Difference between revisions of "User:Sarah.Minucci"

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Revision as of 14:49, 12 June 2015


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