Science & Technology

Jason Zhang is a freshman in the Science and Technology Honors Program majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics. He currently works in the lab of Dr. Zsuzsanna Bebok, a lab focused on investigating the cellular mechanisms the alleviate stress of the endoplasmic reticulum by reducing protein during the unfolded protein response and mRNA structure and co-translational protein folding are affected by mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms. During his high school career, Jason demonstrated his proactive work ethic and dedication to scientific research by investigating and contacting potential labs he could work in at the start of his freshman year. After the first three weeks of this fall semester, Jason started his work in Dr. Bebok’s lab. Jason’s current responsibilities in his research lab include tissue culture maintenance, immunofluorescence imaging, and recording data using the lab’s complex microscope to assist with current projects in the lab. Jason is working hard to improve his laboratory skills and read more literature pertaining to his field of interest to begin designing his own project in the lab during the coming year. For his diligence and work ethic thus far, Jason has been named the November STH Researcher of the Month.

John Gotham is an up-and-coming sophomore in the Science and Technology Honors Program, pursuing a degree in Biology with plans in attending medical school or graduate school. He currently works in the lab of James George, Ph.D., under the supervision of Oreoluwa Adedoyin, Ph.D. The lab focuses on research into diseases of the kidney, such as acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. To determine specific immune cell populations that contribute to the onset and progression of chronic kidney diseases, the lab observes the expression of mononuclear phagocytes in human kidney tissue samples at certain disease states. Identification of the populations would provide new targets for therapeutics to treat chronic kidney diseases. Mice models are used to verify findings, which can be translated to human biology. John has been currently involved in 8 research involving the optimization of human blood leukocyte fixation and cryopreservation protocol. Blood samples gathered from the UAB hospital laboratory are analyzed for leukocyte viability before and after preservation to determine the effects of fixation and cryopreservation on the population of lymphocytes. These findings provide a strong basis for the development of research protocol that could be used in all labs involved in analyzing blood samples and will help further the research efforts of his lab. John will be presenting the findings of this study at the 2017 UAB Undergraduate Summer Expo. Future direction for this research include the gathering of further data to verify results and the final end goal of publishing a paper. John has thus been chosen as the July STH Researcher of the Month due to his outstanding dedication to his work in the lab and for his vigor to the study of his field.

March 30, 2017

Benjamin is a junior Science and Technology Honors Program student majoring in Neuroscience. He works in the lab of Dr. Jeremy Herskowitz in the Department of Neurology. The lab focuses on understanding the cellular mechanisms involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and assessing the viability of Rhoassociated protein kinases (ROCKs) as a therapeutic target. Benjamin focuses on alterations in structure and number of dendritic spines in model systems of Alzheimer’s disease pathology. He chose this project because of his interest in changes in synaptic plasticity and cognition in neurodegenerative diseases and aging. Dendritic spines have been tightly related to cognition, and Alzheimer’s leads to prominent cognitive impairment and is a common cause of neurodegeneration. He has been studying the changes that occur in dendritic spine (post-synapse) numbers and morphology in human participants that are either controls (pathology-free cognitively-normal), cognitively-resilient with high pathology, or clinically AD (cognitively-impaired, high pathology). In order to develop or mobilize drugs that return synapses in the brain of patients to the “protective” state and treat Alzheimer’s, it is important to map the structural changes that occur in dendritic spines in human brains. Besides having gained many technical skills such as brain dissection, mouse colony handling, tissue staining procedures, dendritic arbor and spine analysis, Benjamin has had the opportunity to present his research at multiple lab meetings and in oral and poster presentations. For his work and time commitment to research in advancing Alzheimer’s treatment, Benjamin has been named March STH Researcher of the Month.

