The release of the human reference genome (GRCh38) in 2003 was a significant milestone in genetics, offering potential advancements in understanding and treating genetic diseases and traits. Despite having been gradually improved for two decades, GRCh38 still possesses limitations in measuring gene expressions mainly due to a lack of diversity derived from structural variants (SVs). […]
C05: Evolutionary and Structural Adaptations in the Eye Lens of the Freeze-Tolerant North American Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica)
My general research area is evolutionary biology and bioinformatics. My project is working with the North American wood frog (Rana sylvatica) to study stability and adaptability in lens crystallin proteins. Instability and aggregation of lens crystallins can cause cataracts, which are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. The wood frog is a cold-adapted vertebrate that […]
C17: A Comprehensive Study of Mouse Lens Epithelial Explant Development
The lens is a useful tissue to study development because it is very simple, and self-containing. The lens is made of only two cell types; epithelial cells, and fiber cells. The epithelial cells are cuboidal and aligned in a single row along the anterior edge of the lens and they mature into the long transparent […]
B44: Predicting the Transmissibility of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants With Bioinformatic Approaches
SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Highly infectious variants have emerged over the course of the pandemic as the virus continued to replicate and mutate. Key mutations often take place in the spike protein, and can increase the likelihood of an interaction between the virus and the human […]
A14: Understanding Retinal Regeneration through the Analysis of Integrated Pathways of the Embryonic Chick
There is a substantial segment of the human population that suffers from visual impairments due to common retinal ailments such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and visual decline with age. However, humans lack the ability to regenerate damaged retinal tissue; therefore, research exploring gene regulation in regenerative animals can provide important insight to combat retinal […]
C58: Gene Networks Leading to Lens Fiber Cell Differentiation
The ocular lens is composed of two cell types; epithelial cells and fiber cells. Lens epithelial cells are the undifferentiated precursor to lens fiber cells which arise from epithelial cells. As these cuboidal cells go through differentiation into fiber cells, they go through major gene expression changes that elongate the cells and promote transparency. Cell […]
B09: Tandem repeat’s role in bone cancer—Osteosarcoma and their detection using a novel software
My research area has been focusing on creating software for analysis of repetitive elements in the human genome and its application in cancer treatment. In particular, I have developed a program called PyMISA that can detect microsatellites from a given DNA sequence. Microsatellites are tandem repeats of length 1 – 6 base pairs (e. g., […]