Analyzing The Impact Of Wildfires On Human Lung Cancer Through Molecular Homolog Identification In Drosophila

Michelle Jebaseelan, Idrees Chaudry, Godwin Aizenofe
Mentor: Maricel Kann, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Exposure to wildfires has been linked to lung deficiencies, including lung cancer, due to air pollutants inducing DNA mutations. To better understand the genetic pressures wildfires cause toward lung cancer, we utilize a study of protein expressions in drosophila flies exposed to controlled smoke conditions. These controlled conditions in drosophila provide grounds for studying orthologous relationships caused by genetic pressures. Observing putative orthologs in drosophila in comparison with non-smoking lung cancer patients helps identify functional driver genes for lung cancer. Specifically, this comparative study analyzes functional genes at three stages: (1) Identifying orthologs of the mutated genes in the Drosophila flies within the Human genome, (2) comparing the mutation positions to determine if any mutational homologs are present, and (3) examining the conserved interactions in orthologs, called interologs, to determine if protein-protein interactions are conserved between the two species. Comprehension of how protein-protein interactions are altered from wildfire-induced mutations can aid in discovering therapeutic targets and establishing more robust lung cancer treatments. Additionally, this comparative model can be scaled to incorporate analysis of other model organisms and provide insights into different diseases.

Unreliable Narration: Understanding Schizophrenia Firsthand Through Art

Sara Humphries
Mentor: Prof. Corrie Parks, Visual Arts

This creative research seeks to connect society with personal accounts of schizoaffective disorder. The disorder is largely characterized by its negative symptoms—a profound and continuous deterioration of self and sanity. The personal accounts of those afflicted are usually disregarded because of this, leaving our awareness of the disorder to come primarily from the friends, family, and doctors surrounding the schizophrenic. And yet, it is a disorder which continuously fascinates to a great degree. Subsequently, schizophrenia research becomes an echo chamber which excludes those with actual firsthand experience of the disorder. As someone recently diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, this artist has attempted to illustrate the internal mystery of schizophrenia through her own experiences. These pieces, which were painted in varying stages of psychotic episodes, serve as perceptual depictions of a myriad of symptoms such as dissociation, paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations. So far, these paintings have been used to incite discussions between the afflicted and those surrounding them. Works such as “This is Your Brain on Depersonalization” and “Psychosis” help convey the internal struggle as seen by the schizophrenic—a self-portrait of the less visible manifestations—which we can then use to replace this fear of the unknown with understanding of the disorder.

Investigating The Role Of The Gene, Rho1 On The Innate Immune Response In Drosophila Melanogaster

Mukta Sangar, Shivam Patel
Mentor: Dr. Jeff Leips, Biological Sciences

Immunosenescence, the decline in immune function with age is a hallmark of aging but varies among individuals. This variation has a genetic basis but the genes involved are unknown. A recent genome-wide association study identified Rho1 as a candidate gene contributing to the variation of immune function with age. We investigated the role of Rho1 on bacterial clearance at young and old ages using Drosophila melanogaster. We used the GAL4-UAS system to knock down the expression of Rho1 in hemocytes of male and female flies and tested the effect of reduced expression on the ability of flies to clear bacterial infection at 1 and 5 weeks of age. Overall, older flies had reduced ability to clear infection compared with younger flies and males were significantly better at clearing infection than females. The effect of reduced expression of Rho1 on clearance ability depended on sex. Reduced Rho1 expression decreased the ability of males to clear infection but had no significant effect on clearance ability in females. Future work focused on understanding how Rho1 influences the innate immune response and why it has sex specific effects will provide new avenues for improving the immune function and the health span of the elderly.

This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

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Cultural Pluralism in Practice: A Mixed-method Study on Reducing Asian American Students’ COVID-19-related Stress

Liz Weir, Aguiling, W., Aquino, A.K.
Mentor: Dr. Charissa Cheah, Psychology

Increased anti-Asian sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic created a more hostile environment for Asian Americans (Cheah et al., 2020). For Chinese American adolescents, this sinophobic fear could impact their stress in school. Previous research has found experiences of discrimination among Chinese American adolescents to be associated with negative academic outcomes (Benner & Kim, 2009). One factor that might moderate this link is the extent to which adolescents believe their schools practice cultural pluralism by making minority students more visible and celebrating cultural differences (Brand et al., 2003; Green et al., 1988). Promoting diversity and inclusivity may increase students’ sense of belonging in school, thus minimizing the stressful effects of messages of rejection about their racial/ethnic group (Schachner et al., 2016). Applying the School Ethnic Racial Socialization (ERS) Transmission model (Saleem & Byrd, 2021) to Asian American adolescents, this study will examine the potential moderating role of schools’ support for cultural pluralism (SSCP) in the relation between students’ perceived Sinophobia and school stress in the context of COVID-19. In addition, we will incorporate qualitative interview data to understand Asian American adolescents’ ideas surrounding how schools can create inclusive learning environments that address and/or prevent racial marginalization.

This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

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