February 28, 2017

Imani Alexander is a senior in the Science and Technology Honors Program double majoring in Molecular Biology and Neuroscience. She works in Dr. Markus Bredel's lab in the HazelrigSalter Radiation Oncology Center at University Hospital. The lab focuses on Glioblastoma (GBM). The lab is working to identify key proteins that might confer the development and progression of GBM and use small molecules such as microRNA and specific protein inhibitors to inhibit these key proteins. Imani’s project attempts to determine the mechanism and potential therapeutic efficacy of the microRNA, miR-31, which has been implicated as a potential tumor suppressor for GBM. Micro-RNAs are small non-coding strands of RNA that repress gene expression by either physically hindering the process of translation or by tagging mRNAs for degradation. It is important to press forward in cancer treatment, especially for GBM. The media survival is 15 months, and there hasn't been much advancement in its treatment. The work done through this lab will hopefully improve current standard of care and patient prognosis. Working in the lab has helped Imani understand the true meaning and process behind research, including reading the literature, brainstorming ideas, and planning experiments and think like a true scientist. For her diligence and commitment to research in advancing cancer treatment, Imani has been named February STH Researcher of the Month.

January 30, 2017

Nicholas Bolin is a junior in the Science and Technology Honors Program double majoring in Chemistry and Biology. He works in the lab of Dr. Thane Wibbels, addressing how incubation temperature influences sex determination in sea turtles and how various environmental and physiological factors affect temperature within the nest. Specifically, Nicholas is currently evaluating the effects of metabolic heating on TSD mechanisms and subsequent sex ratios as well as the potential environmental factors associated with sand in nesting beaches that affect nest temperature. This research is of particular timely importance due to the potential impact of global climate change on hatchling sex ratio production. Nicholas is also currently working with Dr. Ansel Payne and the Birmingham Audubon Society to assist in the initiative of establishing a baseline for population densities of watershed-dependent bird species in the Village Creek area through a point observation survey project. This undertaking is expected to provide useful data in determining the effects of urbanization on various species. For his diligence on multiple scientific research endeavors, Nicholas has been named January STH Researcher of the Month.

December 30, 2016

James Sexton is a sophomore Science and Technology Honors
Program student with majors and minors in Neuroscience, Chemistry,
and Philosophy. He works in the lab of Dr. Peter Hendricks, a lab
focusing on studying health behaviors for the School of Public Health,
particularly on developing treatments for substance dependence. As a
member of the lab, he has contributed greatly to the meticulous and
difficult task of recruiting participants suffering from cocaine addiction
in the Birmingham area for an in depth study of the effects of
psilocybin, a serotonergic hallucinogen, on disrupting addiction. To

measure the effects of psilocybin, study participants would submit self-
reported questionnaires and undergo MRI analysis of the Default

Mode Network in the brain. The MRI of the Default Mode Network
would be examined in perspective of the initial hypothesis that
disruption of the DMN effectively disrupts addiction. Along with the recruitment of participants for

this study, James also aids in the recruiting for another study focusing on addiction behavior in E-
cigarette users. With his experience and knowledge gained from the lab, James has written a

literature review on the subject of atypical psychiatric drugs and the widening field of psychiatric
treatment beyond traditional pharmacological means, hoping to have the work published in the next
edition of Inquiro. James has thus been chosen as the December STH Researcher of the Month due
to his outstanding dedication to his work in recruiting for clinical studies and for his vigor to the
study of his field.

November 30, 2016

Payal Patel is a junior Chemistry major in the Science and Technology Honors Program. She works in a
cardiovascular disease lab under Dr. Glenn C. Rowe, whose lab predominately deals with understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying metabolism in the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal system. Specifically, the lab studies the PGC-1 family of transcriptional cofactors and their respective molecular pathways in skeletal muscle. Payal’s senior thesis aims to determine the relationship between the knockdown of HUMMR (Hypoxia Up-Regulated Mitochondrial Movement Regulator) gene and a hypoxic environment while observing mitochondrial variations in regards to movement, function, biogenesis, and gene expression. The HUMMR gene has been vastly studied in CNS, but there is a lack of knowledge in regards to its function in the cardiovascular system and skeletal muscle. For Payal’s diligence and recent work on her thesis project, she has been chosen as the November STH Researcher of the Month.

