The Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program
In the summer of 2004 I was chosen to intern with this
project at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. The aim of the program
is to send 15 mice into low earth orbit for 5 weeks. The
satellite would spin and create centripetal force that
would make the internal gravity .38g- or the equivalent
to the gravitational pull on the surface of Mars. The
spacecraft would then land in the outback of Australia
and the data retrieved to see what effects such a gravity
would have in a mammalian system. It was my job to
collect information on previous biosatellites involving
mice and small mammals, work with the specially designed
mouse habitat and test it for feasibility with live mice.
My work also took me to help pioneer the usage of dried
Chlorhexidine Digluconate and N-Propyl Gallate on
Durapore 3D paper for the short term preservation of
mouse urine analytes. I participated in the writing of a
NASA SBIR Phase I grant report and a Phase II grant
proposal for the program, as well. I represented the
program at the 20th annual 'American Society For Space
and Gravitational Biology' conference in Brooklyn, New
York.
Independent Microbiology and Immunology
Undergraduate Research
One semester of research was spent performing ELISA
analysis on serum antibodies to determine IgG and IgM
levels and presence. Experiments utilized a model of
surgery and subsequent bacterial infection and were
preformed to test the efficacy of a commonly available
'immune booster' in Japan.
Two semesters were invested researching the effects and
function of the pathways by which Norepinephrine
increases bacterial growth in a stress model using
physiological tissue concentrations of the stress
hormone. E. Coli was utilized for this mode; and
experiments were first setup to simulate tissue
conditions, using ABS and SAPI-minimal salt media- making
for an iron poor environment (Similar to that within the
body). Subsequent experiments attempted to narrow down
the pathway through this functioned. I wrote an
undergraduate Honors Thesis with my research and
graduated with a Distinguished Honors in Independent
Research. My research has also been used in papers
written by my lab that have been and are soon to be
published.
Graduate Biotechnology Certification
In the Fall of 2006 I was in the first class of the newly
created biotechnology certificate program at Binghamton
University. This allowed me to explore an avenue that
biology can take one in life which is not publicized much
in an undergraduate curriculum. The courses I took
included graduate level Immunology, a Biotech and
Bioethics seminar in which I had to create a full
business plan for a proposed biotechnology company and an
Entrepreneurship class which taught the intricacies of
working for and creating one's own startup company. The
semester long class project culminated with a business
plan competition where the winning team would win $2,500
for their business idea. My team placed second behind a
group whose business had previously been in operation and
were seeking expansion money. Also included was an
internship in Owego, NY at BioLife Solutions Inc., who
are leaders in the field cryopreservation technology.
PhD in Molecular Oncology and Immunology
I am currently working in the lab of Dr.
Juan Lafialle working on the function of regulatory
T-cells at the New York University School of Medicine,