Project Title: Human Sleep, Health and Recovery
Project Contact: Dr. Janet Mullington (jmulling@bidmc.harvard.edu)
Research Type: Basic Science Research
Academic Level: Medical Student
Pay: Unpaid
Project Description: Research related to the group's interest in biomarkers of sleep deficiency, host defense mechanisms and recovery processes. In addition, the group is interested in women's health and pain; and also, the post-infectious syndromes and how they are related to sleep. The student project will be developed in collaboration with the research team and based on studies recently completed or ongoing. Every summer we have projects running that lend themselves well to student ancillary projects, that may involve analyzing a data set in a new way, adding a measure to an ongoing study, investigating an aspect of a study that was already planned, and/or adding your own twist to it. Do reach out to discuss specific opportunities and how that may fit with your interests.
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Project Title: AI deep learning-powered transcriptomic analysis and drug mining for ALS and Alzheimer's disease
Project Contact: Dr. Feng Tian (ftian@bidmc.harvard.edu)
Research Type: Basic Science Research
Academic Level: Medical Student
Pay: Unpaid
Project Description: Our laboratory leverages state-of-the-art computational and biological techniques, such as CRISPR genome editing, multi-omic sequencing and deep learning-powered bioinformatics, to unbiasedly identify novel drug targets (or culprit genes) for neurodegeneration, including glaucoma, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Directed by Dr. Feng Tian, who has very robust track record in neurodegeneration and regeneration research, we aim to define the common disease-driving mechanisms across these conditions. A particular focus of our lab is ferroptosis, an understudied yet potentially central pathway of neuronal cell death, whose dysregulation may drive neuronal vulnerability across many forms of ALS and glaucoma. Our innovative approach has the long-term clinical potential to yield next-generation multi-targeting therapies that transcend individual genetic mutations or environmental triggers.
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Project Title: Development of therapeutic antibody for vascular dementia
Project Contact: Dr. Chenxi Qiu (cqiu@bidmc.harvard.edu)
Research Type: Basic Science Research/Translational Research
Status: Full-time
Work Modality: Full-time
Academic Level: College Undergraduate, College Graduate, Medical Student, PhD
Pay: Unpaid
Project Description: We have been developing a therapeutic antibody targeting cis P-tau, a pathogenic tau conformation in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and traumatic brain injury. The project will evaluate the efficacy of the cis P-tau antibody in cell culture and mouse models.
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Project Title: Effect of low-dose acetylsalicylic acid on blood pressure response to insufficient sleep in humans
Project Contact: Dr. Monika Haack (mhaack@bidmc.harvard.edu)
Research Type: Translational Research
Status: Flexible (full-time or part-time options)
Work Modality: Hybrid
Academic Level: College Undergraduate, College Graduate, Medical Student, PhD
Pay: Unpaid
Project Description: The goal of this project is to determine whether low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), one of the most widely used drugs worldwide, modulates blood pressure responses to common patterns of intermittent short sleep in humans, and whether these responses are mediated by changes in sleep continuity and sleep depth.
Student involvement. The student will work closely with other members of the research team to prepare blood pressure data from a completed clinical trial for statistical analysis, learn about sleep monitoring technologies, assist with graphical visualization of diurnal blood pressure profiles, assist in analyzing data using R and/or SPSS, and contribute to manuscript preparation and the publication process. The student will participate in lab meetings, grand rounds, and present the project at local research meetings.
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Project Title: Neurobiology of REM Sleep
Project Contact: Dr. Vetrivelan Ramalingam (vramalin@bidmc.harvard.edu)
Research Type: Basic Science and Translational Research
Status: Flexible (full-time or part-time options available)
Work Modality: In-Person
Academic Level: Undergraduate, Graduate, Medical Student
Pay: Unpaid
Project Description: Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a distinct sleep state during which vivid dreams occur. This stage of sleep plays a critical role in emotional processing and several cognitive functions. Several neuropsychiatric disorders, including major depression, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, are associated with severe dysregulation of REM sleep, but the underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood. The major goal of the project is to identify the neural circuit dysfunction responsible for REM sleep abnormalities in such disorders. The student who works on this project will be able to learn and apply advanced conditional genetic tools (e.g., optogenetics, chemo genetics, photometry) and behavioral techniques in animal models to study this complex problem.