About the project: We are employing electron microscopy to visualize the ultrastructure of photoreceptors in a zebrafish mutant line that harbors loss of function mutations in the gene peripherin2 (prph2). Mutations in this gene are known to be causative for human retinal degeneration, and our study aims to establish zebrafish as a new model to study prph2 associated retinal disease.

Intended outcomes: We predict that both rod and cone outer segments will have significant deficiencies in their ultra structure, particularly in cone cells.

How will KY INBRE help accomplish these goals? The voucher will help offset costs associated with materials, training and use of the electron microscopy core and instruments. We plan to sample numerous timepoints across early development and aging, so having the voucher will make it plausible to collect numerous samples and have the time/money to analye all of them.

Outside of the classroom/lab: For down time I enjoy spending time on home renovation projects, particularly tiling.

Bradley Krisanits

Institution: Morehead State University

Department: Biology and Chemistry

Rank: Assistant Professor

KY INBRE Award: Faculty Recruitment Start-Up Awards

Project Title: The soluble receptor of advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) as a combinational therapeutic with chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer

About the project: The soluble receptor of advanced glycation end products (sRAGE), an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant circulating protein, commonly induced by exercise. sRAGE will be evaluated in vitro, specifically its response to exercise at a molecular level and how exercise impacts gene/protein expression. Exercise-induced sRAGE will be used in vitro to assess the therapeutic potential and toxicity control of various chemotherapy agents used for triple-negative breast cancer. Understanding the exercise response to generate sRAGE and its impact on chemotherapeutic agents both treatment and toxicity open the door for future in vivo studies with the hopes to develop a combinational therapy for triple-negative breast cancer.

Intended outcomes: We look to understand the expression and molecular interactions of the soluble receptor of advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) during chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer to determine the therapeutic potential as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound to be administered during treatments directly or indirectly by pharmacological methods inducing expression like exercise, improving efficiency and controlling toxicity.

How will KY INBRE help accomplish these goals? KY INBRE will support me in this goal by helping me begin my laboratory work and giving me the opportunity to get on the lab bench with both students and other investigators. Allowing me to improve my skills as a writer and researcher in hopes to expand my funding and impactful work.

Outside of the classroom/lab: Enjoy spending time with my family and 2 dogs traveling through Kentucky and the USA and of course can never turn down a craft beer or a donut.

Brittany Rife Magalis

Institution: University of Louisville

Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics

Rank: Associate Professor

KY INBRE Award: Core Facility Voucher

Project Title: Long-read sequencing to improve phylogenomic investigation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission

About the project: The short-term goal of this project is to capitalize on long-read sequencing capabilities to provide information on mutations within structurally diverse regions of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) genome that are required for reliable molecular epidemiological analysis. Upon successful sequencing, the long-term goal of the Rife Magalis lab and collaborators is to establish a multidisciplinary genomic epidemiology sequencing and analysis framework for enhanced tracing of Mtb transmission cluster detection and risk inference in low- and high- TB incidence settings alike.

Intended outcomes: Using an already established sequencing protocol, we anticipate successful long-read sequencing of five hand-picked Mtb samples that lead to resolved placement of the new sequences within our phylogenetic tree as compared to previous short-read sequencing efforts. These results are, in turn, anticipated to increase insight into transmission patterns among the sampled patients.

How will KY INBRE help accomplish these goals? These preliminary data will help to convince our NIH reviewers that we can accomplish the long-term goal above with increased phylogenetic resolution.

Outside of the classroom/lab: I love learning new things - languages, games, home renovation techniques, you name it! I am also an avid traveler, with a passion for culture immersion.

Anna Makela

Institution: Northern Kentucky University

Department: Psychological Sciences

Rank: Research Assistant

KY INBRE Award: MCDA (awarded to Dr. Brittany Smith)

Project Title: Executive function in opioid-exposed offspring and subsequent molecular signatures

About the project: This proposal will study prenatal opioid-induced executive function deficits and genome-wide transcriptional changes in the prefrontal cortex using a mouse model, and initial genome-wide molecular work in peripheral human samples.

Intended outcomes: Executive function testing will help understand whether prenatal opioid exposure itself causes executive function deficits frequently observed in clinical reports on exposed children, or if there are confounding exposures that may be playing a role. Molecular profiling will enable us to develop ideas for interventions to prevent or mitigate offspring consequences of prenatal opioid exposure.

How will KY INBRE help accomplish these goals? This award will assist in paying my salary, allowing me to further advance my scientific skillset in conducting this project, publishing our findings, and aide our lab in creating competitive grant applications using the data acquired for future work.

Outside of the classroom/lab: I love to spend time with my Great Dane Soren and engage in fiber arts such as handspinning yarn and hand/machine knitting.

Daniel Scott

Institution: Centre College

Department: Chemistry

Rank: Associate Professor

KY INBRE Award: PPA

Project Title: Expanding HPV Detection: Point-of-Care Diagnostic Systems for Increased Accessibility

About the project: We are working to develop a low-cost, rapid test for the two highest risk HPV stains, 16 and 18. We are using engineered nanoparticles that are tailored to illicit a quantifiable signal in the presence of the HPV biomarkers.

Intended outcomes: We are working to confirm proof-of-concept for the detection system and then start to work towards a working prototype.

How will KY INBRE help accomplish these goals? KY INBRE has funded my student researchers and provided the supplies necessary to complete the work. Scientific research is obviously expensive, so the increased budget has allowed us to work on the project at the scale and level we need and would not have otherwise been able to. We have also been able to present our work at national meetings because of the KY INBRE funding.

