Medical & Health Sciences

When screening for respiratory diseases, the primary form of diagnosis is auscultation, which, without proper training and experience, can yield unreliable or incorrect results. This presents an issue, as many parents lack the experience or knowledge to diagnose children at an early age. Within this SIR, I’ve explored various systems that are utilized or closely related to the development of ... Read More

Post-stroke neuromuscular impairments can alter gait patterns, leading to aberrant knee joint loading. Changes in knee loads can result in cartilage damage and joint pain, which is associated with a reduction in mobility and greater risk for developing osteoarthritis that can inhibit activities of daily living. Using musculoskeletal models in OpenSim, we estimated knee joint compressive loads for control (N=8) ... Read More

Abstract/Project Intention: Substitution urethroplasty for the treatment of male stricture disease is often accompanied by subsequent tissue fibrosis and secondary stricture formation. Patients with pre-existing morbidities are often at increased risk of urethral stricture recurrence brought upon in-part by delayed vascularization accompanied by overactive inflammatory responses following surgery. Within the context of this study, we demonstrate the functional utility of ... Read More

Biological effects of radiation exposure are often not immediately apparent. Although radiation damages cellular DNA, symptoms typically manifest later, following cellular attempts to repair the damage. If these repair processes are unsuccessful or inaccurate, they can lead to health complications. To study these delayed effects, scientists rely on biomarkers of radiation exposure that reveal radiation-induced biological changes. Tissue samples from ... Read More

DDX18 is a DEAD-box RNA helicase primarily known for its role in maintaining the stemness of cells by positively regulating ribosome synthesis. Furthermore, higher expression of DDX18 is positively associated with tumor growth in multiple tissue origins. Proximity labeling in tandem with mass spectroscopy revealed interactions between DDX18 and centromeric protein CENPA. It has been previously demonstrated that centromeres and ... Read More

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic, preventable metabolic disease in which the body becomes resistant to insulin, leading to increased blood glucose levels and contributing significantly to global mortality. Diet is the largest factor in the prevention and management of T2DM. Pulses, the edible seeds of legumes, including beans, lentils, chickpeas, and peas, are nutrient-dense foods rich in ... Read More

Hypoxia tumors are areas in the tissue that have reduced oxygen levels due to insufficient blood flow or poor vascularization. As a result, the tumor becomes more aggressive, attacking other parts of the body and becoming harder to treat with chemotherapy or radiation. By determining the oxygenation at the time of diagnosis will beneficially aid effective treatment planning and therapeutic ... Read More

Sudden Cardiac arrest (CA) is a major cause of death and is often succeeded by complications: cardiac dysfunction and neurological injury. Although oxygen therapy is commonly administered after resuscitation, evidence suggests that early oxygen supplementation may worsen physiological outcomes and tissue injury. This study investigated post–CA and tested the hypothesis that oxygen supplementation increases vascular permeability, connecting pulmonary edema. To ... Read More

Unequal access to health care professionals in primary care facilities remains a driving factor of health disparities across Chicago neighborhoods, where chronic disease and mortality rates are higher in communities designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA). Prior research has shown how West and South Side neighborhoods have a disproportionate amount of HPSAs in relation to population. Population density partially ... Read More

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the buildup of amyloid-β oligomers (AβOs), tau pathology, and eventual neuronal loss. Yet, the mechanisms that link these processes remain incompletely understood. This project looks into whether induction of AβO in MC65 cells drives neurotoxicity through increased tau phosphorylation and other associated cellular stress pathways. The MC65 model allows for intracellular AβO accumulation through withdrawal ... Read More

Skin is a vital barrier to prevent external factors, including nanoplastics (NPs), from entering the body. Most NPs originate from the recycling of larger items, such as plastic bottles and tires. Despite their prevalence, the effects of NPs on skin are unknown. As such, we investigated the effects of a common NP, polystyrene (PS), on fibroblasts, the cells responsible for ... Read More

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) for prostate cancer estimate an individual’s genetic risk by summing the effects of thousands of genetic variants like SNPs across the genome. Most PRS methods are developed using genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets composed mainly of individuals of European ancestry. This limits the accuracy of PRS in non-European populations, including those of African ancestry. Regulatory and ... Read More

Metastatic ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, primarily due to the limitations of existing treatments. Chemotherapy, though common, often leads to toxic side effects and drug resistance, while radiation therapy is largely untargeted, resulting in significant collateral damage. Theranostic nanoparticle-based approaches, which merge diagnostic imaging and therapeutics, are foreseen as a valuable method that ... Read More

Intramembranous bone regeneration is crucial for the healing of orthopedic procedures. Recent studies demonstrate that this is regulated by periostin (Postn). Postn is expressed on the periosteal surface of cortical bone, the dense outer layer of bone. Postn stimulates osteogenesis (bone formation), and its deletion affects Postn-expressing cells (PECs). However, little research has been conducted on the role of periostin ... Read More

The foot and ankle joint create a rocker mechanism, or roll-over shape (ROS), during walking that reduces vertical body motion and allows for efficient forward movement. In able-bodied individuals, the radius of the ROS stays consistent across different walking speeds because of adaptive ankle joint stiffness. However, prosthetic feet have a constant stiffness, so the ROS radius varies with walking ... Read More

