Q: What first drew you to the College
of Arts and Sciences, and what has stood out about your experience
here?
A: I was originally attracted to the College’s prowess in the
sciences, its academic resources, and its location in the heart of
a culturally diverse community. On each count, the University has
exceeded my expectations. I chose to major in biochemistry and molecular
biology because I believe that it will best prepare me to reach my
career goals. My chemistry lab professor, Alan Crosby, was an exceptionally
talented teacher and a source of guidance, and was clearly committed
to preparing each of us for a professional career, regardless of whether
that career entailed lab exposure or would simply require devoted
attention to detail and preparation.
Q: Can you describe the project you’re working on with
Professor Hausman?
A: We’re doing research in embryonic eye development, and the
focus is on a protein called retina cognin (or R-cognin), which is
required for neuronal differentiation in the early chick embryo. Recently
I have been researching the protein’s function in retina tissue-specific
cell aggregation and its involvement in levels of biosynthetic enzymes
for the neurotransmitters acetylcholine and gamma-aminobutyric acid:
choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD),
respectively. Monitoring the levels of ChAT and GAD provide a direct
correlation to levels of
R-cognin expression.
In simpler terms, the basic goal of the research is to determine
the specific “hows” of R-cognin’s role in neuronal
differentiation. In retinal development, there are many different
proteins that control the growth of neuroprocesses (neuroprocesses
being responsible for conducting electrical signals that are interpreted
between the eye and the brain). One of those proteins is R-cognin,
which is similar to a class of proteins called protein disulfide
isomerases, or PDI for short.
R-cognin acts through disulfide bridges to interact with other proteins,
and that action generally enhances cell aggregation. Without proper
cell aggregation within the embryonic eye, the correct synapses
are not formed.
Q: How did you get involved with the project?
A: Every week in my freshman year Honors biology class, we had
a discussion section that featured a guest lecturer, generally a
biology professor within the department. I really appreciated that
class; it was an excellent way to learn about advanced research
topics with professors at the top of their fields of expertise.
When Professor Hausman spoke to my class, I found him to be very
interesting and dynamic. I stayed after class to tell him that I
was going to be in Boston for the summer and that I was interested
in volunteer work in his lab, and he said that there was a position
available. He was very open and enthusiastic about it. Over the
summer, I worked on a number of different projects that gave me
an overall view of the retina cognin project. I did a large amount
of background reading and some initial dissections, and found it
all so interesting that I’ve stayed on.
I really enjoy being in the lab—in fact, it’s a bit
of a struggle not to be down there too much! I generally spend about
10 hours a week there, but if I had more time I’d definitely
want to put that time into the research, and Dr. Hausman is open
to that. I have a key to the lab and access to the building, so
ideally I can go in whenever I like. It’s very independent;
most of the time I end up working by myself on a specific project.
Q: What’s a typical session in the lab like for you?
A: I usually come to the lab at about 2 p.m., and generally I come
with an idea of what I want to accomplish that day. Right now we’re
focusing on a specific experiment, so we’re trying to generate
data that can be used to show the statistical significance of our
findings. We’re studying DTNB, which is an inhibitor that negates
the activity of R-cognin. We’ve set up an experiment in which
we add DTNB to one retina and not to the other, and look at the cell
aggregation over a period of time to see the difference when R-cognin
is negated. |