Outside of the classroom/lab: I love to be outside. This is includes golfing, hiking, and traveling. I also have two wonderful children, a 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son. They are active in sports and school so keep me running lots of different directions.

Ajay Srivastava

Institution: Western Kentucky University (Currently moved to Lamar University as Professor and Chair)

Department: Biological Science

Rank: Professor (Biology)

KY INBRE Award: SDRA and Voucher

Project Title: Characterization of the developmental role of a V-Type ATPASE in Drosophila melanogaster

About the project: The current proposal aims at elucidating the developmental role and regulation of a V-Type ATPase in Drosophila melanogaster. It also aims to recruit and develop an undergraduate honors thesis student who intends to enter a MD/PhD program upon completion of her undergraduate work.

Intended outcomes: Data from this project will form part of an honors thesis of my student, professional conference presentation by the student and has allowed me to recruit and train an excellent student.

How will KY INBRE help accomplish these goals? The SDRA grant has allowed me to support my Honors thesis with materials, salary and an opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience in my laboratory. The student intends to join an MD/PhD program in the future.

Outside of the classroom/lab: I like to travel, enjoy good food, play Tennis/Cricket and love to spend time with my friends and family.

Kevin Wang

Institution: University of Pikeville

Department: Math and Sciences Division

Rank: Professor (Molecular Biology)

KY INBRE Award: RPA

Project Title: Plant-Derived Recombinant Therapeutic Kallikrein for Disease Treatment

About the project: Our research leverages plant molecular farming and transient expression systems to develop an efficient, scalable, and economical method for producing biologically active KLK1, with the dual goals of advancing therapies for kidney, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases while fostering biopharmaceutical innovation and education in Eastern Kentucky.

Intended outcomes: We are developing a rapid, scalable, and economical plant-based system for producing biologically active KLK1, aiming to advance therapies for kidney, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases while fostering biotechnology innovation and education.

How will KY INBRE help accomplish these goals? KY INBRE support has provided essential funding, mentorship, and research resources that enable us to optimize plant-based KLK1 production, rigorously evaluate its therapeutic potential, and train undergraduates through hands-on biopharmaceutical research, while also supporting student presentations at the KY-INBRE annual conference and providing travel awards to Washington, DC — thereby advancing both scientific discovery and workforce development in Eastern Kentucky.

Dena Weinberger

Institution: Murray State University

Department: Biology

Rank: Associate Professor

KY INBRE Awards: PPA and Voucher

Project Title: Psychotropic compounds from wastewater contamination affect nervous system development

About the project: Wide ranges of drugs with overlapping neural targets contaminate our drinking water sources, and we hypothesize that this route of exposure affects gene expression in brain regions with functional consequences. By raising zebrafish in dosed water as a proxy for prenatal human exposure through contaminated drinking water, undergraduate-led projects will identify behaviors and genes that are sensitive to this type of sub-therapeutic, potentially synergistic, and chronic exposure.

Intended outcomes: By raising zebrafish in dosed water as a proxy for prenatal human exposure through contaminated drinking water, we will identify sensitive behaviors and genes that are expressed in developing neural tissues. We expect the differential expression of each of these genes individually to have minor effects on the organism, and that the summative changes in gene expression have complex and varied effects. As proof of concept, we expect to find overlapping consequences from loss of one of these dysregulated sequences. These strategies will broadly impact basic and translational biomedical research.

How will KY INBRE help accomplish these goals? KY INBRE funding helps progress on the larger project towards publications and generating pilot data to make my NIH grants more competitive

Outside of the classroom/lab: I spend time playing and being silly with my husband and three school age children, making art, building with Lego bricks, and baking.

Justin Yates

Institution: Northern Kentucky University

Department: Psychological Science

Rank: Professor and Department Chair

KY INBRE Award: MCDA

Project Title: Contribution of BLA-mPFC pathway to risky choice and compulsive cocaine seeking

About the project: The present experiments use a chemogenetic approach to determine how inhibiting the pathway between the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) affects risky choice and measures of compulsive cocaine seeking in rats. Specific Aim 1 focuses on the effects of chemogenetic inhibition on an equivalent expected value (EEV) task, in which rats are allowed to choose between reinforcers that differ in magnitude and probability of delivery; however, the expected value of each reinforcer is identical. The EEV task allows one to measure risky choice in such a way that results are not confounded by other factors such as suboptimal decision making. Specific Aims 2 and 3 are designed to measure how chemogenetic inhibition affects continued cocaine seeking despite aversive outcomes (e.g., foot shock) (Specific Aim 2) and resurgence of cocaine seeking (Specific Aim 3).

Intended outcomes: The hypothesis is that chemogenetic inhibition of the BLA-mPFC pathway will decrease risky choice and compulsive cocaine seeking. Specifically, the goal of the MCDA is to prepare my postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Emily Allgire, for a career in academia. The research described above has also given numerous undergraduate students firsthand experience conducting behavioral neuroscience research. These students have been able to learn how to perform behavioral experiments and immunohistochemisty assays.

How will KY INBRE help accomplish these goals? The MCDA has enabled me to train Dr. Allgire, who already has experience performing chemogenetic experiments, to measure risk-based decision making and addictive-like behavior in rats. She has also been able to teach two courses during her time at NKU, providing valuable experience as she begins applying for academic positions at a primarily undergraduate institution.

Outside of the classroom/lab: Between balancing my research with my responsibilities as a department chair, personal time is hard to find. I enjoy spending time with my wife and two sons. We love going to the Cincinnati Zoo and the Children's Museum. I am also a fan of video games and try to play when I have some spare time.

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