Antiretroviral drugs have significantly improved treatment outcomes for people living with HIV. However, long-term exposure to certain antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) has been associated with detrimental effects on bone metabolism. Our objective is to investigate how exactly the exposure to commonly used antiretroviral drugs influences osteoclast activity. CD14+ monocytes were isolated from human blood and then differentiated into mature osteoclasts. These ... Read More

Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial pediatric tumor, and high-risk MYCN-amplified disease remains difficult to treat. These tumors maintain an undifferentiated state through epigenetic repression by DNMT-mediated DNA methylation and EZH2/PRC2 activity. While tazemetostat reactivates some genes, persistent compensatory DNA methylation suggests combining it with the DNMT inhibitor decitabine may improve gene reactivation. To test this approach, MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cell ... Read More

Neuroblastoma is a common and aggressive cancer in young children, with survival rates below 50% in high-risk cases. Many aggressive tumors are driven by MYC family oncogenes, especially MYCN amplification, which promotes rapid tumor growth. Designed Synthetic Transcriptional Repressors (dSTR) are engineered molecules that mimic the MYC binding partner MAX and block MYC from activating genes involved in cancer cell ... Read More

Skin functions as the first line of defense against pathogens and has a paramount role in maintaining numerous bodily functions. This independent study explores the anatomy of the skin and the underlying mechanisms of dermatological diseases. The following categories of conditions were studied: cancerous lesions, infections, autoimmune disorders, genetic diseases, and eczemas, with three representative conditions analyzed for each category. ... Read More

Acute stress can have mental and physiological ramifications, affecting cognitive performance and learning outcomes. This study investigated how short-term stress can be identified through forearm surface electromyographic (sEMG) signal analysis in academic and social situations. Participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Test and were exposed to contrasting high-stress and low-stress conditions involving time pressure and evaluation cues. Stress-inducing circumstances include ... Read More

A stroke can damage the brain and cause hemiparesis, which is weakness on one side of the body. Many people with hemiparesis have difficulty walking. Their steps may be uneven, slower, and require more energy than typical walking due to muscle weakness, reduced coordination, and altered neural control. Testing every possible treatment directly on patients is difficult, so computer simulations ... Read More

BMP9 (Bone morphogenetic protein 9) is a potent inducer of stem cell osteogenesis differentiation, however, it does not naturally contain heparin-binding (HB) domains which is essential for extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction, intercellular signaling and localized growth. In contrast, although BMP2 exhibits relatively lower osteogenic potency, it possesses an inherent N-terminal HB domain that facilitates optimal ECM anchoring. Thus, gene editing ... Read More

During proton therapy treatment planning, a 2.5-3.5% range uncertainty margin is often applied distal and proximal to the target volume to account for inaccuracies in the conversion to relative stopping power. However, this uncertainty margin is generalized throughout the body. Factors such as treatment region, beam range, gender, and age varies for each individual. Consequently, the use of a general ... Read More

Current prosthetic technology is focused on translating biological signals into mechanical movement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between the surface EMG (sEMG) and inertial signals obtained during forearm and wrist movements. Specifically, this study was aimed at fine and coarse motor control using signal analysis and inertial sensors, using MATLAB. Ongoing research aims to improve ... Read More

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, is characterized by chronic intestinal inflammation. Although anti-TNFα therapy is commonly used to treat patients who do not respond to standard treatments, up to 40% of patients fail to benefit from this therapy. One potential factor contributing to this resistance is the accumulation of neutrophils in the inflamed mucosa, a ... Read More

A hallmark of Neurodegenerative diseases is protein aggregation. Aggregates of different proteins can lead to brain damage and loss of nerve cells. The 1988 Amyloid-β Oligomer hypothesis proposes that these soluble, ligand-like AβOs instigate brain damage that leads to Alzheimer’s. The Klein lab observations of fibril-free synthetic preparations of AβOs being potent neurotoxins show that they could rapidly inhibit long-term ... Read More

Stair descent is one of the most biomechanically demanding and unstable gait patterns encountered in daily life. Despite this, comprehensive data integrating multiple physiological markers for this task remains scarce. This study will utilize high density surface electromyography (sEMG) and force plate technology. This study quantifies stair ambulation in healthy adults during stair ambulation. The specific aim is to establish ... Read More

Neurotoxic amyloid-beta oligomers (AβOs) accumulate in Alzheimer’s Disease patients, driving cognitive decline and dementia. Determining their size and distinguishing them from benign or beneficial oligomers via Western Blots (WB) could help in the development of targeted therapeutics. However, this analysis is particularly challenging for AβO aggregates, given their inconsistent accumulation and tendency to dissociate upon exposure to detergents such as ... Read More

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a severe inflammatory lung condition characterized by disruption of the pulmonary endothelial barrier, leading to vascular leakage and respiratory failure. Although endothelial dysfunction is central to ARDS progression, the molecular regulators that maintain endothelial barrier stability during injury remain scarcely understood. This study investigates the role of End Binding Protein 3 (EB3), a microtubule-associated ... Read More

