SUMMER! It is not just a time that marks an end to the academic year, but it is also the inception of fun activities and ventures for any student. Starting from the day we heard the last bell that officially starts summer vacation, my friends began their summer planning. They asked me “Shayra, What are you doing over the summer?” Nothing brings me more happiness and ebullience as I am able to reply with the answer that “I am spending coming 2 months researching and learning about one of my most favorite topics: Neurodegenerative diseases.”
Hello everyone. I am Shayra Nawsheen, soon to be a 12th grader this fall. This summer I received the wonderful opportunity to work under the guidance of my mentor Dr. Deepti Lall, Project Scientist in Dr. Robert H. Baloh’s laboratory. Her work focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) For my research, I will be working with my mentor on one of the cell types that are affected in ALS: Bone-Marrow Derived M (BMDM’s). I will employ these BMDM’s to understand how different cellular stressors affect the normal functions of these cells. Particularly, I will be working on BMDM’s that harbor mutations in TBK1: a gene known to cause ALS and is involved in autophagy and Type 1 interferon response. This is my first week in the program and I started by reading materials and research papers that provided me with a deeper understanding of the TBK1 gene, Haploinsufficiency, Western Blotting, and Stem cells. I also observed a lab member process and freeze blood samples from ALS patients. This equipped me with the skills of sterilization, labeling, pipetting, and centrifugation. I am almost done with the prerequisites and by the end of this week, Dr.Lall and I will plan our experiments that we intend to work on for the next month.
I am extremely excited about this program and cannot wait to experience one of the best summers of my life.
RMI CIRM SPARK 