View source for User:Sarah.Minucci

{{PAGENAME: Sarah Minucci}}


==Research Topic==
===Mentor: Dr. Stephen Merrill===
I will be researching the influence of leptin in the body, especially regarding fat, inflammation and immunity.  Leptin, a hormone secreted by fat and fatty tissue which has pro-inflammatory effects in the body, provides a link between nutritional intake and the immune system.  Much is still unknown about these connections, and my goal is to create a mathematical model of some aspect of leptin's influence in the body.

==Milestones & Goals==
===Week 1===
'''Verification of leptin production and relation to amount of fat'''
*3-5 pages of research paper
*Key research topics:
** What is the relationship between fat and leptin?
** Is it linear or exponential or something else?
**What are the units involved?

===Weeks 2-5===
'''How are leptin levels related to amount of inflammation?'''
*3-4 pages of research paper
*Key research topics:
***Look for inflammatory molecules that are measured regularly that will help to gauge inflammation levels
***A biomarker to quantify inflammation levels

===Weeks 5-10===
'''Choose one of the following directions and develop its relationship with leptin, inflammation & autoimmunity'''
*Diabetes
*Heart Disease
*Drug-induced autoimmunity
*Thyroid
*Sexual dimorphism of leptin levels

==Research Log==

===Week 1 / / 6.1-5===
*Introduction to differential equations
*Compiled research focus & milestones with Dr. Merrill
*Became familiar with RefWorks & library resources
*Became familiar with MatLab
*Read literature about my topic and found answers to the following questions via databases such as Medline and Web of Science
**What is the rate of release of adipokines from fat?
**When leptin is released, where does it go and what is its rate of metabolism?
**What are the units involved in the metabolism rate?
**How does leptin relate to fat?
**Is the leptin-fat model linear?
**How is leptin measured?
**Is the leptin-fat relationship related to gender?
*Investigated free leptin vs. bound leptin

===Week 2 / / 6.8-12===
'''Monday'''
*Condensed research so far into questions answered
*Wrote part of research paper
*Started researching inflammation and leptin
'''Tuesday'''
*Researched bound and free leptin
*Wrote part of research paper
*Researched inflammation
*Found research that may point to an exponential relationship between leptin and fat
*Met with Dr. Merrill
'''Wednesday'''
*Focuses: BMI, inflammation
*Verified linear relationship between BMI and weight/fat - this could pose some problems for a linear model of leptin and fat
*Read articles linking inflammation to leptin (key words: thyroid, TNF, T-cells)
'''Thursday'''
*Compiled information about leptin/inflammation/immunity
*Met with Dr. Merrill - threw out linear model and opted to try some kind of quadratic model
'''Friday'''
*Organized wiki page
===Week 3 / / 6.15-19===
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===Week 4 / / 6.22-26===
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===Week 5 / / 6.29-7.3===
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===Week 6 / / 7.6-10===
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===Week 7 / / 7.13-17===
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===Week 8 / / 7.20-24===
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===Week 9 / / 7.27-31===
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===Week 10 / / 8.3-7===
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