CELL BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY

High School

Using Phytoaccumulation to End Mineral Deficiencies
Emelyn Beaster, Duluth East High School

My project studies how mustard greens (B. juncea) can absorb a substantial amount of essential minerals via the process of phytoaccumulation. Mineral deficiencies are incredibly common across the globe and can have devastating results for those affected. This study spotlights two minerals that many of the world is deficient in: Zinc (Zn) and Magnesium (Mg), and demonstrates the ability of this process to prevent mineral deficiencies by easily fortifying a diet with essential minerals without the need for extra supplementation.

Connections Between Developmental Risk Factors and the Onset of Multiple Sclerosis
Illiana Bennett, American Heritage School Plantation

With this project the correlations between neurological abnormalities often found during infancy and the onset of Multiple Sclerosis were analyzed. This was in order to find a comprehensive look upon what some of the leading causes to the onset of the neurological disease Multiple Sclerosis may be.

Effects of mobile phone radiation on Drosophila melanogaster
Robbie Cekada, American Heritage School Boca/Delray

My presentation is an overview of my literature review on the affects of mobile phone radiation on Drosophila melanogaster. There is also an expansion upon what the affects of mobile phone radiation can have on the human body.

IL-17 Effect on Behavior and Chronic Brain Injury
Christian Custodio, American Heritage School Plantation

This is a website that visualizes the processes that interleukins and other immune responses go through within the brain.

The effect of Helicobacter pylori on preventing pancreatic cancer cell death
Zara Dalvi, American Heritage School Boca/Delray

This experiment’s purpose of this experiment was to help possibly find a cure or at least aid when it comes to the shrinking of pancreatic cancer cells. Seeing that Helicobacter pylori had an effect on stomach cancer, this experiment was carried out on the basis due of the close proximity of the stomach and the pancreas.

The Effects of Docosahexaenoic Acid on the Improvement of Neuron Proliferation, Synaptic Plasticity, and Neuromuscular Activity
Avinash Kanakam, American Heritage School Boca/Delray

Using the Omega-3 PUFA known as Docosahexaenoic Acid in order to increase neuron proliferation and promoting synaptic plasticity in hippocampal neurons, which would mean both an increase in memory capacity and complexity. Also analyzes DHA's effect on increasing neuromuscular activity for means of promoting "muscle memory".

The Effect of Curcumin on the NF-kB Apoptotic Signaling Pathway in Melanoma Cells
Sruthi Karanam, American Heritage School Boca/Delray

One of the most common types of cancers is melanoma, a type of aggressive skin cancer. This type of cancer is becoming more dangerous due to becoming drug resistant. This makes research into alternative treatments extremely important. One alternative that has been found to be a possible treatment is curcumin. Therefore, the purpose of this experiment was to understand how curcumin affected the apoptosis of melanoma cells by affecting the NF-kB cell signaling pathway which induces both apoptosis and autophagy.

Blocking Neuropilin-1 in Drosophila melanogaster as a Possible Treatment for Pain and Limiting SARS-CoV-2 Entry
Ania Kelegama, American Heritage School Plantation

This project entails blocking the NRP-1 receptor in fruit flies through the use of monoclonal antibodies, traditionally used for cancer treatment. Through mechanical and heat nociception assays, drosophila were tested for their responses to inflicted pain after mAbs were used to block pain receptors. The results of this study are crucial to pain treatment and may even be helpful in understanding the cellular components of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Gene Expression and Signaling of the Hedgehog Pathway in Drosophila Melanogaster
Savanah Lares, American Heritage School Plantation

My research uses proteins to regulate the expression of these genes. In my hypothesis, I predicted that the PKI would change the mutant drosophila’s expression of the gene the most. I treated the flies to different proteins and observed the results and the changes of the flies’ behaviors. To test my data, I used the wing injury assay, climbing assay, and reproduction assay. In the outcome of my experiment, the proteins had an effect that aligned with my hypothesis.

