April 2024
Worm dissection
Lincoln-West Updates
We are in the season of discovery! Students are making progress on their projects and have found some really interesting results. Some highlights below:
At Lincoln-West we have 18 projects underway. One of our groups is interested in the impact of cigarette smoke and tobacco on our health. To test this, they are using plants as a model and have designed a creative approach to expose the plants to compounds in cigarettes. First, they are lacing water with tobacco, using chewing tobacco as a substrate as it is soluble in water. They carefully measure the same concentration and have fed some of the plants normal water and others tobacco water. This ensures the plants are consuming tobacco through their root system. In tandem, students are using a cocktail smoker with a safety fan outdoors to create a contained smoke environment for plants. They have collected plant leaves from all of the conditions to isolate protein and test the levels of stress response proteins like HSP70. We are hopeful that the students see firsthand that smoking is not good for your health!
Another group is studying the impact of music on our brain and behavior. They went above and beyond and have decided to not only see if music is helpful for us, but to test a range of genres. This group is using fruit flies (Drosophila) and have categorized music into three major groups: meditation, rap/R&B, and hard rock, all at the same volume. After 4 weeks of exposure to music, all of the flies were dead except for the flies exposed to meditation music. At this point the students thought it was a coincidence and decided to test whether this result repeated by exposing a new group of flies to these music genres for only 7 days. Surprisingly, after 7 days all of the flies were again dead except the meditation flies. Students are continuing to test this to see when the flies are dying and then intervene right before to test why it is happening.
Rowan helping students
Garrett Morgan Updates
At Garrett Morgan we have 8 projects ongoing. We have a group of students interested in why some people react differently to different drugs. The students noted that some people take Benadryl and get sleepy, while others become wired. They also noted the same observation for people who ingest marijuana. The students hypothesized there were genetic differences that caused the different behavioral outcomes, and designed experiments to test gene-drug interactions. They are using C. elegans as a model and feeding them an RNAi to create knockout animals where functional proteins are removed. They chose slo-1, a gene that encodes a protein that regulates excitatory neurotransmitter release. These students have been exposing either control worms with normal genomes or slo-1 knockout worms to CBD or normal food. In this past month, students have performed chemotaxis assays to test whether or not the gene/drug intersection impacts worm behavior. They have collected some striking data and are carefully analyzing their results!
Another group is looking into the impact of generational famine. The students are using fruit flies, since they quickly have progeny. They tested different time frames of "famine' where flies had no access to food and then found the best length of time to use before mating flies. They are now observing behavior in the offspring to see if a parental group is exposed to famine whether or not the offspring have lasting effects. After collecting this data, they will be dissecting fly brains to analyze protein expression of both serotonin and the serotonin receptor in the animals.
Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!
Volunteer Spotlight
We had a chance to catch up with one of our many star volunteers, Juan Jeffrey!
Juan Jeffrey
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I grew up in Springfield, OH, the hometown of John Legend. I completed my undergrad at the University of Connecticut where I earned a double BS in Molecular and Cellular Biology and German. To satisfy part of my German degree program I spent a year abroad studying at the University of Ulm in Baden-Wurttemberg, which is the birthplace of Albert Einstein. Currently, I work in the Radiology department of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. In addition to managing the high energy irradiators on campus and assisting or training users, I work with human cancer cell lines, work with small animal cancer xenografts, and develop 3D models and printing to meet our customers needs. I like my job because there are always new things to learn and I have a lot of time and space to explore. In my spare time, in addition to volunteering for Rise Up, I co-chair the Garden@Case community garden and volunteer at various other area community gardens. I enjoy reading, craftwork, camping, fishing, kayaking and riding my motorcycle. I also live with two cats.
How did you get started volunteering with Rise Up?
I saw a flyer for the program near an elevator and thought it would be cool to participate.
What's your favorite aspect of volunteering?
Watching the scholars have fun and intellectually engage with the experiments.
What motivates you to give back to the community?
I have loved science since I was very young, reading through the children’s encyclopedias in my bedroom, and I always looked forward to participating in my science classes. In middle school and high school I enjoyed when a science presenter came to explain some cool phenomena or talk about science. I joined Rise Up because I wanted to be part of the tradition of demonstrating the fun of STEM to children and encouraging them to keep exploring.
What would you say to someone who’s thinking of volunteering?
You should absolutely do it! Aside from the fun of learning alongside young people and helping to guide them, it will give you invaluable experience in developing your ability to explain scientific concepts at different levels to match the understanding of your audience. Sometimes you will have to find a hook to get the kids to engage with the material in a way that is personal to them as individuals, so you need to be an attentive listener and sensitive to personal and cultural differences. Take time to remember participant names and get to know each of them as individuals. They will pick up on your authenticity and it will help you connect with them.
What else you would like the reader to know about your volunteer experience?
Rise Up is a wonderful program for high school students and for young scientists alike. It’s great for students in the area to see people like them in STEM roles and to be able to interact with research scientists in a relaxed casual environment. It’s great for young scientists to have experience mentoring someone. You never know what difference you could make in someone’s life.
2024 Young Scientist Symposiums
We are set to host our 2nd annual Young Scientist Symposium for our students to present their work to fellow classmates, teachers, school leaders, volunteers and community members. These young scholars will make a short 5-10 minute presentation on their projects and results to share with the audience. Below are the dates for each along with meeting links if you’d like to join virtually.
Garrett Morgan School of Engineering and Innovation: 9:30am May 22nd, 2024
Join virtually with Google Meet!
Lincoln-West School of Science and Health: 9:30am May 30th, 2024
Join virtually with Google Meet!
