Office of Undergraduate Research

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Emphasizing equitable and inclusive access to research opportunities, the University of Maryland's Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) empowers undergraduates and faculty to engage and succeed in inquiry, creative activity, and scholarship. This collection includes materials shared by undergraduate researchers during OUR events. It also encompasses materials from Undergraduate Research Day 2020, Undergraduate Research Day 2021, and Undergraduate Research Day 2022, which were organized by the Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.First-Year Innovation and Research Experience

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Expression of Human RPS17 and RPS23 in E. Coli Bacterial Cells
    (2024-04) Bloom, Kaylee; Perera, Senanga; Outmezguine, Daniel; Patel, Tulsi; Hunter, Kennedi; Kothari, Yashi; Guevara, Ivan; Pham, Thong; Zeidan, Quira
    Ribosome biogenesis is vital for a cell to make proteins and proceed through the central dogma of molecular biology. Human ribosomal proteins (RPs) RPS17 and RPS23 are protein-encoding genes associated with the formation of ribosomes in cells. Serious diseases are linked to dysfunction of RPS17 and RPS23. Mutations in RPS17 have been linked to Diamond-Blackfan anemia, a rare inherited bone marrow disease that affects red blood cells, leading to anemia. RPS23 protein dysfunction is linked to Hepatocellular carcinoma, a severe form of liver cancer. In this study, RPS17 and RPS23 were cloned and expressed with two different bacterial expression plasmids, pNIC28-Bsa4 and pNH-TrxT, with 100% sequence confirmation. Plasmids were then transformed into BL21 E. coli cells, and IPTG induction was used to express RPS17 and RPS23. SDS-PAGE, followed by Coomassie staining, was conducted to confirm the successful expression of the proteins. Future research will determine how overexpression and posttranslational modifications of RPS17 and RPS23 link to cellular growth and homeostasis.
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    Cloning and Expression of Human RPS24 into E.coli and the HEK293 Cell Line
    (2024-04-26) Merrifield, Katherine; Apgar, Sofia; Jessica Whitney; Argueta, Vicky; Zeidan, Quira
    Ribosome biogenesis is the process of constructing ribosomes and requires ribosomal RNA, ribosomal proteins (RPs), and assembly factors. The products of eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis are the large 60S subunit and the small 40S subunit, of which RPS24 is crucial in its formation. In addition to its translational roles, RPS24 is associated with regulating cell growth and proliferation, apoptosis, and DNA damage response. We hypothesize that the extra-ribosomal functions of RPS24 are impacted by its post-translational modifications (PTMs). To elucidate the functions of these PTMs, the coding sequence of human RPS24 was cloned into pNH-TrxT and pNIC28-Bsa4 bacterial expression vectors via ligase-independent cloning. The recombinant plasmids were then transformed into BL21 E.coli cells, and initial trials were conducted to optimize growth and expression conditions for the two transformed strains. Protein expression was determined using SDS-PAGE and Coomassie staining, the results of which indicated moderate levels of the RPS24 fusion protein in cells transformed with both the recombinant plasmids. RPS24 expression was observed without IPTG induction, indicating leaky expression. In parallel experiments, we investigated the overexpression of RPS24 in HEK293 cells from the plasmid pcDNA3.1(C)DYK, and successful transfection was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western Blot analysis. We aim to investigate the role of RPS24 PTMs in cell proliferation and viability under various stress conditions to evaluate their impact on tumor development.
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    DNA Aptamers Against Airway Mucin Proteins for Therapeutics and Diagnostics
    (2024) Dwomoh, Deborah; Welte, Linara; Savage, Colin; McDonald, Cyan; Shpilman, Zackary; Srinath, Priyanka; Spirito, Catherine
    Mucus is a viscous bodily fluid composed of mucin proteins, inorganic salts, and water. MUC5AC and MUC5B are the two mucin proteins that makeup airway mucus. Elevated levels of MUC5AC can indicate certain diseases, like asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Current treatments for mucus-associated respiratory diseases include using enzymes and chemical agents to clear mucus buildup. These existing treatments are limited in their ability to selectively target specific mucin proteins within mucus. Our research aims to select DNA aptamers that bind to MUC5AC or MUC5B, within mucus samples. We are optimizing a One-Pot SELEX or in vitro selection methodology previously used by other researchers to select aptamers against MUC16. Selected DNA aptamers with high binding affinity and specificity can detect airway mucin proteins and deliver engineered proteases to cleave and destroy them.