Undergraduate Research Fellowship Research Articles

Repurposing FDA-approved drugs to treat chemical weapon toxicities: Interactive case studies for trainees.

The risk of a terrorist attack in the United States has created challenges on how to effectively treat toxicities that result from exposure to chemical weapons. To address this concern, the United States has organized a trans-agency initiative across academia, government, and industry to identify drugs to treat tissue injury resulting from exposure to chemical threat agents. We sought to develop and evaluate an interactive educational session that provides hands-on instruction on how to repurpose FDA-approved drugs as therapeutics to treat toxicity from exposure to chemical weapons. As part of the Rutgers Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program, 23 undergraduate students participated in a 2-h session that included: (1) an overview of chemical weapon toxicities, (2) a primer on pharmacology principles, and (3) an interactive session where groups of students were provided lists of FDA-approved drugs to evaluate potential mechanisms of action and suitability as countermeasures for four chemical weapon case scenarios. The interactive session culminated in a competition for the best grant "sales pitch." From this interactive training, students improved their understanding of (1) the ability of chemical weapons to cause long-term toxicities, (2) impact of route of administration and exposure scenario on drug efficacy, and (3) re-purposing FDA-approved drugs to treat disease from chemical weapon exposure. These findings demonstrated that an interactive training exercise can provide students with new insights into drug development for chemical threat agent toxicities.

Diet-induced obesity mediated through Estrogen-Related Receptor α is independent of intestinal function.

Obesity has become an epidemic, prompting advances in therapies targeting this condition. Estrogen-related receptor α (ESRRA), a transcription factor, plays pivotal roles in energy metabolism across diverse tissues. Studies have demonstrated that loss of Esrra leads to fat malabsorption and resistance to diet-induced obesity. However, the reliance of these studies on germline Esrra mutants overlooks the tissue-specific implications of ESRRA in diet-induced obesity. Notably, Esrra exhibits high expression in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract relative to other tissues. Given the critical role of the GI tract in dietary lipid metabolism, this study employs mouse genetics and genomics approaches to dissect the specific impact of intestinal ESRRA along with investigating its role in diet-induced obesity.

The Influence of Perceived Discrimination on Heart Rate Variability in Young Black Adults

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States, with a disproportional precedence in Black adults. Heart rate variability (HRV) is used to help predict future CVD, with lower HRV indicative of a compromised cardiovascular system. Prior evidence has suggested that experienced racial discrimination is associated with CVD risk. However, there is limited information regarding experienced racial discrimination on HRV in young Black adults. Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to determine whether personal-level and group-level racial discrimination was associated with worse HRV in young Black adults. Methods: Black adults aged 18-25 (n=18, 44.45% female) volunteered to participate in this study, arriving at the lab at 7am in a fasted state. Following 30 minutes of rest, HRV measures were assessed using a SphygmoCor 3-lead ECG in a supine position. The HRV measure included the standard deviation of all R-R intervals (SDNN), the mean number of times an hour successive NN intervals exceeds 50ms (pNN50), the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), the low-frequency (LF) power domain, high-frequency (HF) power domain, and their ratio (LF:HF). Participants were given a perceived racial discrimination questionnaire that assessed personal-level and group-level discrimination. Pearson correlations were used to analyze the association between perceived racial discrimination measures and HRV measures. Results: In Black males, perceived personal-level racial discrimination was negatively associated with sympathetic activity (LF, R2 = -0.704, p = 0.023) and sympathovagal balance (LF:HF, R2 = -0.749, p = 0.013), and positively associated with parasympathetic activity (HF, R2 = 0.704, p = 0.023). Perceived group-level racial discrimination was not associated with HRV measures. Furthermore, perceived racial discrimination was not associated with HRV in Black females. Conclusion: Although decreased HRV has been associated with increased risk for CVD, higher HRV has been shown to be associated with left ventricular mass in Black adults. Therefore, HRV implications may be dependent on social determinants of health and other covariates that are associated with race/ethnicity. In the current study, higher HRV was observed in Black males who reported higher personal-level discrimination, which may be an important factor in sympathetic and parasympathetic cardiac control and CVD risk. Given our preliminary findings, more research is warranted that investigates the impact of racial identity, resiliency, coping, and healthy lifestyle behaviors on mitigating the detrimental impact of perceived racial discrimination on the cardiovascular health of young Black adults. Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Recipient from the American Physiological Society. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Role of Ovarian Hormones on proBDNF Levels in the Rostral Ventrolateral Medulla: Influences Related to Neuronal Plasticity and Sympathetic Control of Blood Pressure

