Interdisciplinary

A survey of Childhood Cancer Patients and Caregivers Experience during COVID

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented change in healthcare delivery. In pediatric oncology, patients and providers were challenged to adapt to evolving circumstances while balancing adherence to well-established oncology treatment and monitoring plans in order to decrease exposure and prevent serious infections in this potentially immunosuppressed population. These changes may have affected healthcare behaviors. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of the first 4 months of the COVID-19 pandemic on the timing of oncologic care and the overall experiences of pediatric oncology patients and families.

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Protein Kinases in Cancer

emmacol

Even after years of researching cancer cells, the scientific and medical communities still have a lot to learn about how these types of cells function. This study focuses primarily on utilizing protein kinase inhibitors to degrade kinases that drive cancer progression. We are using a variety of drugs and cells, to attempt to gain a better understanding of how these drugs can control the behavior of these cancerous cells. The main goal of this project is to discover the extent of the degrading effects of Proteolysis targeting chimera(PROTACs). PROTACs are able to degrade kinases by binding to both the kinase itself, as well as an ubiquitin ligase. In order to accomplish this goal, pipetting techniques are utilized to administer chemicals to the cells, which are then analyzed under a microscope. Various chemistry and biology techniques are being used to develop the most complex understanding of these molecules. Recently, one of the drugs that was being tested had a significant effect on the number of cells that were able to survive, and we are continuing to investigate at what dosage this drug became the most effective. These findings help us to understand the type and dosage of drug that is most effective in controlling the cancerous cells, which can help us in our overall study of cellular inhibitors.? This research plays a vital role in understanding how kinase inhibitors can help stop the progression of cancerous cells.

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Misbehavior in the classroom

ekaraein

Misbehavior has been a problem in classrooms worldwide. Studies in the past have attempted to link misbehavior within the classroom to student race and gender showing that there is potentially some connection between misbehaviors and how a teacher disciplines the student in terms of response. This study builds off of those of the past by utilizing Mobile Eye-tracking in regular class periods to discover the types of misbehaviors most common within the classroom, which misbehaviors teachers see and respond to, and whether these answers differ by student gender. By utilizing multiple cameras at different angles to record all misbehaviors within classrooms, we can code for misbehaviors according to a standard coding rubric. Trained coders watched 52 videos of 26 different 1st? through 11t?h? grade classrooms and noted the frequency of misbehaviors for each of 20 to 30 students, whether the teacher noticed, whether the teacher responded, and the gender of the student committing the misbehavior. The coding is essential in tracking misbehavior frequency as well as teacher response in a hope to identify a common misbehavior and response effects within the classroom. If a link between a common misbehavior and a certain response that prevented future misbehaviors could be identified, we would have new knowledge on what the best way to respond to a common misbehavior would be. We are early in the research process and expect to establish a link between whether boys and girls perform certain misbehaviors in the same frequencies and whether teachers respond to boys and girls fairly. Our end goal of this research study is to identify what method of dealing with misbehaviors is most effective. This expected finding could help inform teacher education programs by preparing pre-service and in-service student teachers to pre-empt their response biases and use Mobile-Eye-tracking technology in reflective practice. This effort may then result in less misbehaviors overall, creating a better environment for both teachers and students that encourages more efficient education.

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Management by Design: Mental Health and its Gendered Discrepancies in the Workplace

nmietus

Beginning in 1967, most office spaces in America were transformed to follow an “Action Office” Design created by Robert Propst. This invention, backed by psychological and behavioral research, was meant to minimize worker fatigue, increase collaboration without too much distraction, and overall boost productivity in the workplace with employees working faster for longer without much realization. The consequences of this new approach, however, weren’t realized until much more recently. Our research project sought to explore and assess the changes in workplace design from 1967 to 2017, focusing on awareness of mental health and gender fairness. Have work conditions improved? Is employee health a concern for corporations? Why is there still a prominent, gendered difference in employee treatment within the workplace? Using Robert Propst’s The Office and the Henry Ford Archives, we were able to get a sense of what was happening behind closed office doors in 1967.

