Week 2 (Randi)

So this week has been pretty similar to last week–mostly watching and learning. So, I think I'll explain my project specifically for this week's post.

First of all, I'm not sure if it was clear from last time that in addition to working in the lab for senior project, I will also work here over the summer. Therefore, I have had a little more flexibility with time, since I could spend my first two weeks watching and learning without worrying about fitting everything into one month.

This week we started working on my project/study. For my project, I will be testing 30 different phytochemicals, which are chemicals that are found naturally in plants. Some of the chemicals include sulporaphance, a component of broccoli sprouts (which has been found to inhibit breast cancer stem cells) and plumbagin, which has been shown to protect against cerebral ischemia ( condition in which there is insufficient blood flow to the brain). I will be running experiments to determine if these phytochemicals kill the Glioma Stem Cells (GSCs). I am first running a number of assays on all 30 phytochemicals to narrow down the list and see which ones have a significant effect on the number of GSCs. Then, I will be able to run more thorough/detailed experiments to determine the precise effect.

The goal of this project is to be able to finish a paper by the end of the summer to submit for publication (which I'm really excited about). It's pretty cool because like I said last time radiation doesn't kill these stem cells, and if a natural chemical did (especially if it did at a subtoxic level) then it could lead to a much gentler and more effective treatment. I love how this study could have such a direct effect on clinical practice, and potentially help save lives.

So far I have just isolated and cultured the cells (separate positive and negative cells for stem-like properties) on which I will test the phytochemicals next week. We had to wait for the chemicals to come in and for the cells to grow, but I should be able to run the initial test at the end of next week.

Also, one of the unique aspects of this specific lab is that the cells come from actual brain tumors from live patients (the lab receives the specimens directly removed from surgery). They then digest these tumors and inject them in mice so that they grow in vivo, and continue to use them for several months. This is really special though, since it's very difficult to make cells that resemble glioblastoma, and growing the cells in their microenvironment (or "niche") in vivo is vital to making cells behave as they would in a human body. Many labs do not have access to these tumors, which is one of the benefits of working in such a large, respected lab.

That's all for now. Can't wait to see everyone on Tuesday!