Introduction: Rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are lower in females of reproductive age when compared to age-matched males. However, at the onset of menopause, a period characterized by decreases in ovarian hormones, there is a marked and dramatic rise in the incidence of CVD in females. Therefore, the presence of ovarian hormones may serve a cardioprotective role due to actions on several target organs, including the brain. In the brainstem, the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) has been implicated in CVD due to its direct impact on blood pressure. The RVLM also contains receptors for both the pro- and mature forms of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (proBDNF and mBDNF), a key neurotrophin which has been linked to ovarian hormones by the existence of an estrogen response element (ERE) on the bdnf gene. While mBDNF positively influences neuroplasticity by increasing connectivity between neurons (i.e., increased dendritic branching). Alternatively, proBDNF can decrease neuronal excitability—and potentially reduce RVLM overactivity—via structural actions which oppose those enacted by mBDNF. Ovarian hormones may modulate neuronal activity in the RVLM via ERE-mediated effects on proBDNF expression, providing a mechanism for the “cardioprotective” effects observed in females of reproductive age. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the presence of ovarian hormones maintains proBDNF levels in the RVLM, minimizing activation of the RVLM, thus conferring cardioprotection. Methods: Four-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats received ovariectomy (OVX) or sham surgery (n=5 and n=4, respectively). Rats were sacrificed at 16 weeks of age and the hindbrain was cut into 80μm coronal sections, from which the RVLM was isolated by tissue punches. Using the caudal pole of the facial nucelus as a landmark, punches were pooled into 4 discrete rostrocaudal subregions. Western blotting was performed to determine proBDNF levels in the RVLM relative to the loading control GAPDH. Results: Average proBDNF expression appeared higher in the RVLM of sham versus OVX females at all rostrocaudal levels; however, this difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.169, main effect), perhaps due to lower sample sizes. There were no significant rostrocaudal variations in proBDNF expression (p=0.598, main effect), nor was there a significant interaction between main effects (p=0.687). Conclusions: These results suggest that the presence of ovarian hormones may maintain proBDNF expression in the RVLM; however, greater sample sizes will likely provide more definitive conclusions. Additionally, future studies could also address potential sex differences by examining the influence of ovarian hormones on expression of mBDNF. We anticipate our studies will illuminate the relationship between ovarian hormones and cardioprotection via the RVLM, thus providing insight into sex differences in CVD. R01-HL161233, APS and WSU Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Evaluating Physiological and Organizational Properties of the Tight Junction ZO-1 ZU-5 Domain in MDCK Cells

Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) is an essential TJ component contributing to junctional formation by mediating interactions between junctional proteins and the actomyosin cytoskeleton. MDCK II cells, a model epithelial cell line, with ZO-1 knocked-out (ZO-1 KO) have observable phenotypic changes such as alterations in the actin cytoskeletal organization and physiological barrier properties. This study focuses on the ZO-1-ZU5 domain by rescuing ZO-1 with full-length and a panel of ZO-1-ZU5 mutants. ZO-1-ZU-5 is known to bind cingulin and through this interaction ZO-1 adopts an extended conformation. We examined actomyosin cytoskeleton organization, ZO-1 mobility, gene expression and barrier function to determine whether the ZO-1-ZU5 mutants rescue full-length activity. We found that the ZO-1- ZU5 truncation mutant cell line rescued transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) but did not rescue tight junction distribution or the amount of total gamma-actin. We will present evaluation of additional ZU5 mutants. This study expands our understanding of how extended ZO-1 regulates the mechanical, genetic, and phenotypic properties of epithelial cells. Trinity University Biology Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Immunolabeling in C4-C5 Spinal Cord of Adult Female Rats Following Acute Intermittent Hypoxia (AIH) Exposure Composed of 5,3-min Hypoxic Episodes (AIH5x3min) at 4-weeks After mid-thoracic SCI

Acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH) induces spinal neural plasticity in both respiratory and non-respiratory somatic motor systems. AIH-induced neural plasticity has been best studied in the respiratory neural control system, where exposure to moderate AIH (9-15% inspired O2), typically composed of 3,5-min hypoxic episodes (AIH3x5min), has been shown to consistently elicit a robust increase in phrenic motor activity due to a serotonin-dependent mechanism that promotes de novo synthesis of BDNF and activation of high affnity BDNF-TrkB receptors to initiate ERK MAP kinase signaling in phrenic motoneurons. Whether other protocols that use a total duration of 15 min of hypoxic exposure, but with an increased number of shorter duration hypoxic episodes ( e.g, AIH5x3min) similarly elicit serotonin-dependent BDNF pathway-mediated neural plasticity mechanisms in this region remains to be determined. To begin to assess this possibility, we evaluated BDNF expression in C4-C5 spinal cord segments containing the phrenic motor nucleus following single exposure to AIH5x3min (12% O2) in urethane-anesthetized spontaneously breathing adult female rats at 4-weeks after mid-thoracic SCI. Experiments using AIH3x5min (12% O2) exposure and intermittent normoxia (Nx, 21% O2) exposure served as controls. At ~60-90 min after the AIH or Nx exposure protocol, the rats were transcardially perfused with saline followed by 4% PFA, and various regions of the CNS, including the C3-C5 spinal cord were removed, post-fixed, and cryoprotected. 20 μm thick transverse sections were then cut to obtain sets of slides for single- or double-label fluorescence IHC staining to localize BDNF protein expression in the C4-C5 spinal cord, including the region containing the phrenic motor nucleus. Preliminary analyses show that both AIH5x3min and AIH3x5min exposures elicit increased BDNF expression when compared to Nx exposure, with both diffuse cytosolic and punctate immunofluorescence labeling in and around neurons within the phrenic motor nucleus region, including labeling of presumptive phrenic motoneurons. No labeling was seen in adjacent tissue sections that were incubated without the primary antibody. Immunofluorescence labeling was also seen in the more medial regions of lamina VIII in the ventral horn, the medial regions of laminae VI and VII, and throughout lamina X; these regions have been reported to contain the V0-V3 classes of spinal interneurons (SpINs) albeit we did not verify BDNF labeling of specific classes of presumptive SpINs. These preliminary observations suggest that AIH5x3min exposure likely recruits a serotonin-dependent BDNF pathway-mediated mechanism for neural plasticity in a manner similar to that seen for AIH3x5min exposure. APS Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship; DOD CDMRP W81XWH-17-1-0260; NYS DOH SCIRB C37711GG. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Effect of Intravenous Delivery of N,N Dimethyltryptamine on Sleep-Wake States in Rat