Identification and Analysis of Novel Synovial Tissue-based Biomarkers and Interacting Pathways for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Paridhi Latawa, Liberal Arts and Science Academy

In this project, I utilized various bioinformatics tools to analyze expression study data for differentially expressed genes in donor synovial tissue. Novel pathways of interest and previously unclassified, potential biomarkers were identified for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

Clustering and Detecting Nucleotide Modifications on the 18S Yeast (S. cerevisiae) rRNA
Shreya Mantripragada and Alejandra Duran, Monta Vista High School

Our project presents a preliminary approach in understanding why chemical modifications occur on an rRNA strand and whether these modifications either play a trivial or vital role in the human body. For the project, we used a variety of computational tools such as Dimensionality Reduction and Clustering Algorithms to gives us a greater understanding of these modifications and why they are present in a Yeast cell.

Assessing the Impact of Vaping on Vascular Health
Angelin Mathew, American Heritage School Plantation

Over 5 million teenagers in the United States reported smoking an e-cigarette in 2019. Although e-cigarette products such as JUULs are rapidly growing in popularity, many users believe e-cigarettes are safe. Furthermore, there are limited studies rigorously analyzing vascular and genetic changes induced by smoking JUULS. We present a rigorous analysis of transcriptomic (bulk RNA sequence) data from endothelial cells derived from human JUUL smokers and non-product users. Endothelial cells line the vasculature and their dysfunction is the first sign of vascular damage. Thus, our research presents an improved model for understanding cardiovascular damage and dysfunction.

The Effect of Anti-PD-L2 Monoclonal Antibodies on Colorectal Cancer
Sona Patel, American Heritage School Boca/Delray

Various doses of anti-PD-L2 antibodies were applied to groups of centrifuge tubes containing cancer cell suspension. Cell growth was observed for five consecutive days. It was found that five microliters of antibody was the most effective.

The Role of SerpinB3 on Glioblastoma Cancer Stem Cell Proliferation
Sunay Rastogi, University School

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary human malignant brain tumor; the median overall survival of those affected is 14 to 16 months. Poor prognosis can be attributed to the high recurrence rate of the disease, which is due, in part, to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs). This research is focused on studying the interaction between SerpinB3 and junction adhesion molecule A (JAM-A) in GBM CSCs. Previous studies provide evidence that JAM-A has an intrinsic, pro-tumorigenic role in regulating the CSC phenotype. None of these studies, however, focused specifically on JAM-A's intracellular downstream signaling. A pulldown of His-tagged JAMA was done to identify binding partners and resulted in the identification of the serine protease inhibitor SerpinB3. Endogenous JAMA binding to SerpinB3 was confirmed through immunoprecipitation of SerpinB3. To investigate the CSC-specific role of SerpinB3, SerpinB3 was knocked-down in a human GBM xenograft model (T4121) utilizing 2 non-overlapping short-hairpin RNA constructs. This generated 2 knockdown conditions (each a variation of expressed SerpinB3) and a nontarget control. A CellTiter-Glo® assay was used to measure CSC growth dynamics and a limiting dilution assay was done to determine the stem cell frequency. These in vitro studies demonstrated reduced function of the CSC when SerpinB3 was knocked down. GBM CSCs were orthotopically implanted into NSG mice via an intracranial injection (n=30). Median survival for non-target control mice was 28 days while neither knockdown condition reached median survival at day 50 (log-rank test, P< 0.001). This finding suggests that SerpinB3 disrupts the CSC state in GBM.

Identification and Optimization of Novel, Selective Small Molecule Inhibitors of HDAC-2 for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL)
Mahi Ravi, Saratoga High School

Using computational chemistry/in silico modeling tools, a subset of non-selective kinase inhibitors can be modified to improve kinase selectivity leading to more promising preclinical candidate molecules for NHL.

Assessing the Neuroregenerative Properties of the Electrically Stimulated Adipose-derived Stem Cell (ASC) Secretome
Bhaveshsai Reddy, American Heritage School Plantation

This study aims to investigate stem cell research as it applies to neuro-regeneration through a novel approach that avoids traditional externalities associated with direct stem cell implantation. Traditional transplants of stem cells come with numerous possible complications, including, but not limited to, immune response, high costs, internal bleeding, etc. In this study, we investigated stem cell therapy in a non-cell, biologics based approach. Through this approach, we can extract biological secretions from the stem cells as they mature (secretome) and apply them to neurons directly, forgoing the need for the implantation of foreign cells into the body. This vastly reduces the possibility of complications associated with traditional stem cell transplants. The secretome can also be significantly altered through various experimental conditions like electrical stimulation, culture nutrient modification, cell sourcing (clinical vs. commercial), and many more.

