Department
Biological Sciences
Major
Biological Sciences
Research Advisor
Scharf, Andrea
Advisor's Department
Biological Sciences
Funding Source
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Abstract
As new drugs and pollutants are introduced, a larger subset of people are exposed. The question that arises is whether exposure of a pregnant woman to drugs/pollutants will have negative effects on the neurobiology of her unborn child. We are establishing a screen to test the effects of drugs and pollutants on the developmental neuropathology of the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. The roundworm has 302 neurons that are structurally similar to human neurons, and defects in single neurons can be detected by impairment in their neural behaviors such as chemotaxis towards an attractant. Using a chemotaxis assay, we can investigate whether pollutants and xenobiotics induce neuropathologies in animals exposed in early developmental stages. We will discuss our approach and first results.
Biography
Lindsay Schneider is a freshman in biological sciences at Missouri S& T. In addition to participating in the FYRE program, Lindsay is a PR Chair of the iGEM design team and an active member of SCRUBS and Helix. After graduating from S& T, she hopes to pursue medical lab science.
Research Category
Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Location
Innovation Forum - 1st Floor Innovation Lab
Presentation Date
10 April 2024, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Included in
Xenobiotic-lnduced Developmental Neuropathology
Innovation Forum - 1st Floor Innovation Lab
As new drugs and pollutants are introduced, a larger subset of people are exposed. The question that arises is whether exposure of a pregnant woman to drugs/pollutants will have negative effects on the neurobiology of her unborn child. We are establishing a screen to test the effects of drugs and pollutants on the developmental neuropathology of the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. The roundworm has 302 neurons that are structurally similar to human neurons, and defects in single neurons can be detected by impairment in their neural behaviors such as chemotaxis towards an attractant. Using a chemotaxis assay, we can investigate whether pollutants and xenobiotics induce neuropathologies in animals exposed in early developmental stages. We will discuss our approach and first results.