Psychedelics, including N, N, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), are being increasingly explored for therapeutic potential to treat psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. These and other psychiatric conditions have a bidirectional relationship with sleep patterns but the impact of psychedelics, particularly DMT, on sleep architecture is incompletely understood. Therefore, in this study, we determined the effect of intravenous DMT administration on sleep-wake states in male and female rats. Under surgical isoflurane anesthesia, adult Sprague Dawley rats (n=10, 5 male, 5 female) were instrumented with electrodes to record electroencephalogram (EEG) from across the cortex and electromyogram (EMG) from dorsal nuchal muscles. In addition, a chronic catheter was positioned in jugular vein for the infusion of DMT or 0.9% saline (as vehicle control). Each rat received an intravenous bolus (100 uL/min over 5 min) of either one of two doses of DMT (low dose: 3.75 mg/kg, high dose: 7.5 mg/kg) or 0.9% saline. The DMT and saline infusions were performed 30-minutes after the start of the lights-ON period (8:00 am) after which EEG and EMG data were recorded for 24h across the light and dark cycle. EEG and EMG data were manually scored (SleepSign, Kissei Comtec) in 4-second intervals and classified as wakefulness, slow-wave sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep, then averaged in 3h bins across the 24h recording period. A linear mixed model was used to compare the changes in percent time spent in each state, mean duration per episode for each state, and mean number of episodes for each state, between vehicle control and DMT infusion sessions. There was a statistically significant increase in the time spent in wakefulness in the first 3h bin after DMT infusion (p<0.02 for low dose, p<0.03 for high dose). In the same 3h bin, a significant decrease in slow-wave sleep (p<0.02 for low and high dose DMT) was observed. DMT infusion produced a significant increase in the latency to the onset of rapid eye movement sleep (p<0.01), but no statistical effect was observed on the time spent in rapid eye movement sleep during the light period. Our results with DMT align with previous reports showing an increase in wakefulness after administration of serotonergic psychedelics. Further analysis of neurophysiologic data is needed to understand the neural dynamics associated with DMT-induced increases in wakefulness. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan. RS was partly supported by Magnificent Michigan Summer Undergraduate Research fellowship, University of Michigan. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Investigating the Impact of Circulating miRNAs on Cardiovascular System Remodeling During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, women undergo significant remodeling of their cardiovascular system, a complex process involving various physiological adaptations to ensure an adequate blood supply to the developing fetus. An intriguing area of research focuses on the role of circulating microRNAs, particularly the primate-specific chromosome 19 miRNA cluster (C19MC) and the rodent-specific chromosome 2 miRNA cluster (C2MC), both of which exhibit high expression levels in the placenta. Extracellular vesicles, such as exosomes, play a crucial role in intercellular communication and may carry microRNAs that contribute to the physiological changes observed during pregnancy. However, the influence of circulating C19MC and C2MC microRNAs on maternal cardiovascular system remodeling remains unexplored. We hypothesized that the increased levels of circulating C2MC or C19MC microRNAs during pregnancy might play a role in the maternal cardiovascular system adaptations. To investigate this hypothesis, we conducted a study to determine whether circulating exosomes during pregnancy lead to elevated expression levels of C19MC or C2MC microRNAs in various organs, including the heart, kidney, liver, spleen, lungs, and brain. In our investigation, we utilized three distinct mouse models: wild-type (WT) mice expressing only C2MC, C2MC knock-out (KO) mice, and a novel humanized mouse model, which combined C2MC KO with either a single or double copy of the human C19MC. We extracted total RNA from the organs of these mice and performed cDNA synthesis. Subsequently, we measured the expression levels of two representative microRNAs, miR-517a and miR-466a, corresponding to C19MC and C2MC, respectively, in the organs of pregnant and non-pregnant mice using TaqMan RT-qPCR. Our results indicated no significant differences in the expression levels of miR-517a and miR-466a when normalized to the housekeeping gene snoRNA-202 across different organs in pregnant and non-pregnant mice. To comprehensively assess the expression patterns of all microRNAs within the C19MC and C2MC clusters in various organs of pregnant and non-pregnant mice, further investigation with a larger sample size and small RNA-Seq analysis is warranted. This approach will enable us to explore a broader spectrum of microRNAs and potentially identify specific candidates that may play a crucial role in the essential physiological process of maternal cardiovascular system remodeling. This study is supported by USF Cardiovascular Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) sponsored by the American Heart Association. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Temperature growth profiles for five fungi isolated from a teaching laboratory in West Virginia.

