Betty Jo Loving Butler ’58 Endowment for Undergraduate Research Scholarship:

Shvan Kareem (mentor: Kim Slekar & Tim Bloss)

This summer, I used the nematode model organism C. elegans to examine the cell-type specific response to the depletion of the nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC). The NAC is believed to have a chaperone role in the proper folding of nascent peptides produced by ribosomes.  Gut, muscle, and neuronal cells in the worm exhibit different unfolded protein responses (UPR) to NAC depletion.  One significant component of the UPR is the up-regulation of heat-shock proteins, including hsp-4.  My goal is to use fluorescently marked worm strains to correlate the levels of hsp-4 expression with different cell types by using fluorescent microscopy.

Elizabeth McConnell  Bliss  Endowment  for  Undergraduate Research  Scholarship:

Peter Rossbach (mentor: Carol Hurney)

My research explores the molecular mechanisms of tail development in the four-toed salamander, Hemidactylium scutatum.  Tail development in H. scutatum begins during early embryogenesis and continues with the addition of new tail segments throughout adulthood.  My work analyzes the expression of two key genes, Myf5 and Wnt8, known players in vertebrate segmentation and tail development.  Myf5 is a myogenic regulatory gene expressed during the early phases of embryonic segment formation.  Wnt8 acts as a tail organizer during embryogenesis of some vertebrates.  Analysis of the expression of these genes in the tails of H. scutatum embryos, larvae, and adults will offer insights on whether these genes control segmentation and tail development during all life stages.  

                I am using RT-PCR to analyze Myf5 and Wnt8 expression from embryos and larvae collected during the spring semester.  I have designed and tested multiple sets of primers to allow the detection of Myf5, Wnt8, and alpha actin transcripts in total RNA samples extracted from body and tail tissue.  Alpha actin transcripts serve as a positive control since all cells express this gene.  My preliminary results suggest that adult tail tips express both Myf5 and Wnt8 supporting the hypothesis that adult and embryonic tail segmentation and development utilize the same molecular pathways.  My next set of experiments will explore the expression of these genes in the tails and bodies of other select stages of embryonic and larval development.  Ultimately, we are hopeful that these results will offer new insights into the complex nature of tail development in vertebrates, such as H. scutatum, that continue to add tail segments throughout all life stages.

Jeffrey E. Tickle '90 Family Endowment Scholarships:

Benjamin Holland (mentor: Joanna Mott)

My research over this summer has focused on characterizing the microbiota in turkey litter in order to study how its composition changes with the age of the birds (from initial placement of birds to six week). Total bacteria and Enterococcus levels were determined before turkeys were placed on the fresh shavings to six week old litter, with sampling at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and after the birds had been removed. It has been hypothesized that agriculture is a major contributor to antibiotic resistance, and Enterococcus isolates from the litter will be analyzed for resistance to numerous antibiotics to determine how resistance patterns change or persist in antibiotic-free farming scenarios

and

Dennis Churchin (mentor: Marta Bechtel)

One of goals of the research lab I worked in during this past summer is to understand the process of wound healing and the inflammatory response that is induced during tissue injury and tissue regeneration.  One of the analysis methods we often use in our research lab is called absolute quantitative real-time PCR (qR-T PCR).  This method is used to measure changes in gene expression.  An important part of this analysis method requires an external cDNA standard to accurately quantitate these changes in gene expression.  This past summer our lab spent several weeks generating and characterizing an external standard to use in our qR-T PCR studies.  Using this new standard, we are currently investigating the effects of the dengue surface protein on chondrocytes, the cells that form cartilage tissue.  In this project we want to understand what role the dengue virus protein has in causing cartilage tissue inflammation.  A second project in our lab seeks to understand how the wound healing and inflammatory response processes influence cornea tissue regeneration.  By the end of the summer we were successful at generating useful data in support of both projects.

