Research has been an integral part of my life as soon as I decided I wanted to pursue the sciences. I chose this artifact because it was a key point in my life- This was the first time I had been entirely responsible for a project. With this project, I competed in many symposiums, science fairs, and had the opportunity to showcase work that I had invested hundreds of hours in.
My research in the lab was titled “ME2 Gene Expression is associated with Epilepsy.” Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy (IGE) is classified as a category of epilepsy that is believed to have a strong genetic cause. Epilepsy is diagnosed when there are spontaneous “electric storms,” caused by an abnormally high amount of brain activity. These effects can be counteracted with GABA, the brain’s primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. Since IGE is believed to have an underlying genetic factor, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) genotypes were used to determine the association between IGE and Malic Enzyme 2 (ME2). ME2 is a gene that is involved in the production of GABA. The association was determine using a linear regression in the programming language “R.” ME2 expression was regressed onto SNP genotypes and a linear equation was created. This equation was then used to predict ME2 expression in the cases, or living subjects. After the prediction and comparison of ME2 levels among the two groups, ME2 was found to be differentially expressed, proving that a lack of ME2 results in IGE.
This project is symbolic in the sense that it taught me the true meaning of research. Before this, I thought of research solely consisted of lab coats and animal testing; however, there are many different aspects of research that have such a large impact. While I did research for 8 years of my life, this project was the most memorable because I grew not only academically, but also as a person.