Every year, fungal infections kill approximately 1.5 million people worldwide. About 90% of these invasive infections are caused by fungi from only four genera. High human body temperature serves as a growth barrier that prevents many fungal species from infecting human hosts. This study assessed the growth of five environmental fungal isolates at temperatures ranging from ambient room temperature to 39°C, above average human body temperature of 37°C. These five isolates were captured from the indoor air of a teaching laboratory at Shepherd University and identified to putative taxon through sequence of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region in a previous study. All five fungal isolates grew well at ambient temperature, but did not grow well at 38°C. Specific patterns of growth between room temperature and 38°C were different for each isolate. This research was supported by a NASA-WVSGC Undergraduate Research Fellowship (ER) and a NASA-WVSGC Research Enhancement Award (LSR).

Thermotolerance of environmental fungi captured from indoor air.

While more than six million species make up the fungal kingdom, less than 300 cause disease in humans, in part because many fungal species are unable to grow at temperatures at or above human body temperature. However, there is concern that as global temperatures increase, fungal species that do not currently pose a risk to human health may adapt to growth at higher temperatures, opening the door for the emergence of new human fungal pathogens. This study assessed the growth of five fungal isolates captured from indoor air at temperatures up to 38°C. All five isolates grew well at 24-27°C, grew poorly or not at all at 36°C, and none grew at 38°C. We then investigated the growth of three fungal isolates captured from indoor air at 36 - 39°C when the growth temperature was gradually increased from ambient room temperature to 36 - 39°C, compared to growth after a sudden change of temperature from room temperature to 36 - 39°C. All three isolates still exhibit poor to no growth at 39°C. This research was supported by a NASA-WVSGC Undergraduate Research Fellowship (AEC) and a NASA-WVSGC Research Enhancement Award (LSR).

Significance of Cell Membrane Repair in Parkinson's Disease

Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and affects an estimated 10 million people worldwide. PD pathogenesis involves the death of neuronal cells due to the breakdown of their cell membranes. Membrane repair is a mechanism that appears in nearly every eukaryotic cell that repairs disruptions in the plasma membrane to maintain cell health and function. The aim of the present study was to determine the if compromised membrane repair can contribute to the progression of PD. Materials and Methods: Using a glass bead mechanical damage assay, we injured N2A neuroblastoma cells with three different conditions: GFP transfected control cells, cells expressing alpha synuclein, and cells expressing A53T, an alpha synuclein mutant linked to PD. We then measured the amount of an intracellular enzyme, lactase dehydrogenase (LDH), that was released from the cells after injury with glass beads to determine how well the membrane repaired. (n=16) We also injured the membrane of these cells with a laser injury heat damage assay. In this mechanism, a laser is used to injure the cells, and influx of FM4-64 dye into the cell is measured to determine the rate of membrane repair. (n=60) Results: In the mechanical damage assay, cells expressing alpha synuclein released more LDH, which suggests that membrane repair may be compromised in PD. In the laser damage assay, cells expressing alpha synuclein showed significantly more FM4-64 dye influx. We observed increased dye influx in WT Alpha Synuclein cells. This shows that Alpha Synuclein transfected cells do not repair as effectively as control cells when exposed to the same conditions. These findings support that membrane repair may be compromised in PD. Elucidating that membrane repair is impaired in PD leads us to investigate if existing membrane repair enhancing agents could be potential therapeutics for the disease. American Physiological Society Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (APS SURF) This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Preliminary Characterization of Facial and Oral Microbiomes of Three Bat Species Commonly Occurring in Northwest Kansas