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Creative Writing & Publishing

nsabrina

Introduction: How to get work published is regarded as one of life’s greatest mysteries by many American writers; for this project, our research group decided to comprehensively study American literary journals in hopes of discovering which journals publish which types of work, and what particular journal would be the best fit for each member of our research group. We also practiced our own writing skills and developed our styles. Methods: To accomplish this goal, each group member compiled a database of information surrounding these journals, noting the length of submissions they typically published, the style of writings, and notable features of the journal, including whether or not they had a particular interest in new writers. We also submitted our own creative works (like flash fiction, short stories, poetry, prose) to our research group on a weekly basis for critique to analyze our own styles and determine which journals could be a good match. Results: An analysis of these databases has provided each member with a list of publications to which they will submit work. We have also learned which journals are most likely to print which types of work, and what things editors look for while they are reading submissions. Conclusions: Each member is submitting work now to see if we will be accepted anywhere.

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Functions of Newly Evolved Proteins in Meiotic Drive

lbran

Leila Brandt Pronouns: she/her/hers Research Mentor(s): Jacob Mueller, Assistant Professor Research Mentor School/College/Department: Human Genetics, Michigan Medicine Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 Session: Session 5 (3pm-3:50pm) Breakout Room: Room 7 Presenter: 2 Event Link Abstract For privacy concerns this abstract cannot be published at this time. Authors: Jacob Mueller, Leila Brandt, Lucy Zhang Research

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Mass spectrometry based assessment of the Tryptophan catabolism in Chronic Kidney Disease accelerated heart disease

thejuju

Despite the improvements in renal replacement therapies, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains one of the leading causes of mortality for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients with a 10-fold increase in mortality rate compared to individuals without CKD. The reason behind this increased risk is not fully explained through classical risk factors; however, non-traditional risk factors like inflammation play an important role in the pathogenesis of CKD atherosclerosis. More specifically, tryptophan metabolism has been linked to inflammation in CKD patients through the kynurenine pathway (KP). In our previous study, tryptophan metabolite levels were associated with incident CVD in CKD patients. With this knowledge, this current study intends to prove that tryptophan catabolism is disproportionately upregulated in atherosclerotic lesions of CKD patients. Plasma and aortic tissue of CKD patients varying in CKD stage will be matched with CVD patients with normal renal function with the objective of finding the disproportionate tryptophan catabolism in atherosclerotic lesions. Aortic tissue will be homogenized and both plasma and tissue lysates will be extracted for tryptophan metabolites using organic solvents. We will use Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry to measure a panel of tryptophan catabolites from these extracts. We expect to find significant differences in KP metabolites in atherosclerotic lesions compared to controls, and correlate lesion KP metabolites to circulating KP metabolites and further prove the strength of using KP metabolites as prospective measures for detecting CVD in CKD patients.

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The Effects of Radiation on Porcine Submandibular Glands

hareesh

Roughly 600,000+ cases of head and neck cancer are diagnosed annually with the majority of these patients being treated with therapeutic irradiation (IR). Unfortunately, IR often causes irreversible salivary gland (SG) damage, hyposalivation, and permanent xerostomia (dry mouth syndrome). A lack of saliva negatively impacts the oral cavity by increasing tooth decay and infections, as well as impairing swallowing, speech, and sense of taste. To address the underlying mechanisms causing SG dysfunction, and to ultimately bring new therapies to treat this condition to the clinic, preclinical test models are needed. Unlike small rodents, minipigs serve as an ideal model as they are more closely related to humans based on the anatomy and location of the SGs in the head and neck area. Most pig models focus solely on the parotid gland and do not include the SMG. As both glands can be affected by radiation and may require repair, we applied two different radiation doses and evaluated the submandibular glands (SMGs) for morphological damage using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining. Our overall goals are to determine which radiation dose most closely mimics the damage observed in human studies and to establish a preclinical minipig model for xerostomia that affects the SMG.

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