UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Grant: $19,939 - National Institutes of Health - May. 29, 2009
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Award Description: This award was intended to support summer research employment for high school, predental and dental ststudents. Students would get an experience in a modern research laboratory that might allow them to consider a career in research and also provide jobs for the summer for this underemployed group. The laboratory would benifit by advancing the goals of the research of the parent grant. The deliverables are the jobs created and the research accomplished.
Project Description: The summer students significantly advanced the goals of the research in the laboratory. The high schools worked to determine the role of must cells in our stress impaired wound paradigm. This was a followup to previous work we had done that had demonstrated that stressing mice altered the course of edema in the tissue and ultimately microbial infection in wounds. We had preliminary data to show that granulated mast cells were reduced in the wond tissue. The students cut histologic sections and stained them for mast cells to enumerate mast cells in the tissue. This confurmed our previous finding. they also did Realtime PCR and showed a decrease in growth/differentiation factors in the tissue. The other two students have been advancing the specific aims related to oxygen related gene expression, i.e., they have been doing Realtime PCR to examone the expression of oxygen regulated genes from tissue of stressed and non-stressed mice. Also the students have helped in measuring wound closure in our animal models.
Jobs Summary: These funds supported students working both in the summer, with one student continuing on throgh to the Fall of 2009. Two of the students were high school students from the city of Chicago. They had the opportunity to intern in a modern research laboratory and impacts on their future emloyment in high tech research. A dental student from Howard University was supported in the program. The student would not have had the opportunity to do research at his home insititution if this opportunity were not available. It may help the student consider other options for his career that might include research and academics. It would also help to support his paying for his dental school tuition and living costs. The final student was a postbaccalaureate student who is currently applying for dental school. She would not have full time employment if not supported by these funds. This experience has further crystallized her interest in research as a career. Two of the four students were underrepresented minorities. (Total jobs reported: 3)
Project Status: More than 50% Completed
This award's data was last updated on May. 29, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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