Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Accelerometry-Based Analysis Of Postural Sway In Parkinson's Disease Patients With Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesia, Chandler Brock

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, with patient numbers projected to double to 12 million in the next 20 years. Levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) is a major problem associated with the long-term use of levodopa for symptomatic treatment of PD. These involuntary movements can become disabling and may interfere with quality of life. Our prior research showed that PD w/ LID were less stable while standing (i.e., increased postural sway) and had a higher incidence of falls. The aim of this study is to determine if postural sway properties are altered by LID via decomposing the sway signal. We …

Remotely Controlled Enzyme Behavior Using Localized Thermal Gradients, Sarah Brown

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

No existing model describes an identified special case of enzyme behavior when directly stimulated with thermal energy via an RF field.

The ability to remotely influence cellular functions and outcomes is a new approach to targeted medicine. Nano-medicine and biotechnology are the future of medical diagnostics and treatment. The ability to remotely influence cellular functions and outcomes is a new approach to targeted medicine. Direct heating of an enzyme vs bulk heating changes the enzyme activity.

I tested how direct transfer of thermal energy changes rates of enzyme reactions. We created samples of enzymes, attached to ferrous (magnetic) nano-particles, and …

Characterization Of Dimerization Domains On The Mannose-6-Phosphate/Insulin-Like Growth Factor 2 Receptor, Tyler Degener

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The mannose-6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor 2 (M6P/IGF2) receptor is a transmembrane protein with the ability to sequester growth factors from the extracellular matrix. This behavior links the receptor to tumor suppression. On a structural level, the extracellular portion of the protein is segmented into 15 homologous repeats, which can be divided further into 5 triplet domains, labelled 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, and 13-15. Each triplet receptor displays its own unique ligand binding affinity, including the ability to form dimers with triplets on a second M6P/IGF2 receptor. In fact, previous studies indicate that this protein functions optimally when dimerized. Thus, the purpose …

Updates On Epigenetic Alterations To Brca1: Chemosensitivities, Haley Blum

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Breast cancer 1, early onset (BRCA1) is a human tumor suppressor gene encoding the BRCA1 protein that maintains genomic integrity. Molecular events may contribute to the loss of BRCA1 function, contributing to site specific tumorigenesis. Loss of BRCA1 function may arise from mutation or epigenetic events. Germline mutations of BRCA1 have been thoroughly implicated in heritable breast and ovarian cancers. More recently, sporadic breast cancer has been shown to be driven by epigenetic alterations to the BRCA1 promoter region, specifically methylation. Breast carcinomas that present with BRCA1 promoter methylation have been associated with triple negative breast cancers, as well …

The Opioid Crisis: Exploring The Effects On First Responders And Healthcare Professionals, Rachel Lubischer, Dawne Frain

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

In 2017, the National Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency (The White House, 2018). Although Nebraska ranks among the states with the lowest number of drug overdose deaths, rising opioid use creates safety concerns for first responders and healthcare professionals, and leads to strained resources in many jurisdictions. We hope to increase our audience’s knowledge on the opioid crisis, how it effects first responders and healthcare professionals, and pertinent policies and initiatives in Nebraska. Our audience will leave this presentation better equipped to initiate discussions with friends, family, and community members about …

Synthesis Of A Sulfur Variant For Treatment Of Trypanosomiasis, Carlos Vera-Esquivel

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Previous work in our lab has found diphenyl ether benzylamines showed a successful response with a micromolar concentration of our lead compound to treat the deadly Trypanosamiosis rhodesience. Furthermore, mammalian cell lines saw promising resistance towards damages. The goal of this study was to synthesize a diphenyl thio benzylamine variant. This variant was more active toward T. b. rhodesience but showed more toxicity to both rat 10 (IC₅₀ mM) and human cell lines (HFF, HC-₀₄, U-₂ OS, and HEK₂₉₃). The selectivity index (ratio of toxicity to activity in the same concentration units (SI)) …

Studies Of Amino Acid Mutations In Drug Resistance Of The Smo Protein, Eunice Wintona

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Smoothened receptor (SMO) is a protein that in humans, is encoded by the SMO gene. A systemic mutation in its binding pocket helps predict the sensitivity of mutant proteins to different drugs. Known as a GPCR-like receptor, it is a component of the hedgehog signaling pathway; a pathway involved in body patterning and the regulation of adult stem cells. An uncontrolled or inappropriate activation of the Hedgehog pathway drives tumor progression in cancers and a number of birth defects. To achieve these goals, the molecular modeling software MOE was used to build small molecules and drug molecules like Vismodegib and …

Docking Studies Of Isoform-Selectivity Of Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase (Pi3k) Inhibitors, Kaitlin Goettsch

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3Ks) and their related pathways are reputed targets for drug-based anticancer therapies. Mutations in PI3K genes, expression, and pathways are frequent among multiple cancer types. Four isoforms of PI3Ks exist: α, β, γ, & δ and studies have identified several ligands for each isoform which are capable of serving as inhibitory therapeutic compounds. However, the biochemical efficacy of these molecules varies and the isoform selectivity is not well understood. In this study, we applied in silico docking methods and free energy calculation methods to estimate the binding of reported PI3K ligands against 5 PI3K structures: PI3Kα (PBD ID: …