancer rises from its ability to metastasize. During metastasis, strong adhesions between cells break, allowing individual cells to separate and migrate to different locations in the body. Strong cell-cell junctions are formed by protein interactions between actin […]
Biophysical Cell Membrane Changes During Chemotherapeutic Drug-Induced Apoptosis
Amanda Berbert and Dr. John Bell, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology Overview Our project provided us the opportunity to gain insight into how chemotherapy drugs affect the cell membrane and how secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) can work in tandem with these drugs to accelerate the cell death process. The enzyme sPLA2 produces a pro-inflammatory […]
Endocannabinoid Biosynthetic Enzymes in Hippocampal Interneurons
Ryan Williamson and Dr. Jeff Edwards, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology The hippocampus is a region of the brain that mediates learning and memory formation by changing the properties of synapses within its circuitry [2]. The plastic nature of these synapses allows the brain to alter how sensitive one neuron is to stimulation from […]
Rescuing the Collagen 2A1 Gene in Mouse Model to Alleviate Stickler Syndrome Symptoms
Jamie Twiggs and Dr. Robert Seegmiller, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology Stickler Syndrome is a severe disease with no cure that occurs in 1/7500 births resulting in extreme ocular, craniofacial, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular problems for those diagnosed. It is caused by mutations in the collagen genes, most often a premature stop codon in the […]
Does Secretory Phospholipase A II Induce Apoptosis in Cells that have been Infected by a Virus?
Stephanie Melchor and Dr. John Bell, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology Well, to be perfectly honest, this project has been fraught with disaster since the beginning. We obtained 400 microliters of the immunosuppressive strain of Minute Virus of Mice (MVMi) at 1 x 109 pfu/mL from Dr. David J. Pintel at the University of […]
Effects of Acetyl-L-carnitine Supplementation on AMPK-Activity and Mitochondrial Biogenesis in LKB1 Knockout Mice
Lisa McCoy and Dr. David Thomson, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology During the medical school interview of the school I will be attending next Fall, my interviewer asked me to speak of a time in which I had failed or suffered an obstacle in my academic career. He laughed and said that I probably […]
Effects of AntiViral Drug Compounds in Blocking Influenza Virus M2 Channels in Xenopus Laevis Ooctyes
Timothy McClain and Professor David Busath, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology Goal/Purpose of the Project The purpose of this project was to research and test various drug compounds to prevent influenza virus infection. A specific target of my research is M2 protein channels that aid in the uncoating of the viral coat. Recent mutations have rendered formerly […]