UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
Grant: $118,711 - National Institutes of Health - Jun. 17, 2009
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Award Description: The purpose of this administrative supplement was to receive monies to hire personnel to accelerate the research being carried out for the prinicipal investigator's currently funded project (parent grant 5R01ES016042-02). This project supported the goal of this RFA (NOT-OD-09-060, Supplements Providing Summer Research Experiences for Students and Science Educators) in that it promoted job creation by requesting monies to hire high school students, undergraduate students, and a high school science teacher to work in Dr. Angela Slitt?s laboratory at the University of Rhode Island in the Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The principal investigator (Dr. Angela Slitt) was awarded a supplement to hire 2 high school students, 2 undergraduate students, and a high school educator from local schools for up to 8 weeks in summer months (May through August). The PI identified and hired high school and undergraduate students that were interested in a career in the health sciences field, and was able to hire a high school science teacher from a high school close to the University of Rhode Island. The PI requested monies for supplies for the students and teacher. The awarded funds were to be used for the students and teacher to work on various aspects of the investigator?s currently funded project, including performing the necessary studies for protein and mRNA analysis, as well as transcription factor binding. The overall mission of the funded research is to understand how nutrition regulates the expression of the chemical/drug transporter, Multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (Mrp2), and how this affects the biliary excretion of bisphenol A and bisphenol A metabolites. The requested personnel will contribute to the goals of the project by 1) determining liver Mrp2 protein expression in mice after fasting, 2) Mrp2 protein expression in mice after caloric restriction, 3) transcription factor binding changes after fasting, 4) transcription factor binding changes after caloric restriction, and 5) whether bisphenol or bisphenol-glucuronide are substrates for human MRP2 or other MRP proteins, and whether Bisphenol A and Bisphenol A metabolites affect the activity of the deactelyase, Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1).
Project Description: The PI hired 2 high school students, 2 undergraduate students, and a high school educator. The PI identified these people through contacting various local high schools and personal contacts. The researchers carried out the following aspects of the funded studies: 1)A High school Student, Windham High School, Windham, CT. The primary assignment for Miles was to develop, trouble shoot, and examine the role of how Bisphenol A and Bisphenol A-related molecules affect the activity of Sirt1 in a fluorescence-based in vitro assay. Miles successfully completed the study. He also learned immunohistochemical techniques to stain for Mrp2 and Bcrp expression. Another High School Student, South Kingstown High School, South Kingstown, RI. The primary assignment was to develop, trouble shoot, and examine the how Mrp2 and Bcrp expression changed in liver sections. Kyle spent the summer learning how to obtain crysosections of livers, stain them for Mrp2 and Bcrp using fluorescent staining methods, and visualize the fluorescence using microscopy. He was able to successfully develop the method and obtain staining in liver for Bcrp and Mrp2. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island was funded to 1) assist in the Sirt1 activity assay, 2) develop real-time PCR methods to quantify mRNA expression for Mrp2, b-actin, Mrp4, and Sirt1 using liver total RNA and total RNA from liver cell lines. The graduate was assigned the task of learning how to use a light cycler recently aquired by the PI for the completion of the awarded parent project and successfully completed the project.A Senior from Holy Cross College was hired to make nuclear membrane preparations from livers of mice that have been fasted or undergone caloric restriction. The student had to verify the method (ensure proper isolation of nuclear fractions) and then utilize binding assays to determine binding with a TF Procarta Plex assay utilizing a Bio-Rad Bioplex.The teacher worked with all the students.
Jobs Summary: Four high school students were provided summer jobs. Also, A high school teacher who teaches biotechnology at South Kingstown High School, South Kingstown, RI was hired for 8 weeks during the summer. (Total jobs reported: 1)
Project Status: More than 50% Completed
This award's data was last updated on Jun. 17, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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