Participant
Summer
- Accepted to the highly selective RIBS program at the University of Chicago and participated in the intensive four-week training program designed to “expose students to a broad range of molecular, microbiological, and cell biological techniques currently used in research laboratories”
- Learned various laboratory techniques such as PCR, cell culture, and gene sequencing for the first two weeks and worked on a team project for the last two weeks
- Collaborated with 3 other team members on analyzing wound healing in jellyfish under the guidance of Dr. Christopher Schonbaum and presented our research in a research forum at the end of the program. Produced a working paper titled “Effect of Cytochalasin B on Wound Healing in Clytia Hemisphaerica”
Effect of Cytochalasin B on Wound Healing in Clytia Hemisphaerica (2022)
Abstract
Wound healing is one of the most significant processes in multicellular organisms and clinical settings. Recently, there has been a growing interest in wound healing observed in Clytia hemisphaerica, a small hydrozoan-group cnidarian, due to the active role of actin filaments in controlling the rate of wound healing. This experiment aimed to answer the question, “How does different concentrations of cytochalasin B affect the assembly of actin filaments and, therefore, the rate of wound healing in C. hemisphaerica?” Following a preliminary experiment that was conducted, it was hypothesized that higher concentrations of cytochalasin B will cause the actin filament structures to disassemble and decrease the rate of wound healing in C. hemisphaerica. To observe the effects of different cytochalasin B concentrations, C. hemisphaerica were treated with 0 μM, 0.5 μM, 1 μM, and 2 μM concentrations of cytochalasin B before wounding. Actin filaments were stained and observed with phalloidin. The results confirmed that an increase in cytochalasin B concentration results in disassembly of actin filaments, thus leading to slower rates of wound healing. Overall, this study supports the significance of actin filaments in wound healing and provides a foundation for future studies of wound healing in higher, complex organisms.
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