Biotechnology at CCSF

Úna Chan

"I graduated from a high school here in San Francisco 4 years ago. I had been in our high school's Biotechnology program, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I really could see making a career in the biotech field, but I wanted to take a bit of a break. After graduation I took two semesters off to work and take some fun classes at City College of San Francisco. After those two semesters, I decided to pursue my A.S in Biotechnology at CCSF.

Two years later, I applied for a CIRM Stem Cell Internship and was placed in the Finkbeiner Lab at Gladstone Institutes. Here I’ve been able to work with a really great team and learn how my future will look.

I will be getting my A.S in Biotechnology at the end of this semester. When I first started the program I was a little apprehensive about just going in for an A.S degree when everyone else I knew was going for their bachelor’s. Now I know I am in a better position than if I had gotten my B.S first because I have practical work experience. I know what it is like to work in the field and have the skills and experience behind me to find a job as I pursue my bachelor’s.

Going to CCSF’s Biotechnology program allowed me the space to discover that biotech is where I want to be in the future without committing to an expensive, time consuming degree."

Stem Cell Internship: Finkbeiner Lab, Gladstone Institutes

Project Title: Co-culturing Neuromuscular Junctions from ALS Patient-Derived iPSCs

Abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as ALS, is a neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons. Defects that may lead to the death of motor neurons in a neuromuscular junction (NMJ) have been implicated in the onset of ALS symptoms. The NMJ is characterized by the formation of a synapse between a motor neuron and a skeletal muscle. Signals are then able to travel down the neuron to the muscle cell telling it to contract or relax. Acetylcholine and acetylcholine receptors are key components to determining whether a true junction has been formed. This clustering is regulated by calcium influx and is crucial in early formation of the NMJ. Curare, a plant-derived paralytic agent, is used to characterize motor neuron contraction formed by acetylcholine patterning by blocking nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, therefore interrupting signals for contraction. Interruption of contraction using curare suggests that the induced-Skeletal Muscle (iSkM) and induced-Motor Neurons (iMN) are acetylcholine- and acetylcholine receptor-positive, confirming NMJ formation. Developing a functioning NMJ in vitro is key in studying this illusive disease and developing better therapeutics and eventually a cure. Discoveries in the NMJ can also lead to insights into other diseases where deficiencies or abnormalities in motor function are symptoms. Mutations in ALS-implicated genes like SOD1, C9ORF72, and TDP43 are currently being studied to understand their role in iMN death within the NMJ. Previous data suggests that this protocol creates functionally mature hiPSC-derived NMJ. Immunocytochemistry and electrophysiology assays are currently being conducted to further characterize NMJ-specific phenotypes.

Una Chan - Co-culturing Neuromuscular Junctions from ALS Patient Derived iPSCs -CCSf CIRM Intern 2021-22.pdf

Úna feeding neural precursor cells for her project.

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Úna Chan

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