Cancer Stem Cells in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is a cancer of the mouth epithelium with an annual incidence rate in the US of nearly 48,000 cases annually and a 5-year survival rate of only 65%. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are believed to be responsible for progression of OSCC. The project’s main goal is to observe the effect of Wnt/β-catenin signaling inhibition on oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Translational Genomics of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) does not respond to receptor targeted treatments because they do not possess the ligands to bind to these receptors. Thus, more research needs to be explored in terms of the translational modifications that genes undergo during this disease.
Building Low-Cost Prosthetics
Building low-cost prosthetics by SLAM scanning the residual limbs of amputees.
Cell Line to Search for Osteosarcoma Agents
Osteosarcoma, a bone tumor of childhood, is lethal when unresponsive to chemotherapy. ER stress response, a cell survival mechanism that is triggered upon exposure to stressors such as chemotherapy, is one of the ways a tumor becomes resistant to chemotherapy. This project explores novel methods of producing a noncytotoxic EGFP-ATF6 construct to signal Endoplasmic Reticulum stress response.
Quantification of Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular disease causes nearly one-third of all deaths in the world. Unfortunately, atherosclerosis commonly remains asymptomatic for decades, and is properly diagnosed only after a severe, life-threatening cardiac event. Thus, a portable, low‐cost tattoo‐based biosensor for the non‐invasive self‐diagnosis and quantification of atherosclerosis was developed.