BIO 4277 Investigation and Research III
The Role of Protein Kinase D1 in the Cell Cycle
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I was granted an internship at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. While under the supervision of a mentor, I successfully completed an individualized research project. My experience at this prestigious lab has been one of the highlights of my Senior year. Our findings will soon be published in a Scientific Journal.
BIO 3277 Investigation and Research II
Identification and Characterization of Post
Transcriptional Regulators in Leishmania braziliensis
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I had the opportunity to conduct research in a Parasitologist lab. My project piggy-backed on a previous student's work identifying miRNAs in Leishmania braziliensis. Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by an intracellular, protozoan parasite of the species Leishmania. During its life cycle, Leishmania braziliensis alternates between the sandfly and mammalian host. It has evolved to reproduce and survive within both hosts. The parasite encounters environmental changes such as temperature and pH and must adapt to these two distinct environments. During this process, the parasite also changes morphologically. The change this parasite undergoes is a result of its gene expression. It is known that Leishmania braziliensis gene expression is regulated post-transcriptionally. microRNAs which are posttranscriptional modifiers may play a significant role in the gene expression of L.braziliensis. From bioinformatic searches, a miRNA with significant homology to mmu-miR-466i-5p was discovered. As a follow-up, we sought to characterize the first miRNA in Leishmania, Lb-miR-1 by cloning and expressing it.
CHE 3126 Organic Chemistry Laboratory
Distillation
The purpose of this lab was to learn the proper technique of simple distillation. Simple distillation is a commonly utilized method that separates volatile compounds of varying boiling points, from a mixture and yields a pure substance. The results were then analyzed with gas chromatography. The objective of this lab was not achieved and the results in Graph 1 were inconclusive. This experiment failed to separate the volatile compounds Cyclohexane and Toluene by distillation. Although the faulty thermometer gave initial false readings, the major contributor of the failed lab was attributed to human error. To obtain purer substances the receiving flask had to be changed twice and it was not. Failure to follow this step produced a final concentration of 42.86% Cyclohexane and 57.13% Toluene. There was one question that still remained: why did the majority of the mixture evaporate if the temperature had still not reached 81 ° C? In order to answer this question, the procedure had be conducted a second time and our schedule did not allow a second run. This was a great learning experience proving how critical it is to follow protocol without deviations.
Graph 1
BIO 3166 Genetics Laboratory
DNA Isolation
This course reinforced previously learned skills, such as preparation of stocks and reagents of differing molarity and concentrations. At the end of the semester I felt confident when working out the math for various stock solutions. The prepared solutions were used for several experiments, such as DNA isolation. For the isolation experiment, we hypothesized that spooling techniques would allow for a high yield of DNA from cow liver cells. In the end, the isolation experiment proved to be successful because a significant amount of DNA was recovered during the extraction. The success of this lab was due to the fact that the selected solutions served a specific purpose and the procedure outlined in the lab manual was followed correctly. Overall, this lab was a great learning experience and also a lot of fun. Although many science courses provide an understanding of DNA’s molecular composition, they often do not offer hands on opportunities to extract and view DNA.