2017
Bridges
The importance of my research project and to who it benefits:The research that I am conducting is important because studying the role of genetics can help elucidate the functioning of microRNA and its relation to cancer. When figuring out what contributes to prostate cancer risk there are many disparities that come to mind, such as age, ethnicity, lifestyle, health, access to medical treatment, etc. The role of genetics is also a possible disparities that could contribute to prostate cancer risk, but it is not fully understood. Therefore, studying the genetic differences (aka SNPs) affecting the oncomir microRNA-27 cluster within the Native American population, we can better understand the role of genetics and the racial disparity as a risk factor for prostate cancer. MicroRNA has been shown to influence the mechanism of a variety of human disease, including cancer. In result, by understanding the functioning of a microRNA and its relation to cancer; microRNA has the potential of becoming the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. Specifically, a drug that is developed for miRNA-targeting will have the ability to alter any disturbances within the gene that results to cancer. For example, a drug that can alter the likelihood of the development for drug resistance in variety of malignancies that can alter the mutation’s resistances of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, altering any genetic variations can be considered as a tumor suppressor (a gene that protects a cell from one step on the path to cancer). In addition, the relative importance that genetics plays as a cause of racial disparities in prostate cancer is also unknown. Therefore, by comparing our data of the Native American individuals with other ethnicities, we can have a clear understanding of racial disparities being a risk factor which helps researchers understand the progression and treatment of prostate cancer. For my research, I am specifically focusing on the oncomir microRNA-27 cluster which has been known to affect prostate cancer risk, but has not been examined in Native Americans. Therefore, examining this gene within the Native American population is imperative for us to understand the racial disparities aspect of it. Studying the genetic variation and frequencies has the potential to affect our health by influencing race-based medicine that is focusing on the unique genetic expression of an individual's ancestors. Although race-based medicine is controversial, I believe that it could help individuals find a drug that best fits their needs. Here is a short excerpt from an article that I read Race and medicine: Not a black and white question, “...Luca Luigi Cavalli-Sforza of Stanford University showed that the frequencies of different alleles of genes for several blood and immune-system proteins vary geographically. It is now starting to be accepted that these sorts of variation can matter for health. If so, searching for genetic variations in different racial groups is not only acceptable, but also obligatory.” As you can see, my research impacts the Native American population, the insight of genetic variation in different racial groups, and the development of microRNA diagnostics and therapeutics. MicroRNA researching is an innovative study that can lead to more discoveries. How my family's background affected the way I see the world:My family's background includes: living by the word of God and doing our best in our education. Having parents that have faith in God, who supports me in my education and knowing people who are uneducated living on the Navajo reservation, has lead me to attend college and strive to succeed in medical school. From a young age, my parents taught my siblings and I to have faith in God, which has been beneficial in my life. Whenever, I felt discouraged, especially with not knowing the outcome of things, I put my trust in him. Therefore, I would feel at ease and it usually helps me view things positively. What I would pray for is guidance in my life, in my education and that I will accomplish great things. In addition, I would also pray that everything will fall into place. I believe that being a Christian has set a strong foundation in my life and has blessed me with wonderful opportunities. Along with obeying God, my education is my second priority. Having parents that encourage me to do my best in my education has made me realize that graduating from college is achievable. As an elementary student, I knew that attending college was expected of me, but I knew little about what it takes to be a college student. It was until my middle school year that I began to understand that having excellent grades would influence my acceptance into a university. When I was in high school, my mother went back to college at College America in Flagstaff and studied in nursing. Since my family lives in Inscription House, AZ, she made the sacrifice of staying in a motel throughout the week in order to attend classes and to have time to study. When she was back home, she was always studying; even late into the night. At times she cried and felt like giving up. However, she always managed to overcome her doubts and keep on pushing through. With that, I believe that seeing how my mom went through all that, it has motivated me to never give up in life, especially as a college student. I was also inspired to become a doctor by seeing my mother studying the human anatomy and by attending some of her classes. Seeing how she practiced giving other students in her class a shot in the arm was eye catching. As for living on the Navajo reservation, it’s common to know several people who are uneducated. As for example, shimásání (my maternal grandmother) never went to school, even as a child. She was raised to tend to her livestock (horse, cows, goats, & sheep), herd sheep, weave Navajo rugs, butcher sheep, and that’s how she survived. Her income was through selling Navajo rugs, some of her livestock, along with potteries. My uncle from my father’s side, only went to elementary school and now he is the pastor at my church. Knowing that they were unfortunate to get the same education as me, but still managed to make living has motivated me to aim to achieve the impossible. Overall, by keeping faith in God, having people to motivate me with my education, and striving to make difference attending college, I believe that I can become a medical doctor and I will work on the Navajo reservation to help my people and inspire others.
