Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection

The purpose of this experiment is to deliver DNA origami barrels loaded with Cas13d-gRNA binary complexes to HPV-16 and HPV-18 cervical cancer lines to make the cancer mortal. The production of Cas 13d has proven successful with a concentration of ~ 1mg/mL, but the activity assay performed has not shown conclusive evidence of Cas13d and guide RNA binary complex formation or activity. Successful annealing of the DNA origami barrel has been quantified by an agarose gel, but further quantification by TEM is in progress. Overall, steady progress is being made towards the goal of targeting HPV16 E6/E7 pre-mRNA with CRISPR/Cas13d.

This business plan is centered around the creation of a digital marketplace that will promote small businesses and sustainable shopping habits throughout the community and beyond. Our business decisions will be guided by our vision which involves encouraging environmentally conscious shopping habits, supporting small artists, and raising money for charity without compromising quality. In addition to our focus on creating a social media-based digital marketplace, we aim to ultimately help local artists grow their businesses and further support the causes they care about.

Redox homeostasis is described as the net physiologic balance between inter-convertible oxidized and reduced equivalents within subcellular compartments that remain in a dynamic equilibrium. This equilibrium is impacted by reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are natural by-products of normal cellular activity. Studies have shown that cancer cells have high ROS levels and altered redox homeostasis due to increased basal metabolic activity, mitochondrial dysfunction, peroxisome activity, as well as the enhanced activity of NADPH oxidase, cyclooxygenases, and lipoxygenases. Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most prevalent primary brain tumor in adults with a median survival of 15 months. GBM is characterized by its extreme resistance to therapeutic interventions as well as an elevated metabolic rate that results in the exacerbated production of ROS. Therefore, many agents with either antioxidant or pro-oxidant mechanisms of action have been rigorously employed in preclinical as well as clinical settings for treating GBM by inducing oxidative stress within the tumor. Among those agents are well-known antioxidant vitamin C and small molecular weight SOD mimic BMX-001, both of which are presently in clinical trials on GBM patients. Despite the wealth of investigations, limited data is available on the response of normal brain vs glioblastoma tissue to these therapeutic interventions. Currently, a sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was established for the quantification of a panel of oxidative stress biomarkers: glutathione (GSH), cysteine (Cys), glutathione disulfide (GSSG), and cysteine disulfide in human-derived brain tumor and mouse brain samples; this method will be enriched with additional oxidative stress biomarkers homocysteine (Hcy), methionine (Met), and cystathionine (Cyst). Using this enriched method, we propose to evaluate the thiol homeostasis and the redox state of both normal brain and GBM in mice after exposure with redox-active therapeutics. Our results showed that, compared to normal brain (in intact mice), GBM tissue has significantly lower GSH/GSSG and Cys/CySS ratios indicating much higher oxidative stress levels. Contralateral “normal” brain tissue collected from the mice with intracranial GBM were also under significant oxidative stress compared to normal brains collected from the intact mice. Importantly, normal brain tissue in both studies retained the ability to restore redox homeostasis after treatment with a redox-active therapeutic within 24 hours while glioblastoma tissue does not. Ultimately, elucidating the differential redox response of normal vs tumor tissue will allow for the development of more redox-active agents with therapeutic benefit.

"FIJI's Shave to Save" took place in Fall 2021 when 47 members of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) at Arizona State University got their heads shaved as a public demonstration of the fraternity's commitment to the mission of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and their Center for Rare Childhood Disorders (the Center). Through tremendous community support, the majority of which came from members' families, FIJI alumni, and participating member sororities of Arizona State University's Panhellenic Council, we collectively raised $63,640 for the Center. These funds are directed towards the Center's groundbreaking research and efforts to improve the lives of children with rare disorders through genomic sequencing. Aside from the lives impacted by the fundraiser, this news was highlighted in publications from multiple media outlets and exhibited the positive impact that Greek Life is capable of. Months prior to this initiative, Taylor Dintzner (2021 Chapter President) and Cameron Chew (2021 Philanthropy Chairman) were lost and did not know how to approach the execution of a successful fundraiser. In December 2021, they met with Rob Caudill, Executive Director at the International Headquarters of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI), to discuss international publicity for the initiative. The verdict was that other FIJI Chapters may benefit from a "toolkit" that details how FIJI at Arizona State University was able to raise $63,500 for TGen. "FIJI's Shave to Save: A Toolkit for Successful Fundraising by Charitable Organizations" is intended to be a resource that encourages FIJI Chapters internationally to execute their own "FIJI's Shave to Save" initiative, giving them all of the tools necessary to follow a similar format and raise funds for TGen's Center for Rare Childhood Disorders. Media Highlighting FIJI at Arizona State University's Community Impact: https://linktr.ee/fijigraduatechapter

How can we address the causes, impacts, and potential solutions of poor air quality in the Phoenix South Mountain Community? This project focuses on the science, history, and politics surrounding the poor air quality in the South Phoenix area, with an emphasis in creating and implementing local, generational, and technological solutions.