October 30, 2016

Josh Moore is a junior Biomedical Engineering (BME) major in the Science and Technology Honors Program. Though Josh is a BME major, his is currently involved in physics research in the lab of Dr. Aaron Catledge, whose lab is predominately concerned with nanostructured biomaterials. Josh’s current project involves researching improved methods to coat Cobalt Chrome (CoCr) with microscale diamond filaments. Since CoCr is the main metal used in artificial joints, the proper application of diamond films could increase the lifespan and functionality of artificial joint-like hip or knee prostheses. Josh is specifically investigating using borides as an interlayer between the CoCr and diamond layers to improve the mechanical properties and interaction between the two materials. For his dedication to his current research project, Josh has been chosen as the October Researcher of the Month.

September 30, 2016

Marie Michenkova is a junior Neuroscience major in the Science and Technology Honors Program. She is also an international student from Czech republic and wishes to pursue MD/PhD program in Anesthesiology/Neurology after graduation. Marie has been involved in Dr. Laurence Bradley and Dr. Burel Goodin’s lab for two years, studying the ethnic differences in pain perception in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Although clinical pain is reported to affect over 100 million people in the United States, the biological mechanisms underlying the great disparity between self-reported pain experience of African American (AA) people and non-Hispanic white (NHW) people, have yet to be understood. Marie devoted her time to the project where she examines the role of anti-inflammatory agents that may reduce OA pain. The focus of her work is on evaluating ethnic differences in pain and resolvins, a class of omega-3 fatty acid derivatives that reduce spinal microglial cell activation and hyperalgesia produced by adjuvant-induced arthritis in animal models. Previous studies have shown that inflammation, as evidenced by MRI-based measures of synovitis or effusion, is associated with pain sensitization produced by increased responsiveness, or sensitization, of central or peripheral nociceptive neurons in people with knee OA. These findings led Marie, under direction from Drs. Bradley and Edberg in Rheumatology, to begin to study relationships between resolvins and pain in persons with knee OA. Their lab’s pilot study of fourteen persons with knee OA found a significant (p=0.02; r2 =0.348) negative relationship between resolvin E1 receptor expression on circulating neutrophils during a cold pressor task (8oC) and participants’ ratings of the unpleasantness of cold pain. Currently they are completing another pilot study on the relationship of resolvin and pain. For Marie’s dedication to her research thus far, she has been named as the September STH Researcher of the Month.

August 30, 2016

Marina Triplett is a senior Chemistry major in the Science and Technology Honors Program. Marina works in the lab of Dr. Mary-Ann Bjornsti in the UAB Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and received the UAB President’s Summer Research Scholarship to continue her research on campus this summer. During the cellular process of replication and transcription, torsional strain caused by the over winding or under winding of
DNA can lead to the formation of positive or negative supercoils in the DNA, respectively. Marina’s project primarily focuses on DNA topoisomerase I (Top1), an enzyme that catalyzes the relaxation of DNA supercoils during DNA replication and transcription. Top1 is the target of the camptothecin (CPT) class of anticancer drugs, and the addition of CPT is toxic to a cell during S-phase of the cell cycle. Marina and the researchers in Dr. Bjornsti’s lab hypothesize that toxicity could result from the accumulation of positive supercoils during replication and transcription. Using yeast as a model system, Marina is currently studying the relationship between the accumulation of positive supercoils, CPT sensitivity, and cell toxicity. By understanding the mechanism of cell toxicity, it may be possible to increase the effectiveness of drugs derived from CPT or understand which compounds may work in combination therapy. For all of Marina’s hard work this summer and success in research thus far, she has been chosen as the August STH Researcher of the Month.

