November 2, 2022
This year Dr. Sowmya Anjur from the SIR Team accompanied Kenith Taukolo and Dhruv Patel to attend JSSF from Oct 30-Nov 6. In attendance were 180 students from 30 countries. Dhruv and Kenith both presented posters on their SIR work, and additionally, Kenith gave an oral presentation to his international peers.
All attendees participated in various science talks, and students were allowed to participate in science zone projects and showdowns. Everyone was also taken on an industrial tour to one of these places: the University farm, University Civil Engineering department, College of Science and Engineering, College of Sport and Health Science and Synchrotron Radiation Center, and Precision Equipment Company. All participants then visited the Fushimi-inari Shrine on the same day. Overall, it was a great cultural experience for the IMSA team!
Teachers worldwide have requested Dr.Anjur for research collaborations with IMSA, which she will facilitate as soon as possible.
For more information about JSSF, visit: http://www.fkc.ritsumei.ac.jp/fkc/jssf2022/
STUDENT PROJECTS
The Impact of CPSF6 on the Innate Immune Response to HIV Infection
by Kenith Taukolo | View presentation at https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/student_pr/109/
Kenith’s project studies the factors influencing how HIV infects host cells to develop new strategies and therapies to combat this pandemic. His investigation hypothesizes that the overexpression of CPSF6 will increase the antiviral response and decrease HIV infection in T cells. Plans to implement gene cloning, a process used to replicate DNA for use in later experimentation, to express CPSF6 is ongoing. Ultimately, his experiment will lead to a greater understanding of CPSF6’s role in the innate immune response to HIV infection.
A Local Ancestry-based Assessment of Common Variants to Fine Tune Risk Profiles of Parkinson’s Disease (PD)
by Dhruv Patel | View poster at https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/student_pr/108/
Dhruv’s project analyzes genetic heritability and historical trends. Data from geographical variations led to identifying variants amongst various regions, specifically at the chromosomal level. In the future, this study’s data will consider twelve additional European countries, which will also assess if one’s ethnicity creates a similar differential risk.
