Students participate in cutting edge research at Medical College of Wisconsin
| Published: 08/15/2012 |
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Innovation and collaboration inspired MSOE students to spend their summer at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), learning the latest in biotechnology and bioengineering techniques in the Innovation Center’s laboratories. During the ten week program, the college sophomores and juniors got hands-on experience in the laboratory. They used mass spectrometers to peer inside cells and learn the role proteins play in healthy and diseased cells. Students from Marquette University also participated in the program, and worked on designing and developing custom-built laboratory equipment to support research in the Innovation Center.
“This collaboration provides students from Marquette and MSOE with opportunities to gain hands-on experience in the use of cutting edge technology and to develop critical thinking skills in designing their research project. We are happy to host these students as they explore careers in biotechnology. Having them in our labs allows them to see firsthand how complex diseases are studied and research is applied,” said Andrew Greene, Ph.D., Director of the Innovation Center.
Jared P. Barfknecht, biomedical engineering major, investigated protein-DNA interactions on a genome-wide scale. As part of the Wisconsin Center of Excellence in Genomics Science, GENECAPP (Global ExoNuclease-based Enrichment of Chromatin-Associated Proteins for Proteomics) was developed as a methodology to analyze the conditional binding of proteins to DNA anywhere in the genome.
Michelle E. Hasse, biomolecular engineering major, worked to develop an in vitro model of heart development (cardiogenesis) that exists outside of a living organism. This tool could be used to study cases of congenital heart disease in which the cause and/or mechanisms of the disease are unknown.
Kirsten Mahuta, biomolecular engineering major, conducted studies to test a novel drug treatment for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), which infects 50-80% of adults in the United States. There is currently no vaccine available to prevent infection. The objective of these studies was to inhibit a vital protein necessary for HCMV replication—and then to quantify the changes in cellular gene expression to help understand how the infected cell responds to the treatment.
Rebecca L. Majewski, biomolecular engineering major, studied a unique treatment for diseases that involve problems with blood vessel growth. Treatment is based on the administration of the patients’ own stem cells. This research could potentially impact a broad range of diseases linked to blood vessel growth including obesity, cancer and retinal disease.
Robert J. Nogle, biomolecular engineering major, studied biopsy samples from patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme brain tumors to better understand what proteins are linked to the success or failure of the drug Bevacizumab. Currently, only about 40% of patients who receive Bevacizumab respond to the drug. This research can lead to predicting in advance if a patient will be able to respond to Bevacizumab.
Michael P. Sgarioto, biomolecular engineering major, conducted research focused on the entry of pharmaceuticals into tissue to determine the efficacy of both existing and novel drugs. How a drug acts on the tissue depends on its chemical properties, as well as its transport into the tissue. Transport phenomena are essential to understanding many processes in engineering, physiology, biology, pharmacy and many other areas.
Jordan Wagner, biomolecular engineering major, studied a newly discovered receptor protein called the Mas1 proto-oncogene because of its role in capillary growth. Studies of Mas1 and the proteins it interacts with will help us learn more about the growth of blood vessels, so that others might be better equipped to research and treat diseases involving capillary development.
The Innovation Center is the result of a generous gift to MCW from Dr. Robert D. and Dr. Patricia E. Kern to promote the advancement of biomedical science in Southeastern Wisconsin. The mission of the Center is to nurture a research enterprise at the high school, undergraduate and postdoctoral levels; to promote collaborations across institutions of higher learning in the greater Milwaukee area; to encourage collaboration within MCW through internal research grants, and to invite visiting faculty to present seminars on topics related to the Innovation Center research.
More information about the Innovation Center and the Biotechnology and Bioengineering Center can be found at: www.bbc.mcw.edu
MSOE is an independent, non-profit university with about 2,500 students. MSOE offers 18 bachelor’s degrees and nine master’s degrees in the engineering, engineering technology, building and infrastructure engineering, health-related engineering, computer, business and nursing fields. The university has a national academic reputation; longstanding ties to business and industry; dedicated professors with real-world experience; and extremely high placement rates and the highest starting salaries of any Wisconsin university according to PayScale Inc. MSOE graduates are well-rounded, technologically experienced and highly productive professionals and leaders.