Various bat species are at risk due to White-Nose Syndrome, a disease rapidly spreading throughout the United States. Metagenomic research on the microbiome of bats’ mouths and noses may provide helpful information to characterize how bats’ microbiomes interact with White-Nose Syndrome so that this disease may be mitigated. However, minimal research has been conducted in characterizing bats’ oral and facial microbial populations. To address this issue, we analyzed the oral and facial microbiomes of bat species commonly occurring in Northwestern Kansas. Oral and facial swabs were taken from Tricolor, Big Brown, and Evening bat (n=1 per species). Bacterial DNA was isolated from swabs, and the V3/V4 region of the 16s DNA was amplified using polymerase chain reactions (PCR). The PCR products were purified and sequenced. Sequencing data was then analyzed using Galaxy bioinformatics software. Results showed that the majority of bacteria present in facial swabs was Alteromonas, reflecting the high mineral content in the water source that bats use. Oral bacterial population profiles of Tricolor and Big Brown bats were more diverse than their respective facial samples. In contrast, oral and facial swabs from the Evening bat had similar bacterial population profiles. Our preliminary study showed that the oral samples appeared more diverse in bacterial populations than in facial. Therefore, our future studies should investigate the difference between oral and facial bacteria population profiles in more detail by investigating a larger sample and increasing bat species diversity. Further research should also include the seasonal effects on bacterial populations. The College of St. Scholastica Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Examination of machine learning for assessing physical effects: Learning the relativistic continuum mass table with kernel ridge regression* *Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11875075, 11935003, 11975031, 12141501, 12070131001), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation under (2021M700256), the State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University (NPT2023ZX01, NPT2023KFY02), and the President's Undergraduate Research Fellowship (PURF) of

The kernel ridge regression (KRR) method and its extension with odd-even effects (KRRoe) are used to learn the nuclear mass table obtained by the relativistic continuum Hartree-Bogoliubov theory. With respect to the binding energies of 9035 nuclei, the KRR method achieves a root-mean-square deviation of 0.96 MeV, and the KRRoe method remarkably reduces the deviation to 0.17 MeV. By investigating the shell effects, one-nucleon and two-nucleon separation energies, odd-even mass differences, and empirical proton-neutron interactions extracted from the learned binding energies, the ability of the machine learning tool to grasp the known physics is discussed. It is found that the shell effects, evolutions of nucleon separation energies, and empirical proton-neutron interactions are well reproduced by both the KRR and KRRoe methods, although the odd-even mass differences can only be reproduced by the KRRoe method.

Anthropology Majors Prepare for Life after College

AbstractUnlike business, health, or engineering courses, undergraduate liberal arts programs do not point majors directly to a professional application, so students often need to creatively explore and identify professional roles and workplaces in which to use their education. Anthropology presents particular challenges: while students may enroll in economics if their institution has no undergraduate business program, or biochemistry may function as premed, there is no clear sense of what comes after an anthropology degree. In 2018, the American Anthropological Association announced a new approach to understanding this issue through its Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Currently enrolled anthropology majors worked together with faculty mentors, collaboratively across universities, to do anthropological research on the question, “how do anthropology majors approach the question of what comes after college?” The research provided practical insights and recommendations to departments, faculty members, career counseling centers, and the students themselves. This special section comprises six papers: an introduction to the project and the field sites; four analytic papers in which student researchers and faculty mentors explore the topics, “how students come to major in anthropology,” “how students are changed by studying anthropology,” “what anthropology majors think about their professional future,” and “what resources are available to support students’ college‐to‐career transition”; and a reflective essay that considers the fellowship not as a research program but as a high‐impact pedagogical intervention. We show that, by participating in ethnographic research, student researchers become full members of the anthropology community who can give valuable recommendations for the future of the discipline.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships call for applications

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships call for applications

P048 Social Media's Influence on Adolescents’ Food Preferences Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

