布兰迪·洛克菲勒教授的血管畸形研究可能会影响我们治疗癌症的方式
“参与实践研究的学生对科学过程有了深刻的理解和欣赏."
For nearly eight years, Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Brandee Rockefeller一直在研究血管畸形(血液或淋巴管之间的异常连接),以更好地理解血管如何以及为什么会畸形并最终功能失调的分子基础.
但她过去八年的研究成果可能会产生持续一生的影响.
It was while doing her doctoral work at Albany Medical College with her mentor, Dr. 凯文Pumiglia, 这是她第一次受到启发, part of a lab interested in vascular tumors and vascular malformations, 她将其描述为不受控制的血管,没有任何东西可以控制和阻止它们的生长. If that growth is occurring in a place like the brain, 肾脏, 或者肝脏, 它可能会对身体产生有害影响, 或者更糟, 导致死亡.
“Most of them, however, particularly in pediatric patients, are within the skin,” Dr. 洛克菲勒解释说. “My nephew was born with a vascular tumor called a hemangioma, which is under the same umbrella as vascular malformations collectively termed vascular anomalies. 它给了我更大的动力去推动我所做的事情,并与它的影响建立了更多的个人联系.”
Primarily interested in what fuels the growth of these blood vessels, she pays special attention to the body’s metabolism, because there is no uniform treatment for vascular malformations or vascular tumors.
“There have been a lot of clinical trials involved in blocking growth and migration, 细胞信号传导的不同方面, 但这些措施都没有取得很大的成功. 我的目标是理解, 真的, 牢房里发生了什么事, like the molecular underpinnings of vascular malformations or vascular tumors.”
血管畸形的许多特征也与心血管疾病中的脉管系统(连接心脏与身体所有其他器官和组织的血管网络)相同, 癌症, 糖尿病, 和视网膜病变, 博士的应用. Rockefeller’s research, which she terms ‘vascular biology,’ has the potential to be quite vast.
在尤蒂卡学院. 洛克菲勒的研究包括培养人类细胞和各种不同操作的血管形态发生测定, 她说这可能/将涉及到病毒载体, 药物的应用, 培养基中的营养物质也在变化.
“To my knowledge, no one at Utica College has previously done cell culture with mammalian. 细胞. So, for the first time, I’ve gotten to develop a cell culture lab. 我把它整合到课堂上,所以我们在细胞生物学课堂和实验室里做一些细胞培养, 这太棒了. We grow human umbilical vein endothelial 细胞. 这些人脐静脉内皮细胞在基质蛋白上镀上后形成血管结构(我们称之为体内的血管网络), and when genetically modified they form malformations just like they would in humans. 现在我们在尤蒂卡有能力操纵这些培养物,并使用不同的药物来试图找出如何阻止生长,而不仅仅是阻止畸形的生长, but hopefully normalize the vascular structures.”
Dr. 洛克菲勒解释说,虽然有些患有这些血管缺陷的孩子只会出现外貌上的畸形, others can see harmful impacts when malformations are present within organs like the brain, 可能引起出血或中风. 作为她正在进行的研究的一部分. 洛克菲勒有个学生在培养皿中培养血管形成了畸形片, allowing them to try and impede that growth and return the vessels to normal.
Cancer research is not something one commonly sees as the undergraduate level, 但是学生和教师在这种探索上合作的机会是吸引他的原因之一. Rockefeller to Utica College in the first place.
“当我在这里面试的时候, 我看到了一张又一张学生研究的海报,他们给了我一张我们学生参与的所有出版物的清单. There is nothing better as a scientist, I think, than getting students involved in your research. There is nothing better than seeing a young mind realizing they’re doing something big. 这不仅来自一般的研究, but I think because 癌症 is such a translatable thing - everyone is affected by it. 我认为参与癌症研究的影响是如此的相关,这对学生来说意义重大, 这也是我的动力之一. 尤蒂卡学院有一种独特的文化,很多生物学专业的学生都希望参与到研究中来——他们从中茁壮成长,这与其他本科院校不同. That excited me, that I could bring a new, unique aspect here.”
她希望继续与科学家合作,更好地了解这些血管异常, which will influence management and treatment for patients like her nephew.
“我们的研究也很有可能扩大知识库,并为许多其他以血管功能失调为特征的病理提供治疗和/或治疗开发信息, 其中一些我在上面提到过. I also love working with the students here at UC. 不仅仅是获得更深入的理解阅读科学文献,特别是有关血管生物学和动手实验室经验, 我很高兴看到学生们认识到了解疾病和治疗发展需要付出多少努力.”
She’ll get to see even more students getting the hands-on experience of this research, with the completion of the new Utica College Science Center, 提供广泛的资源,以扩大学生的研究机会比以往任何时候.
新的科学中心有一个细胞培养实验室,配备了专门用于培养和操纵人类细胞的设备, like human umbilical vein endothelial 细胞 (the major cell type of my research focus). There is also a room dedicated to microscopy, which is how we view and image all of our cultures.”
其他设备,博士. 洛克菲勒说, 也被购买来帮助她和她的研究科学家同事解决更多基于分子的问题, and she’s happy to discuss those research opportunities with any student interested.
“通常, student research begins with reading background scientific literature and discussion, 以及关于技术方法的对话,以及我们可以从这些方法中学到什么. Together we develop a research question(s) and “plan of attack.”
而2019年新冠肺炎大流行的开始和新科学中心的建设暂时停止了细胞培养实验, Dr. 洛克菲勒说,她很高兴,并准备好马上回到科学中心提供的不断增长的资源中, research that has the potential to benefit both the world, as well as the students helping to get it there.
“参与实践研究的学生对科学过程有了深刻的理解和欣赏. Some find they do not like research and some love research, but in my experience students all see value added in having research experience.”
通过这些经历, students have the opportunity to develop laboratory skills, 他们沉浸在科学文献中,对论文的阅读和批判性分析变得更加自如, and those that choose to present findings develop confidence and communication skills.
“Communicating science effectively is not as easy as one may think,” Dr. 洛克菲勒指出.
And while not every step of the way may be without its share of setbacks, Dr. 洛克菲勒说,正是这些挑战帮助像她和她的学生这样的研究人员为有可能改变世界的科学突破铺平了道路.
研究中最大的“冒险”之一是学会接受并非每一个实验都按计划进行(大多数实际上并非如此)这一事实。, 但总有一些东西需要学习. 科学的美妙之处在于每一个新的发现(即使是那些计划外的或来自失败的实验的发现)都为全新的令人兴奋的问题打开了大门.”
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