Customized Cancer Cell Weapons: Using CRISPR dCas9 Genetic Engineering to modify MCF7 Human Breast Cancer Cells into Double Agent Treatment Vectors
Neil Reddy, Satellite High School

The genome of cells is like an instruction book, telling the cell what to do and how to do it. It accounts for the numerous behaviors and characteristics of cells. The same applies to cancer cells. Their genome consists of many unique behaviors and characteristics. Using the latest genetic engineering techniques, the genome or “instruction book” of cancer becomes malleable like a Microsoft word document, in that it can be specifically edited to suit treatment purposes. For example, using genetic engineering techniques like CRISPR dCas9 we can delete and "type" new instructions into the document" to manipulate cancer cell behavior. We can even trick cancer cells to deliver treatments to other cancer cells by changing their programming making them "double agents". For instance, a behavior known as “tumor self seeding”/ “self homing ability” is the tendency of cancer cells to leave established tumor sites and recruit circulating cancer cells to be brought back to the original tumor site to fortify its presence in the body by relaying signals. Known as the bystander effect, these signals are known to influence surrounding cancer cells. Using CRISPR dCas9 death signals can be embedded in a small group of cancer cells by activating an apoptotic gene (genes that induce cell death). These cells can then act as double agents to broadcast these desirable treatment signals to reduce cancer presence in the body. In essence these novel biotechnology techniques could potentially help millions of people affected by Breast Cancer in a safe and effective manner.

Identifying Intratumoral Heterogeneity in a Microfluidic Tumor Model for Personalized Cancer Therapy
Shailesh Senthil Kumar, Lynbrook High School

This project aims to characterize phenotypic heterogeneity in a more accurate, efficient, and cost-effective tumor model. A microfluidic tumor-on-a-chip was designed to replicate the tumor microenvironment, incorporating model blood vessels and embedded A549 cell spheroids. The project paired this reusable 3D-printed microfluidic device with computer vision to characterize phenotypic heterogeneity spatiotemporally.

An In-Depth Comparison of the Various Methods of Genetic Modification Concerning Plants: A Literature Review
Areesh Sobhani, American Heritage School Boca/Delray

I compared various methods of genetic modification concerning plants. The intended methods to be compared were Agrobacterium aided transformation, microprojectile bombardment, electroporation/electrophoresis, and transposition. The goal of this study was to find an optimized protocol for genetic modification.

Cure of Breast Cancer - Year 4: First Discovery of New Target Therapy for Aggressive Hormonal Breast Cancer
Christine Song, Mayo High School

My project is about the discovering the first target therapy for aggressive hormonal (HR+) breast cancer, or specifically the estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor–positive (ER-/PR+) subtype, which doesn’t have any suitable therapy and therefore, has a poor clinical outcome. I have studied breast cancer during four years. During this period, I found that inflammation inhibitors inhibits the cancer cell growth and metastasis in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), that is most aggressive breast cancer subtype. In this study, I found that gene expression in ER-/PR+ HR+ breast cancer is positively related to TNBC and not HR+ breast cancer using the database from 4,319 breast cancer patients and 53,805 gene expressions. Also, I found that suppression of inflammation-related genes inhibited ER-/PR+ cancer cell growth and metastasis using ERα KO (ER-/PR+) cell lines. Inflammation inhibitor, Ac-YVAD-CHO, specifically blocks ER-/PR+ tumor proliferation and migration. Until now, the target therapy for ER- breast cancer subtype has not been developed (for ER-/PR+ hormonal breast cancer and TNBC), or even with target therapy, its effectiveness is limited (for ER-/PR+/HER2+). Therefore, my study proposes a new treatment for aggressive ER- breast cancer patients.

Using Machine Learning to Predict Features Related to Adaptive Immune Response in COVID-19
Chapin Zerner, Commack High School

Based on gene expression and cell signature data, I created an objective disease severity score and built a machine learning model to accurately predict patients' adaptive immune response (disease severity) to COVID-19.