BackgroundAdditional time spent on social media (SM) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, increased adolescents’ exposure to food and beverage (F&B) advertisements. The marketing of unhealthy F&B products featuring celebrities and influencers may contribute to an increased preference towards various products, potentially influencing consumption patterns and increasing one's long-term health risk.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine SM's influence on adolescents’ food and beverage preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore their parents’ perceptions of this phenomenon.Study Design, Setting, ParticipantsThree, one-hour, semi-structured virtual focus groups were conducted with seven dyads of 6th grade students and their parents (n = 14) from a suburban school district in northeastern Pennsylvania. Students and parents participated in separate focus groups and completed a demographic survey that included SM use characteristics in June-September 2021.Measurable Outcome/AnalysisFocus group transcripts were transcribed, coded, and analyzed by both authors using a constant comparison approach.ResultsThree themes that emerged from adolescents were: increased SM usage, factors that increased consumption, and increased recall of memorable aspects of F&B advertisements. Themes that emerged from parents were: parental observations of adolescents’ less healthy eating behaviors, parental influence over F&B purchases, and increased engagement in food trends seen on SM.ConclusionsThese themes suggest increased SM use influenced adolescents' ability to recall specific F&B brands and potentially influenced consumption. Safeguards seem to remain in place regarding parents’ influence over the adolescents’ F&B purchase requests. Additionally, parents may be aware of the targeted marketing used on SM and its potential to influence adolescents’ eating behaviors. These findings suggest the importance for parents, dietitians, and other healthcare providers to be aware of increased SM usage and the potential influence F&B advertisements may have on adolescent eating behaviors. These findings will also be important for nutrition educators to understand when teaching these risks to students/future practitioners.FundingVillanova University's Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program

Re‐Purposing Drugs as Countermeasures for Chemical Weapon Toxicities: Interactive Pharmacology Training

The risk of a terrorist attack in the U.S. has created challenges on how to effectively treat toxicities that result from exposure to chemical weapons. To address this concern, the U.S. has organized a trans‐agency initiative across academia, government, and industry to identify drugs to treat tissue injury resulting from exposure to chemical threat agents. We sought to develop and evaluate an interactive educational session that provides hands‐on instruction on how to re‐purpose FDA approved drugs as therapeutics to treat toxicity from exposure to chemical weapons. As part of the Rutgers Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, 23 undergraduate students participated in a two‐hour session that included: 1) an overview of chemical weapon toxicities, 2) a primer on pharmacology principles, and 3) an interactive session where teams of students were provided lists of FDA approved drugs to evaluate potential mechanisms of action and suitability as countermeasures for four chemical weapon case scenarios. The interactive session culminated in a competition for the best grant ‘sales pitch’. Pre‐ and post‐program self‐assessments using 5‐point Likert rating scales were conducted during the session using Poll Everywhere. From this interactive training, students improved their understanding of 1) the ability of chemical weapons to cause long‐term toxicities (means: pre‐2.2; post‐4.1, p<0.0001), 2) impact of route of administration and exposure scenario on drug efficacy (means: pre‐2.6; post‐4.3, p<0.0001), and 3) re‐purposing FDA‐approved drugs to treat exposure to chemical weapons (means: pre‐1.7; post‐4.0, p<0.0001). Seventy six percent of participants were ‘very likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend this activity to other students. These findings demonstrated that an interactive training exercise can provide students new insights into drug development for chemical threat agent toxicities.

Feeding the Kidney Researcher Pipeline through R25-NIDDK Funded Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships: A Student Perspective.

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OCEAN EDUCATION • Virtual and Remote—Hands-On Undergraduate Research in Plankton Ecology During the 2020 Pandemic: COVID-19 Can’t Stop This!

The pandemic has had innumerable impacts on the oceanographic community, including on summer research internship programs that expose undergraduates to diverse career paths in oceanography while immersed in an active laboratory. For many students, these internships are formative in their career choices. The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Oceanography (SURFO) at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography is one of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs that proceeded remotely during the summer of 2020. Here, we highlight one project that, although remote, maintained a hands-on research experience focused on quantitative skill building. The pandemic forced the REU advisors to identify key learning goals and ensure their safe delivery, given the circumstances. Although all participants agreed that in-person instruction would have been preferable, we were pleased that we did not let a virus halt essential oceanographic research training.

Undergraduate research fellowships awarded

The 2020 recipients of the American Chemical Society Division of Organic Chemistry’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) have been announced. They are of the University of Florida; of ...