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PhD Project(s)
PhD Project(s)
Neuroscientist meets the gut microbiome
Neuroscientist meets the gut microbiome
The Schindler Iterative Translation (SIT) Lab aims to understand trauma from multiple angles to better prevent and treat it. My dissertation research approaches trauma not from the angle of the brain, as one might expect from a neuroscience PhD, but from the angle of the gut. Since the gut and brain have a lot to say to each other (hence the "butterflies in your stomach" or a certain "gut feeling"), how are they communicating during and after trauma? Here are some questions I'm trying to answer right now:
What role of the gut microbiome play in the development of psychiatric outcomes following blast polytrauma (exposure to explosives)?
Can we transplant a microbiome from one mouse to another without any additional stress? (traditional methods can be pretty intense)
Does the enteric nervous system (the "brain in your belly") mediate the crosstalk between gut microbiota and psychiatric symptoms?
Undergraduate Projects
Undergraduate Projects
Molecular mimicry
Molecular mimicry
Many drugs that researchers find to be helpful for injury recovery and disease treatment don't work because the drugs can't enter the organs that need help. This is especially true for the central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord), which has extra security. So when scientists find drugs that help heal but can't pass into the organ of interest, we look for chemicals that look the same and hopefully act the same as the original drug. This is what I did for a protein that improves spinal cord injury recovery when injected into the central nervous system but not through the bloodstream. After many molecular tests and neuron measurements I found 5 compounds that fit the bill. Read my paper to learn more!
Just Dance - Mouse Edition
Just Dance - Mouse Edition
The cultural revolution of Just Dance in the 2010s paved the way for a scientific revolution in the 2020s as similar motion detection technology was paired with machine learning to track and map out animal behavior. Using this technology, the Abraira Lab recorded behavior in mice to better understand recovery trajectory after spinal cord injury.
Check out the preprint here
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