Barrett

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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Next-Generation Sequencing for DNA Methylation Profiling in Blood and Skeletal Muscle

Description
DNA methylation, a subset of epigenetics, has been found to be a significant marker associated with variations in gene expression and activity across the entire human genome. As of now, however, there is little to no information about how DNA methylation varies between different tissues inside a singular person's body.…

DNA methylation, a subset of epigenetics, has been found to be a significant marker associated with variations in gene expression and activity across the entire human genome. As of now, however, there is little to no information about how DNA methylation varies between different tissues inside a singular person's body. By using research data from a preliminary study of lean and obese clinical subjects, this study attempts to put together a profile of the differences in DNA methylation that can be observed between two particular body tissues from this subject group: blood and skeletal muscle. This study allows us to start describing the changes that occur at the epigenetic level that influence how differently these two tissues operate, along with seeing how these tissues change between individuals of different weight classes, especially in the context of the development of symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes.
ContributorsRappazzo, Micah Gabriel (Author) / Coletta, Dawn (Thesis director) / Katsanos, Christos (Committee member) / Dinu, Valentin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-12
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The Role of UCP-1 in Human Omental Tissue

Description

The prevalence of obesity continues to increase in the United States, along with its risk for other associated cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Several therapeutic methods are aimed at targeting and reducing obesity, now defined as a state of chronic, low-grade inflammation (in addition to BMI > 30 kg/m2). In an…

The prevalence of obesity continues to increase in the United States, along with its risk for other associated cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Several therapeutic methods are aimed at targeting and reducing obesity, now defined as a state of chronic, low-grade inflammation (in addition to BMI > 30 kg/m2). In an attempt to expand on these therapeutic methods, research on the concept of browning in white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) is being conducted. Brown adipose tissue (BAT), and a newly discovered type of adipocyte, beige adipocytes, are heavily involved in thermogenesis with the use of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1). This paper focuses on the analysis of common browning genes, ATP-related genes, and metabolic genes in varying biological groups in mice (Chow/High-Fat Diet and Inguinal FAT and Perigonadal Fat) and in humans (Lean/Obese and Subcutaneous WAT (SC) and Omental WAT (OM)) using methods such as RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. The data obtained shows an increase in browning in the leaner group, specifically in the subcutaneous fat. Further, browning is significantly reduced in the obese groups of subjects and mice tested, in addition to omental/perigonadal versus subcutaneous/inguinal fat depots. Interestingly, two key ATP genes, UCP-1 and COX4I1 are vastly elevated in the OM WAT, indicating that browning may not be as important in the OM, but rather may have a potential role in SC. This is contrary to prior research findings that attempt to exclude mice surrogates in future experimentation of the browning phenomenon. Further experimentation is needed to expand on the findings of this paper.
ContributorsGhannam, Hamza Ibrahim (Author) / De Filippis, Eleanna (Thesis director) / Katsanos, Christos (Committee member) / Hernandez, James (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12