Project Mentor
Dr. Rajkumar Verma
Neuroscience
Undergraduate Research Opportunity Description
| Project Description | Project 1: Stroke remains a leading cause of disability in the United States. Despite recent advances, interventions to reduce damage and enhance recovery after stroke are absent. In this project we will investigate a novel drug target “Purinergic receptor P2X4” for therapeutic exploitation in stroke. We will determine how the inhibition of P2X4R signaling influences these excessive immune during stroke using mice genetically engineered for global or selective deletion of P2X4R in total myeloid or infiltrating myeloid population and also by using pharmacological modulation. The overall goal of this project is to determine if modulation of P2X4R signaling in myeloid cells is a viable therapy for stroke, working towards our long-term goal of developing and identifying target-based therapies for stroke. Project 2: Vascular dementia (VaD) is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although it is the most rapidly increasing disorder in the aging population, VaD remains under diagnosed, studied and treated. Among many potential clinical triggers, multi-embolic infarcts and cerebral hypoperfusion are major causes of VaD. Among many subtypes of VaD, multi-infarct dementia is the most prominent one which results from multiple lesion or infarcts in brain parenchyma. At the molecular level, VaD is characterized by key neuronal and dendro-synaptic changes resulting in dysfunction and cognitive deficits. Therefore, greater understanding of the pathophysiology at the molecular level is needed to identify novel vascular substrates of dementia. Our goal here is to identify key proteins involved in modification of brain pathology during progression of VaD. |
| Project Direction | These projects will help us to identify and validate new drug targets for ischemic stroke or related vascular dementia. During this progress the student will undergo lot of biochemical and behavioral procedures necessary to learn the early stage drug development process. It will help them to learn new techniques and several aspects of in vivo preclinical research. |
| Mentorship and Supervision | The student will be trained for various biochemical and behavior analysis (both at pre and post-stroke recovery time point) in stroked mice. I have more than twelve years of experience in stroke research. Though I don’t expect them to learn stroke surgery in this short period, but I am sure that they will get full supervision initially and partial at the later stage of their projects during both behavioral and biochemical analysis. If time permitted, I also plan to train the student for some molecular biology work like RT-PCR, ELISA, immunohistochemistry, etc. I plan to have a weekly or biweekly meeting in the lab and also with other collaborators to monitor their progress. Also, students are encouraged to listen and take part in weekly departmental journal club/seminar activity. I plan to provide feedback via email at the end of the semester. |
| Student Qualifications | I would prefer someone interested and experienced (preferable but not essential) in rodent behavior and biochemical analysis. Candidate interested in Neuroscience or Cardiovascular Science research will be preferred. |
| Summer Schedule Options | Research Dates: May 28 to August 2, 2019 Schedule: M-F, 9am-5pm |
| Project Continuation | Fall 2019, Spring 2020 |
| Academic Year Time Commitment | 6- 9 hours/week |
| Possible Thesis Project | Yes |
Application
Submit an online application for this research opportunity at https://quest.uconn.edu/prog/HRP19-21. The application deadline is Monday, February 4, 2019.
This application requires a cover letter, a resume or CV, a brief statement of research interests, a one sentence indication of career interest, contact information for references, and letters of recommendation.