To understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for augmented bone mass, I extracted the bone marrow of Alk4 knockout mice that have increased trabecular bone mass in the bone marrow compartment and isolated their RNA along with controls. I performed over a dozen qPCR plates to investigate the expressions of many genes in the bone marrow of Alk4- knockout mice. In another study, I used BRE-GFP as a tool to report BMP (Bone Morphogenetic Protein) signaling in the W20 cells and concluded that when varying amounts of BMP is applied to W20-BRE-GFP cells, there is a significant increase in GFP.

In the Swallowing lab, I used a subset of data collected from a large clinical trial investigating respiratory-swallow phase training in survivors of head and neck cancer to establish temporal and respiratory-phase pattern relationships between breathing and swallowing in this same patient population.

The Carthew lab invented a novel way to insert a self-cleaving ribozyme to silence a gene. First, I examined the polyadenylation of long non-coding RNAs in flies after cleavage, which gave valuable information on how the ribozyme works. Then Dr. Carthew awarded me my own project in which I used this technique to insert the self-cleaving ribozyme using CRISPR into the CR30055 lncRNA gene, which is believed to have key roles in gene regulation in flies. I successfully knocked down the gene by 95% in the 3’ region.

The research focuses on drug development for Ewing sarcoma, a rare type of cancer occurring in bones or in the soft tissues around the bones. The new drug therapy eliminates tumor growth while sparing normal cells. Exposed to the daily battle of funding efforts, Ewing sarcoma is a rare disease; therefore, drug companies do not see a treatment for Ewing sarcoma as a profitable line of drug development. Performed bacterial transformation, produced and purified the EWS-FLI1 protein, performed cell culture, extracted RNA from cell lines RH30 and 57810, ran coomassies, as well as western blots.

I researched the beta-catenin pathway in oral squamous cell carcinoma cancer using the 4-NQO Model. Additionally, I performed immunostained tissue sections, hematoxylin and eosin stain, immunofluorescence on slides, and analyzed data for mice with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma exposed to tobacco, alcohol, and/or HPV16 using the Zeiss 710 confocal microscope. I was also able to investigate the impact of carcinogens on mice. The above factors deteriorated the health of the mice in the ways these carcinogens are expected to have similar effects in humans, which allowed me to observe and apply this knowledge.

I researched the roles of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) in musculoskeletal tissues. I genotyped mice tail DNA using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), performed histology, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and cell culture using different amounts of antibiotics. I was able to gain insight into how tissue repair and regeneration occur both in mice and also in vitro. This experience allowed me to develop the skills necessary to perform experiments and interpret the results.