Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Sum Ying Celeste Wu

Investigating Plekhg2/3 in the African Clawed Frog (Xenopus Laevis)

I aim to continue working on characterizing the Plekhg2 and Plekhg3 gene pathways in African Clawed Frogs (Xenopus laevis), which will aid our understanding in the gastrulation process. Gastrulation gives rise to the ectoderm and endoderm among other structures, and has a marked migration process where cells called bottle cells initiate the “caving in” that forms aforementioned layers. The genes of interest, among others that my lab mentor and I have worked on, are thought to either kickstart or sustain the bottle cell movement. We hope to use our recently completed gene construct to run knockout (mRNA) or rescue experiments which will give us more insight on the bigger picture of gene pathways related to bottle cells and gastrulation.

Message To Sponsor

Research has really been the highlight of my time at Berkeley so far and I truly am indebted to the generosity from donors who make my summer plans possible. As someone who is interested in pursuing a research career, all this experience is invaluable for my future, as well as to nurture a long-standing passion in biological sciences. I am grateful to have this opportunity to explore what I love and am curious about, which always seemed like such a remote dream when younger.