Taliaferro Scholarship:

Emily Thyroff - (Mentor: Heather Griscom)

This summer I began field and greenhouse trial studies on the ecology of ginseng with Dr. Griscom. We chose to study the ecology of ginseng because ginseng is a valuable Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) that was once abundant in the Appalachia region. The ultimate goal is to see American ginseng thrive again in local and native forests. Three weeks in June were spent in West Virginia taking hemigraphic light photos, chosing sites, collecting soil, and building seed beds. In the fall and next summer we will continue these trials in both the field and greenhouses. This summer the greenhouses were also prepared to plant seeds in the fall.

Summer Research Scholarship (Anonymous Donor):

Lauren Schulte (Mentor: Alex Bannigan)

This scholarship provided summer funding for both student and mentor.

This summer I began my research on the relationship between microtubule organization and cell-to-cell communication in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. In our study we are focusing on the expression patterns of a developmental signaling protein called CAPRICE (CPC) in wild-type plants and a communication deficient mutant called radially swollen 6 (rsw6). By studying the expression patterns of CPC we can determine if microtubule organization and cell-to-cell communication are in fact related, since rsw6 is not only deficient in communication but also has a unique microtubule organization. Additionally, we are studying perimeter-area ratios in pavement cells located in the leaf epidermis in wild-type and rsw6 plants. These cells have the appearance of jigsaw pieces and thus it is believed that cell-to-cell communication is necessary in order for the cells to acquire such shapes. By comparing the results between the wild-type plants and the communication deficient plants we hope to better understand the role of cell-to-cell communication in microtubule organization and the coordination of cell growth.

Farrell Summer Research Scholarship:

Cy Lampugnale (Mentor: Justin Brown)

Recent studies have suggested that rats prefer an ambient temperature (Tamb) of approximately 27°C (Brown and Le 2011). However, following surgical stress, most rats are allowed to recover at normal room temperature (approximately 22°C). Housing rats at temperatures below or above the ambient temperature of 27°C will lead to a cold or heat stress response which hinders surgical recovery. Indications of thermal stress during recovery include changes in food and water consumption, inadequate weight gain, and poor maintenance of core temperature including alterations in circadian rhythm. Long term consequences of cold and heat stress post-surgery remain unexplored despite the significant physiologic effects on the animal. The eventual goal of this study is to determine if housing rats at various Tambs will lead to a significant difference in surgical outcomes based on the ambient recovery temperature. These data will enable a better understanding of how current animal care guidelines may enable a significant thermal stress following surgical instrumentation in laboratory animals and how these stressors will potentially affect an animal’s viability for use in animal research.

Taliaferro Scholarship:

Courtney Matson (Mentor: Tim Bloss)

The Bloss lab works with Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) in order to study the apoptotic pathway during development. Currently, the Bloss lab is inducing stress on the embryonic cells by RNA interference using a vector to knock down the Beta subunit of the Nascent Polypeptide Associated Complex (B-NAC). My project this summer was to study the effects of the B-NAC RNAi in respect to the cell lineages of C. elegans. This summer I studied the neuronal, gut, and hypodermal cell lineages within the organism. Thus far, we have seen that the effects of the RNAi effects differ between the cell lineage. The neuronal cells seem to be the most effected by the RNAi and therefore have shown the most corpses in the neuronal region. The gut and hypo dermal cells seem to have a wild type effect and do not seem to have corpses localizing to their regions but, we are still investigating these effects in order to draw more conclusions from the data. Within this next semester, I will be continuing to work on this project as well as building more data with other C. elegans mutants that other students within the Bloss lab work with. 

Betty Jo Loving Butler ’58 Endowment for Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Farrell Summer Research Scholarship:

Pria Chang (mentor: Susan Halsell)

Birth defects can be acquired during morphogenetic processes. RhoA signal transduction plays a role in many embryonic morphogenetic processes in vertebrate and mammalian development. This summer I analyzed RhoA signal transduction, which is responsible for the actin-myosin cytoskeleton contractions that enable intracellular and intercellular shape changes in morphogenesis.  An actin-binding GFP-moesin fusion protein was expressed in  Drosophila  melanogaster  embryos to visualize the actin cytoskeleton during the morphogenetic process of head involution in wild type and mutant embryos. The exact effect of RhoA on head involution was analyzed through the use of time-lapse confocal microscopy.

