For my mid-year presentation, I presented an article titled "TGF-β inhibition restores hematopoiesis and immune balance via bone marrow EPCs in aplastic anemia" by Dr. Xin-Yan Zhang and colleagues. The article investigates the role of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) in people with aplastic anemia. The researchers focused on bone marrow endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), where research showed that an excessive amount of TGF-β causes immune imbalance and decreased red blood cells. 

During the science research symposium, I presented an article titled "The Importance of Genetic Screening in Severe Aplastic Anemia Before Transplantation" by Dr. McReynolds and colleagues. This article explains why genetic testing is important for patients with severe aplastic anemia before receiving a stem cell transplant. The study found that many people with aplastic anemia had certain genetic mutations that were not previously diagnosed. These results show that genetic testing is necessary for doctors to properly treat people and improve patient outcome

For my mid-year presentation, I presented an article titled “Aplastic Anemia: The Role of Genetic Mutations in Pathophysiology”. The article focuses on how genetic mutations, specifically the TERT gene, affect people with aplastic anemia. The researchers explain that TERT mutations cause changes in telomerase function, which creates shortened telomeres and lowers the production of blood cells from the bone marrow. This helps explain why some patients develop bone marrow failure and shows why genetic testing is important.