July 30, 2016

Bliss Chang is a Science and Technology Honors Program graduate that majored in Biochemistry and Biology. Bliss is now pursuing an MD/PhD at Harvard Medical School. In his time at UAB and beyond, Bliss truly embodies the idea of the Science and Technology Honors Program. He entered college without any prior research experience and went on to develop into a great scientist and person through the STH Program’s tailored research courses and mentorship. Research is one of Bliss’s greatest passions and it does not feel like work to him. Most importantly, he recognizes the privilege and value of the mentorship he has received from the STH Program, his research mentors, faculty, and peers and looks forward to mentoring aspiring scientists in the future. Bliss was very involved in biochemistry and structural biology research throughout his college experience, working in the labs of Dr. Jamil Saad in the Department of Microbiology and Dr. Elizabeth Sztul in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology. Bliss also spent the summer working in the lab of Dr. Markus Zweckstetter in Germany, focusing his studies on a protein that plays a specific role in Alzheimer’s disease. He has also received several major national honors for his research, including the Beckman Scholarship in 2013, the Goldwater Scholarship in 2014, and the Fullbright Scholarship in 2015. Bliss has also published a first-author scientific paper, presented his research to Congress and discussed the importance of future federal research funding with the Office of Science and Technology Policy, obtained numerous research grants, and was invited to give multiple plenary talks regarding his research. In congratulations of his accomplishments thus far and looking forward to his many accomplishments to come, Bliss Chang has been chosen as the July STH Researcher of the Month.

June 30, 2016

Sidhanth Chandra is a rising sophomore in the Undergraduate Neuroscience Program and aspires to be a neurologist. He is currently working in Dr. Andrew West’s lab in the Department of Neurology. Dr. West’s lab focuses on the genetic basis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The lab specifically concentrates on the LRRK2 protein kinase, which has been found to be a major cause of familial PD. This summer, Sidhanth has been working to develop the most relevant preclinical model of late onset of PD. Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating movement disorder, is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. It is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), leading to a dopamine deficiency in the striatum. Mutations in leucine- rich repeated kinase 2 (LRRK2) cause autosomal dominant late-onset PD. The G2019S mutation in the LRRK2 kinase domain is the most common genetic cause of familial PD. Lewy bodies (LBs) are protease resistant, insoluble aggregates of alpha-synuclein protein (α-syn) and are the histological hallmark of PD. Preformed fibrils (PFFs), a recently developed model for α-syn, seeds the recruitment of endogenous α-syn into aggregates similar to those seen in human lewy bodies. The objective of this study was to create the most relevant preclinical model for late onset PD by injecting sonicated PFFs into the SNpc of transgenic G2019S rat brains. Immunohistochemical analysis has shown that PFFs induce overt neurodegeneration and seed endogenous α-syn in dopamine neurons over the course of three and six months in G2019S rats. These phenotypes are very similar to those observed in late onset PD. The success of pharmaceutical drugs could be tested in this rat model to see if these phenotypes can be rescued before clinical trials. Sidhanth’s dedication to his research so early in his undergraduate career and hard work over the summer thus far has earned him the title of June STH Researcher of the Month. We would like to thank Sidhanth for his dedication and his efforts to represent STH so well in his research endeavors.

May 30, 2016

Samantha Golf is a recent STH graduate currently in the Post Baccalaureate Research Education Program at UAB. As an undergraduate student, Samantha worked in Dr. Sarah Clinton’s lab in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Clinton’s lab investigates the neurobiological basis of depression and anxiety, primarily utilizing a rodent model of temperamental differences bred based on the exhibited degree of novelty exploration. The rodents created by this breeding paradigm display either high or low depression-like behavior. Samantha’s thesis project focused on quantitatively mapping the differential metabolic activity between these two phenotypes within brain regions regulating emotion at key neurodevelopmental time points. They found that the high depression-like rats tended to express lower levels of metabolic activity in these brain regions. These divergent levels of metabolic activity may reflect altered circuitry or synaptic activity in the early brain of high depression-like versus low depression-like rats, which may contribute to the emergence of distinct temperamental phenotypes and depression-like behaviors. Furthermore, Samantha has just begun working in Dr. Scott Wilson’s lab in the Department of Neurobiology. Dr. Wilson’s lab is working to investigate the underlying genetic and molecular basis of neurodegenerative disorders. In acknowledgment of her thesis work and plans for the future, Samantha has been nominated as the May STH Researcher of the Month. We look forward to seeing her excel in all of her future endeavors.