I would advise current student to reach out to their professors more often. Not many students take the initiative to get to know their professors and establish relationships with them
Ashley Harlock
Neuroscience and Human Biology
Undergraduate Research in the Neighborhoods
Ashley’s research focus was to study the effects of chronic cocaine usage on ER stress in the ventral hippocampus. ER stress is an abnormal increase in misfolded proteins, which leads to the unfolded protein response, which attempts to restore ER homeostasis. Recently, the Robinson lab found that chronic cocaine use changes gene expression in the ventral hippocampus. Based on these prior findings, Ashley hypothesized that chronic cocaine use may mediate ER stress, specifically the expression of the UPR markers. Treating 24 mice, with 20 mg/kg of cocaine or saline for 10 days, Ashley found that chronic cocaine usage does not appear to increase UPR marker expression when looking at ATF6 and PERK. This ultimately suggests that cocaine may not cause ER stress.
Learn more about this and other research in the Neighborhood Engagement Centers.
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