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Biochemistry
Brier, WA
Mentor: Vickie Moore
Project title: Mechanisms of apoptosis in diabetic cardiomyopathy
This semester was a busy one for me as I worked to finish up my project while simultaneously interviewing for graduate programs. I worked with both HL-1 and H9C2 heart cells, where I pre-treated them with glucose and then analyzed viability changes following additional treatment with hydrogen peroxide (to mimic ischemic conditions). I also analyzed H9C2 cells with a novel technique called BH3-profiling, which allows for the determination of the most important BCL-2 proteins in regulating cell death decisions. Although preliminary, my results indicate some very interesting changes between low and high glucose treatments.
Applying for and receiving the Lumen Prize greatly enhanced my undergraduate experience. The process of applying forced me to get organized about my summer plans, post-graduate plans, and four-year class plans. It also got the Goldwater Scholarship on my radar, which I then applied for and received. Further, at virtually all of my graduate school interviews, my interviewers were surprised and impressed when they learned that I had secured my own funding and had generated my own project idea. I know that Lumen made me a more competitive applicant for graduate school, as well as gave me the funds necessary to explore an interesting question and the skills and confidence needed to move forward in my research career plans. I will be attending the University of California, Berkeley in the fall to start a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology.
Dr. Ann J. Cahill
Professor of Philosophy
Spence Pavilion 111
2340 Campus Box
Elon, NC 27244
Phone: (336) 278-5703
cahilla@elon.edu
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