Undergraduate

Development and Application of High-Throughput Assay Systems for the Detection of Rieske Dioxygenase Activity
Phillip Betts, Ball State University

Rieske deoxygenates (RDOs) are a class of enzyme that may be used to form very valuable compounds, but their use is restricted by RDOs' strict selectivity and limited substrate scope. In order to develop RDOs with greater substrate scopes, a new assay system must be developed. Two novel assay systems were developed, both reacting with dialdehydes created by the reaction of RDO metabolites to sodium metaperiodate to create strong fluorescent or absorbent responses.

The Role of Set2 in Protein Degradation
Mahmoud Daraghmi, Ball State University

Set2 gene is identified to play a role in protein degradation. This presentation will discuss the different sites where the gene can/cannot be functional.

The Effects of Blue Light and Antibiotic Synergistic Treatments on Biofilms
Katherine Heeres, Hillsdale College

This research focuses on testing the potential use of blue light irradiation in conjunction with antibiotics in order to more effectively kill Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. P. aeruginosa is one of the most relevant pathogens, infecting surface burns, medical equipment, and implants due to its multidrug-resistant nature and ability to grow in biofilms. Due to the increasing degree of antibiotic resistance demonstrated by P. aeruginosa and other resistant organisms new treatment options must be explored. Blue light has also been shown to kill otherwise antibiotic-resistant organisms but is limited in its ability to fully eradicate a resistant biofilm due to incomplete penetration. Therefore, combining the use of blue light irradiation and traditional antibiotics may result in a highly effective new treatment which could be used both on surface wounds, on medical implants, and on other surfaces prone to biofilm growth.

Contribution of cGAS to Inflammation Caused by DNA Damage
Irina Leshchuk, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

We know that damage to self-DNA can elicit inflammation that exacerbates disease progression; this is especially problematic within the enclosed confines of the central nervous system (CNS). DNA is normally restricted to the nucleus and mitochondria in healthy cells, so its presence in the cytosol could act as a damage associated molecular pattern (DAMP) to trigger immune responses. Previous research in our lab has shown that the cytosolic DNA sensor cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) can trigger inflammatory responses in CNS cells following viral infection. We formed the hypothesis that it might also serve as a sensor for damaged self-DNA in these cells. This is DNA resulting from nuclear DNA damage or mitochondrial damage that releases DNA into the cytosol. To test this hypothesis, we determined the ability of DNA damaging ionizing radiation and oxidative stress to elicit inflammatory mediator production in cultured wild-type glial brain cells and cells deficient in the expression of cGAS. We found that glial cells deficient in cGAS expression produced markedly lower levels of the key inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 and the chemokine IL-8 than wild-type cells. This was assessed by specific capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). The data we gathered points to a significant role for cGAS in the perception of damaged self-DNA. We hope that this will broaden our understanding of the role of this cytosolic sensor in resident brain cells. Furthermore, this work sets the stage for future studies to find the physiological importance of this activation mechanism in glial responses to DNA damage and its potential role in adverse inflammatory reactions to interventions such as cancer radiation therapy.

Post-Transcriptional Regulation of Mitochondrial Ribosomal Proteins Confers Chemoresistance in Quiescent Cancer Cells
Harrison Ngue, Harvard University

Cancer is often characterized by the rapid proliferation of cells, but have you ever heard of cancer cells that *don’t* divide? Recent studies have uncovered tumors that contain subpopulations of nondividing cells, appropriately termed “quiescent” cells. Though these cells are dormant, it has been shown that the quiescent state provides advantages for the cells to enable survival in tumor-negative environments such as chemotherapy. Moreover, because quiescence is a reversible state, the cells’ newly-developed chemoresistant phenotypes often cause severe clinical manifestations among patients upon cancer relapse. The goal of this project is to elucidate the biochemical mechanisms that induce the development of chemoresistance, as doing so could reveal potential therapeutic targets.

Sticky Business of Yeast
Libin Thomas and Andreas Markoulli, Molloy College

Adherence to abiotic surfaces as well as to cells is one of the critically important initial steps for many pathogenic yeasts to exert their pathogenicity. The cell surface adhesive proteins play a major role in enabling yeast cells to become adherent. To explore the diverse adhesive proteins in yeast, wild yeast strains were isolated from variety of origins and identified by microscopic examination, selective culturing and sequencing. Various phenotypic assays were performed to characterize two wild yeast strains, CPBM1 and LTP2-4, isolated from a mailbox and a fly, respectively. Both strains exhibited comparable growth rate to the laboratory yeast strains, ability to adhere to plastic, as well as capability to grow into a mat on semi-solid surface. The potential of identification of putative adhesive molecules in the wild yeast strains may shed light on the adhesion mechanisms of yeast infection.