In order to treat urethral stricture disease, the narrowing of the urethra, substitution urethroplasty procedure has to be completed. The procedure causes a buildup of scar tissue, leading to the blockage returning and increasing the risk for patients with various health issues. A graft, a piece of tissue or plant material that is transplanted from one part of the body ... Read More

The brain’s medial habenula (MHb-IPN) pathway has been shown to be significant in regulating both nicotine intake and withdrawal. Within this pathway are calcium-permeable AMPA receptors which are activated by Glutamate binding. When these AMPA receptors are open, their is an influx of Calcium ions within the cell that can activate downstream processes such as Long-Term Potentiation, activation of Protein ... Read More

Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), commonly known as long COVID, includes persistent symptoms that occur months after initial infection. Although many individuals do not experience gastrointestinal symptoms during acute COVID-19, studies show an elevated risk of chronic conditions months or years after infection. One possible explanation involves the persistence of viral RNA within gastrointestinal tissues, which may lead to ... Read More

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue pediatric cancer, and is characterized by a high grade, malignant sarcoma that resembles skeletal muscle tissue. RMS is thought to develop in response to a disrupted myogenesis process in which proliferating progenitor cells are unable to develop into mature muscle fibers. This study investigates the gene regulation and small RNA profiles of ... Read More

Neuromuscular transmission, critical for muscle contraction, depends on acetylcholine (ACh) rapidly diffusing across the synaptic cleft and binding to clustered nicotinic receptors on the postsynaptic membrane. Disruptions in this process underlie diseases like myasthenia gravis and muscular dystrophies. While synaptic geometry, receptor distribution, and kinetics have been studied separately, their combined influence on ACh signaling dynamics is poorly understood. This ... Read More

Accurately interpreting how cells interact within their respective tissue environments is integral for studying biological systems. Recent advances in spatial transcriptomics technologies have proved capable for this purpose, with platform VisiumHD capturing data at resolutions of roughly 2 micrometers. Despite this improvement, analyzing VisiumHD results has proved a challenge, as default analysis aggregates its extremely precise data into larger 8-micrometer ... Read More

Acetylcholine (ACh) is a neurotransmitter that neuronal synapses use to trigger muscle movement. When this diffusion malfunctions, it can contribute to diseases like myasthenia gravis and Alzheimer’s disease. Studying acetylcholine at the molecular level in laboratories is costly and difficult because its diffusion occurs at extremely small spatial scales and within microseconds, requiring specialized imaging technology and highly controlled experimental ... Read More

Locomotor fatigue is a common challenge for traumatic transtibial prosthesis users (TTPUs), but the neuromuscular factors that contribute to this problem are not yet very well understood. Previous studies show that TTPUs fatigue more frequently than unimpaired adults during walking tasks, but these differences cannot be completely explained by typical clinical variables. This suggests that other mechanisms may play an ... Read More

The goal of this study is to quantify focused and distracted states in our brain by measuring reaction times. Current studies demonstrate the challenges in retaining attention in a task based environment. For example, access to smartphones in the vicinity reduces performance due to memory and attention overloads.Media houses continue to be interested in understanding viewer attention. Previous studies have ... Read More

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease that primarily affects preterm infants. It is recognized as a disorder of disrupted lung development that stems from an imbalance between lung injury and repair in immature lungs exposed to factors such as hyperoxia, mechanical ventilation, inflammation, and infection. This disruption interferes with alveolar and pulmonary vascular growth and causes impaired distal ... Read More

Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a skin disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the COL7A1 gene, resulting in the loss of functional collagen VII proteins, which anchor the epidermis to the dermis. Without these fibrils, the skin is fragile and blisters easily, leading to severe pain, chronic wounds, and increased infection risk. However, there are no effective treatments for ... Read More

Periodontal disease, commonly known as gum disease, is caused by an imbalance of bacteria living in the mouth. To better understand which bacteria are present in patients with periodontal disease compared to healthy individuals, we analyzed clinical oral samples using a DNA sequencing technology called PacBio Kinnex long-read sequencing. This method allows us to read the full length of the ... Read More

Acquired resistance to cancer therapy remains a critical clinical obstacle. In KRAS-mutant cancers - representing ~25% of human malignancies—targeted inhibitors such as sotorasib achieve initial responses, but median progression-free survival is only 6.3 months. Similarly, gemcitabine, the backbone of pancreatic cancer treatment, frequently fails within weeks. A unifying mechanism across these failures is the emergence of drug-tolerant persister (DTP) cells: ... Read More

For the first half of my two-year SIR project, I focused on learning about previous research adjacent to my project as I underwent the onboarding and other necessary tasks required to take my project from the preparation phase and begin my work, which started in March. For the majority of the year, I read research papers and familiarized myself with ... Read More

Posture and body position influence muscle mechanics, but their role in masticatory muscle balance during chewing has received little attention. The objective of this study was to identify whether natural head posture, forward head posture, or standing promotes the most balanced bilateral activation of the masticatory muscles. Using surface electromyography (sEMG), we measured electrical activity in the left and right ... Read More