2020-2021 Research Updates

Wester Lab, Department of Neuroscience:

At the beginning of 2020, I joined the Wester Lab. Our lab uses transgenic mice and electrophysiology techniques to investigate the organization and development of neural circuits in the cortex. Under Dr. Jason Wester, I am conducting a project that involves analyzing single-cell RNA-sequencing data of mouse cortical neurons from the Allen Institute for Brain Science. Our goal is to identify candidate mechanisms underlying the establishment and maintenance of circuits by comparing expression of adhesion molecules among neuronal subclasses across distinct cortical regions. This work is strengthening my computational skills in R and Python. As I learn new lab techniques, I am excited to build on my results and prepare my honors thesis.

Presentations:

2021:

Making progress with my mentored project in the Wester Lab, I recently discussed our findings at the New England Science Symposium and The Ohio State University College of Medicine Research Trainee Day. I enjoyed hearing other students’ presentations and took pride in sharing my poster on identifying clinically relevant candidate mechanisms underlying circuit architecture in the neocortex.

2020:

I enjoyed presenting for the first time at the New England Science Symposium sponsored by Harvard Medical School and the Biomedical Science Careers Program (BSCP). My presentation titled the “Commercial Cancer Panel Conundrum” covered the cancer genomics research I conducted in the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, assessing the disparity in diagnostic yields between broad genetic profiling and targeted panel sequencing.

During the summer, I enrolled in a biostatistics and research design course: Infectious disease ecology, evolution, and transmission. I performed a literature review to better understand genetic factors implicated in Kawasaki Disease (KD) and multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a pediatric sequela of COVID-19 with KD-like features. I designed and presented an independent research proposal on conducting a genome-wide association study to investigate susceptibility of developing multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a pediatric sequela of COVID-19.