User:Sarah.Minucci
Contents
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 and wrote several pages of paper 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
- Wrote about findings on leptin, inflammation, and immunity
- Wrote new proposal for mathematical model equations
Week 3 / / 6.15-19
Monday
- Finished Friday's paper
- Literature search for biomarkers of inflammation
- Investigated role of estrogen in obesity, breast cancer and the immune system
Tuesday
- Continued investigating biomarkers
- Met with Dr. Merrill
Wednesday
- Focus: quantifying the relationship between fat and inflammation
- Literature on inflammation in fat, sexual dimorphism in fat distribution and leptin levels
Thursday
- Created a visual model of a leptin/inflammation feedback loop (solidified our hypothesis)
- Responsible Conduct of Research training
Friday
- Solidify feedback loop
- Meet with Dr. Merrill
