The academic journal Genetics featured gene-mutation research conducted by TU students and faculty in its August issue.
Using small worms known as C. elegans, the researchers investigated the correlation between a specific gene mutation that is functionally conserved between worms and humans and is associated with the incidence of primary microcephaly, an incurable disease that causes developmental issues in babies.
“Through our studies, we have successfully modeled a human disease-associated mutation in C. elegans and obtained a better mechanistic understanding of how this mutation could disrupt fundamental molecular pathways to cause the disease of primary microcephaly in humans,” said Jyoti Iyer, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry and the principal investigator of the project.
The research was made possible by the university’s Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge and the Chemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Program. TURC and CSURP are innovative, vital summer research programs that allow undergraduate students to further their college experiences by engaging in advanced, faculty-mentored research that prepares them for future careers and publications in their fields.
“All the major work in this study has been carried out by talented undergraduate students at TU,” Iyer said. “This work would not have been possible without TU students and their dedication to this project. The CSURP and TURC programs at TU have been instrumental in supporting the students involved in these studies by awarding them with stipends to carry out this research.”
Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence funding received from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the National Institute of Health supported this research. The grant was 5P20GM103636-09. Based on their findings, Iyer hopes to continue the research using human patient cells.