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.