Elizabeth McConnell  Bliss  Endowment  for  Undergraduate Research  Scholarship:

Michael Ferras (mentor: Justin Brown)

Recent studies have suggested that an alteration in neurons that secrete serotonin in the brainstem could be linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), a common cause of death in infants between the ages of a few months to a year.  It is believed that infants that die of SIDS succumb to environmental stressors such as hyperthermia and/or low oxygen (hypoxic) stress. To determine the role of brainstem serotonin in the thermoregulatory response to stress I followed an ongoing project this summer that involved microinjection of drugs that alter normal neurotransmission into brainstem areas that are rich in serotonin while measuring thermoregulatory responses to hypoxic stress. The eventual goal of this project is to help determine which brainstem areas and neurotransmitters are responsible for protective responses to hypoxic stress and thereby help determine the etiology of SIDS.

Trelawney endowment funds:

Carolyn Fridley (mentor: Corey Cleland)

This summer, I continued my work studying the nociceptive withdraw response in intact, unanesthetized rats.  Although there has been considerable research on the withdraw response in spinalized and anesthetized rats, there has been little research on the response of intact, unanesthetized rats. Previous results from the work of Melissa Seamon and Lindsey Wyatt in our lab revealed significant variability that may have masked relationships between stimulus location and response direction. The specific aim of my research is to identify variables, such as initial paw location, that may influence withdrawal response direction. This summer was spent developing a new experimental design to better control and measure relevant variables.  I hope to discover a better understanding of variables that influence the withdraw response which will allow me to develop a strategy underlying the nociceptive withdraw response in intact, unanesthetized rats.

Jeffrey E. Tickle '90 Family Endowment Scholarship:

Antony Maldonado (mentor: Tim Bloss)

I studied the unfolded protein response of C. elegans in the absence of the nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC). The NAC is a chaperone protein complex necessary for the proper folding and localization of proteins during translation. I specifically investigated the effects of NAC-depletion on the expression of heat-shock proteins Hsp-60 and Hsp-4. Using Hsp-gfp fusion proteins, I measured the upregulation of these heat shock proteins after depleting NAC by RNA interference. The work was a continuation of a project described in this paper we recently published.

Taliaferro Scholarship and Jean D. Acton Scholarship:

Kristie Prtorich - (Mentor: Joanna Mott)

My research uses microbial source tracking techniques to study the effects of campus stormwater drainage on the local watershed through the study of bacterial indicators of fecal contamination.  Enterococcus and Escherichia coli levels  are determined on a monthly basis from Newman Lake, the point where drainage water exits JMU's campus.  Isolates of the Enterococcus genus collected from the lake water and from geese feces (hypothesized to be a major contributor to contamination levels) are being speciated and subjected to a panel of antibiotics to compare characteristics of the bacteria.  Eventually, molecular techniques will be used to look for markers linking Enterococcus isolates collected from Newman Lake to their source.

Summer Research Scholarship (Anonymous Donor):

Ben Stanley (Mentor: Christine May)

This scholarship provided summer funding for both student and mentor.

Explaining Localized Variation In Cerion Shell Morphology on San Salvador -  The goal of my study is to investigate possible mechanisms behind the maintenance of morphologically distinct yet reproductively compatible populations of Cerion in localized areas on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas. This remarkably diverse genus of pulmonate land snails has attracted over 50 years of scientific investigation, but a definitive mechanism for localized variation in shell morphology is yet to be determined. When morphometric and dispersal data is analyzed in the light of varying population densities within the study site on San Salvador, behavioral preferences and morphologic trends may arise that can help to shed light on the puzzling spatial distribution of this genus.