0 Comments
Update on how my research has developed so far and what I still expect to learn:Last week, the lab manager who usually assists me with my research project sent off my re-platted cloned plasmids to the University of Arizona for sequencing, before she left for her vacation. I am unsure of when she will return to the lab and what to do with the sequences that I got back earlier this week. However, I had a post-doc student help me analyze the returned sequences. I also plan to keep myself occupied by reading articles to better understand the function and biogenesis of microRNA (miRNA). So far, I have read an article called MicroRNAs in Common Human Diseases which states that, “miRNA plays an essential role in gene expression regulation at post-transcriptional levels.” Which means that miRNA has the ability to control the gene expression once the DNA has transcribed into RNA then, into messenger RNA. Hence, miRNAs also has the ability to control vital biological processes such as cell division and death, cellular metabolism, intracellular signaling, immunity and cell movement. The article also explains how miRNA (lin-4) was discovered in Caenorhabditis elegans, roundworm, in 1993. It wasn’t until seven years later that they used the same approach to identify another miRNA (let-7). This just proves that there was inefficiency with these type of research: forward genetics and standard molecular biology techniques. Including the lack of enthusiasm among researchers who suspected that miRNA was only seen in worms. Therefore, this miRNA research was discovered not too long ago and with the combination of the Human Genome Project it has made the study of miRNA expression possible. Certain miRNA expression patterns could be disease-specific and hold great prognostic value. As for cancer related miRNAs, they are potentially useful for developing not only early diagnosis but also novel anti-cancer strategies. With these known it could contribute to early detection of cancer and potentially deliver profound benefits to the public health. I also plan to read about how the gene that I am working with, miR-27a associates with numerous of cancers, including prostate cancer. I would like to learn more about the biological function of miR-27a that determines the protein synthesis. Whether the gene upregulates or down regulates a pathway that can promote or hinder the susceptibility to cancer. I would then, research the rs895819 SNP (since the other SNP is not documented) to see how it affects the susceptibility of cancer too. Finally, I will read about the molecular process of how cloning works as opposed to only learning the procedures. So far, I have analyzed the sequences that I received from the University of Arizona Genetic core using bioinformatic tools, such as Sequencher and Linux Terminal Interface. With these tools, I genotyped these two SNPs (rs895819 and the rs76454774) that were in the data set of sequencing results from the sanger sequencing platform. Which I then, imported into Linux Terminal Interface to genotype the 32 colonies of each SNP with less of hassle as opposed to analyzing them one by one using Sequencher. It was my first time using the Linux Terminal Interface, bioinformatic tool, which was confusing to learn because of all the difficult commands there were and how to navigate through it was complicated. If I missed a character I had to re-enter the whole command again. I also had to constantly remember to only use the arrows on the keyboard to get to a certain place on the line of the command. It wasn’t like Word document, where you could just click to a certain line of a sentence using the mouse. However, with the help of a post-doc student I was able to enter the numerous commands that the software offers. From the results of analyzing, I found the genotype to 28 colonies out of 32 colonies for each SNP which is enough data to continue onward with my project. There originally 16 colonies that I grew, however when I platted the plasmid products (aka each colonies) I doubled them so that it matched with a forward primer (M13F) and reverse primer (M13R). Therefore, each SNP has a total of 32 colonies due to the forward and reverse primers. The other 4 colonies that were unidentified are useless data because of all the noise that were present. The noise are weak signal traces which are basically, failed DNA sequences. The purpose of analyzing these sequences is to confirm that the two SNPs are cloned. Overall, I have been able to analyze my returned sequences using the Linux Terminal Interface to figure out the genotype to each of the colonies for both rs895819 and rs76454774 SNP. Now that I have these data, I assume that I will compare it with results from other databases for both the SNPs. Other than that, I will continue to read about miR-27a and cloning to better understand my project. What I would be doing if you were not in Bridges for the Summer and my most challenging aspect of attending college:If I were not in the Bridges program this summer, I would be using this time to do something productive such as working or taking classes, maybe even both. Every since my freshman year of high school, this is what I have been doing. From freshman to junior year of high school, I have been taking summer classes with the Upward Bound program at Southern Utah University. The following summer, I worked for the first time at Lower Antelope Canyon. Then, I participated in the Bridges program the two summers following. Therefore, I would contribute my time to opportunities that can enhance my knowledge and build on my experiences. I would work as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at some facility here in Flagstaff. I earned my CNA license a couple of months after I graduated from high school and I’ve yet to use my license to work in the health care facility. As a result, the expiration of my license is coming up and I just thought that I should work enough hours to be able to renew it next year. Besides, I worked hard to earn it so I should at least use it to get more experiences working with patients. Plus, it’s a great way to earn some money for this coming school year too. I would also take a math class at Coconino Community College (CCC), so that I can take pre-calculus this fall. Supposedly, the intermediate algebra class that I took at Southern Utah University and the statistics class that I took last year is not an acceptable prerequisite for pre-calculus. Therefore, I can either take the prerequisite or take the math placement test. As for the placement test, I’ve only took the test as a high school student to earn dual enrollment but didn’t score as good. So, taking the test should be interesting this time around. I’ve printed out a practice test, so hopefully with studying I don’t have to take the prerequisite class this fall. All things considered, I am thankful that I am apart of the Bridges program because I am building on my research/ laboratory skills. Working in a molecular biology lab brings many insights of how miRNA promotes or hinders the susceptibility of cancer. It’s also a great experience to share when applying for medical school. On top of learning new skills, having the opportunity to a take class at Northern Arizona University (NAU), to work in the laboratory, and to get paid is astounding. It’s like winning a lottery because paying for college alone is expensive. That said, I feel like the most challenging aspect of attending college is paying for tuition. Due to the high cost of tuition here at NAU, I’ve decided to attend school at CCC straight out of high school. This was beneficial because the cost of living in Flagstaff was another concern for me too. For my first semester in Flagstaff, I resorted to staying in a hotel with complimentary breakfast. At that time, I was new to staying in Flagstaff without my parents and I couldn’t imagine being in an apartment alone. In addition, I was not ready to sign my own lease to an apartment. Some weeks, I go to stay with my friend at her brother's house. From there on, we both signed a lease to an apartment that I now live in. Overall, participating in the Bridges program is my first choice of how I would like to spend my summer. This program is the opportunity that I search for because it meets both taking a class and the ability to work. As for the cost of tuition, I’m glad that I am attending CCC and to have a friend to split our rent with. Not that, that’s the only reason she’s my friend. Trust me she’s an amazing friend, ever since high school. |
AuthorHello! Feel free to read over my 2016 summer's blogs too. Archives
August 2017
End of the Summer Video |