Janet Luo
The importance of studying genetic variants in humans has given rise to the worldwide HapMap Project, which can potentially lead to techniques to diagnose, treat, or prevent illnesses according to each persons different genetic makeup, thus enhancing efficacy. This project tests a method to identify crossover breakpoint regions at a higher resolution than previous studies have. Because single nucleotide polymorphisms are bi-allele, their limited number of states can be analyzed case by case in advance; studying families of three generations using tri-trio pedigree charts allows for the deduction of information […]
Spencer Christopher Wei
I will investigate the effects of specific histone acetylation on the locus of SOC1, a floral integrator gene. It is known that the acetylation status of chromatin modulates gene expression. I want to determine whether or not it is possible to modulate gene expression by specifically altering the histone acetylation status at the SOC1 locus using a fusion protein containing the DNA binding domain of OXS2, a transcription factor that specifically binds the SOC1 locus, and a histone acetyl transferase (HAT) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Following construction of a binary vector […]
Vibha Mahendra
The human lens is made up of two types of cells: a monolayer of lens epithelial cells, and its differentiated progeny, lens fiber cells. The differentiation process is a complex sequence of events in which lens epithelial cells slowly lose all their organelles, and elongate into lens fiber cells. There is a lens membrane protein called Lim2 that appears to exist only in lens fiber cells, and not in lens epithelial cells. Lim2 is known to be critically important for maintaining the integrity of the lens, and its role will […]
Leslie Chung-Lei Sheu
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), along with other infectious diseases, has become a resurgent global concern, in part due to selection for drug-resistant strains in infected populations. M.tb is able to survive within macrophages (innate immune cells that should engulf and degrade foreign material) in compartments known as phagosomes by some unknown mechanism. This summer, I want to use quantitative mass spectrometry to study how specific cell wall glycolipids of M.tb manipulate phagosomal membrane protein expression in macrophage cells. By comparing protein regulation by two structurally similar but functionally very different glycolipids […]
Hannah Chung
Iron is an indispensable micronutrient for living organisms. Studies have shown that the Hfe gene plays a significant role in iron regulation in mammalian cells. However, it is unclear how gene expression is affected by the defective Hfe gene to elicit higher iron accumulation than normal iron levels, and if strain differential iron overload in Hfe knock-out (KO) mice is associated with strain specific interactions of the genes. This summer, I will be addressing these questions by using microarray: differentially expressed genes in Hfe KO mice will be determined in […]
Shila Manandhar
Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons form, was thought to be impossible in mature brains for most of the 20th century. However, recent studies have found that neurogenesis in intact adult brains does occur in specific regions. I will be studying neurogenesis in vitro using neuroglial cells, which are neuron supporting cells, by treating them with Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) and Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF). Following treatment, I will perform functional tests to evaluate the extent to which these factors were able to promote the transdifferentiation of these neuroglial […]
Lee Ying
Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome (SLOS) is a genetic disease that causes mental retardation and physical abnormalities. Biochemically, a defect in the enzyme that catalyzes the terminal step of cholesterol synthesis causes cholesterol deficiency and a toxic accumulation of its precursor, 7-dehdyrocholesterol. Gene therapy to supply the missing enzyme has been shown to partially normalize cholesterol metabolism, but more biomarkers need to be established in order to fully explore its usefulness. For my SURF project, I will investigate whether photosensitivity and abnormal bile acid composition, which are symptoms of SLOS in humans, are […]
Huiyi Chen
Felice Lin
An alarming number of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections have begun to surface in communities due to a particular strain USA300. USA300 carries a single conjugative plasmid, pUSA03, which confers multiple antibiotic resistance. This is of great concern because the plasmid has been suggested to be able to acquire additional resistance genes in response to changing antibiotic uses. To study the evolution of pUSA03, I hope to characterize the pUSA03 plasmid found in USA300 isolates infecting patients by whole plasmid PCR scanning that could detect any structural changes in the plasmid […]
Stefano Iantorno
My research project revolves around the population genetic structure of the white-ruffed manakin, Corapipo altera, a species of passerine bird native to Costa Rica that has been previously studied to determine the effects of deforestation and habitat fragmentation on the genetic diversity of bird populations. By sequencing 15 microsatellite DNA loci from blood samples of individuals of different subpopulations, we hope to detect some genetic structuring indicating an absence of gene flow as expected by theoretical population genetics models. This result, if actually observed, would contradict previous research in this […]