Evaluating Bioengineered Stem-Cell Derived Extracellular Vesicles in the Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases
Aja Tucker, Tougaloo College

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death nationally. Thus, it is of great importance for more research to be dedicated in investigating novel treatments for this disease. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of bioengineered stem - cell derived extracellular vesicles in treating cardiovascular disease. With the knowledge gained from the literature review, new molecules for bioengineering were proposed.

Graduate

Investigating the Effect of E1841K Mutation in MYH9 Gene on Ocular Lens Morphogenesis
Sadia Islam, University of Delaware

MYH9-related disease (MYH-RD) is a rare autosomal dominant disease caused by mutations in the gene encoding the actin-activated motor protein, non-muscle myosin IIA (NMIIA). MYH9-RD patients present with bleeding disorder, elevated liver enzyme, kidney disease, hearing loss and cataract/opacification of the ocular lens. Despite known cases of cataracts, the effect of MYH9 mutations in ocular lens morphogenesis is yet to be investigated. Here, we characterize the effect of a common MYH9-mutation associated with cataract, E1841K in the rod domain, on lens morphogenesis using knock-in mouse genetic models. We found that these mutations do not cause obvious cataracts in the mouse model. However, E1841K mutation reduces lens size and generates a somewhat flatter lens shape. We evaluated NMIIA and F-actin distribution in lens epithelial and fiber cells, and observed NMIIA aggregation in fiber cells of mutant lenses. Upon further evaluation, we discovered that E1841K mutations lead to fiber cell disorder and loss of normal hexagonal packing organization. Interestingly, despite major cellular disorganization, lenses in E1841K mutant mice do not have any changes in their biomechanical properties. This challenges the theory that lens fiber cell morphogenesis has an effect on overall lens biomechanical stiffness. Instead, our findings indicate that E1841K mutations which disrupt normal hexagonal fiber cell packing may cause light scattering and thus poor vision.

Polymerization of phospho-Tau protein by GSK-3β, MARK4, and Fyn protein kinases
Erving Laryea, Oakland University

My research presentation is on the evaluation of which class of protein kinase (Proline directed protein kinase - GSK-3β, Non proline directed protein kinase - MARK4, and protein Tyrosine kinase - Fyn) promotes Tau protein polymerization and how to use the results obtained from this research to design effective therapy options to help treat patients with Alzheimer's disease as polymerization of Tau protein leads to the blockade of neuronal channels hence affecting proper neuronal communication.

Impact of Oxidative Stress on Heart Health
Kaitlin Lowran, Oakland University

New description: Human cardiomyocytes (CMs) undergo a significant amount of oxidative stress, which can negatively impact the contractile force for hearts. Accumulation of oxidative stress or DNA damage within CMs can lead to cancer, cardiovascular disease, or stroke. The human FANCJ helicase is involved with multiple DNA repair pathways, specifically interstrand DNA crosslinks and oxidative stress. This project focuses on determining if FANCJ can rescue the contractile function of human cardiac cells in the presence of DNA damage.

Diabetes and Bone Health
Rachana Vaidya, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Hi, My name is Rachana Vaidya and I am a PhD student in the department of Bioengineering at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, United States. My Thesis work is to understand how diabetes affect osteocyte cell behavior and disrupts the bone remodeling process to understand bone fragility in diabetic patients. Currently my lab is working on testing the effects of the hyperglycemia, advanced glycation end-products such as pentosidine, and inflammation on bone remodeling, glycation and pro-inflammatory makers in osteocytes. My team and I hope our research will help in identification of key bone specific biomarkers as therapeutic targets to improve the bone quality of diabetic patients with a higher fracture risk.

Elucidating the Stress Phenome in Reef Building Corals with a Multi-omics Approach
Amanda Williams, Rutgers University

Network approaches were used to analyze transcriptomic and polar metabolomic data generated from the stress resistant coral Montipora capitata under ambient and thermally stressed conditions in order to identify key genes and compounds involved in biological pathways sustaining the coral under environmental stress which may serve as targets for conservation efforts.

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