The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a highly specialized interface of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BECs). The main functions of BECs are to protect the brain against exposure to harmful substances in the blood, and to transport and secrete nutrients and other molecules that support normal brain functions. BECs can also alter their functions in response to signals from the brain or blood compartments. GLUT-1 is the predominant transporter at the BBB that regulates glucose entry into the brain, and does so by a mechanism of facilitated diffusion, which permits glucose transport in the blood-to brain or brain-to-blood direction. GLUT-1 dysfunction occurs in and may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.The main hypothesis is that GLUT-1 malfunction in the BBB occurs as it deteriorates with age, which causes errors in other regulation methods of the BBB leading to the development of Alzheimer's. However, it is difficult to study mechanisms of GLUT-1 dysfunction at the BBB specifically because of the involvement of multiple cell types that regulate glucose uptake into the brain in vivo. In my research, I have utilized a model of iPSC-derived brain endothelial cells (iBECs) in order to study aspects of GLUT-1 regulation in an in vitro model of the BBB. Currently, my main findings have shown that the GLUT1 transporter is functional in our system, and that GLUT1 protein expression is increased and glycolytic enzymes are decreased when iBECs switch from a proliferative state to a quiescent state. Glucose transport in the blood-to-brain direction is decreased in the quiescent state.  Additionally, high glucose exposure causes downregulation of glucose transport.  My future studies aim to determine whether proliferating vs. quiescent iBECs respond differently to high or low concentrations of glucose. In summary, we have shown that iBECs are a translatable and effective model that allows us to further investigate the regulation of GLUT-1 at the BBB to further understand the physiological mechanisms involved in Alzheimer's Disease. 

This paper aims to explore the gender wage gap in the University of Washington. We use data collected from College of Arts and Sciences to analyze how faculty members' salary might be affected by different factors. The number of women who entered into the labor market grew exponentially after the Second World War and women tended to spend longer hours for work. But this fact did not eliminate the existence of gender wage gap. Researching the gender wage gap in academia is unique because academics employed usually obtain relatively homogeneous education and job trainings such as earning Ph.D. degree. The factors we examine which may have an impact on the salary difference include gender, department, and the years of attainment of Ph.D. degree. This observational document study also intends to show how the number ratio of female faculty members and male faculty members differ in different department and discuss whether implicit discriminations exist. Women may spend longer time to complete Ph.D. degree due to that female's presentations and works somehow seem to face more biased judgments comparing with male by mentor or adviser and thus have less potential job experience. Women professors may experience more years in the process of tenure promotion which can lead to direct salary increase than male peers. 

Sleep problems in adolescents are commonly associated with bedtime media use due to subsequent psychological and cognitive arousal. The purpose of Sleepazoid is to better understand the impact of mind-body interventions on mitigating the effects of media use on sleep in adolescents. Participants virtually attended assessment visits and played pre-selected mobile video games while we conducted arousal level measurements during varied time intervals. We conducted assessment visits at baseline and follow-up to establish arousal levels through Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Electrodermal Activity (EDA) at rest, and during the gameplay and recovery phases. The Actiheart device measures HRV through heart rhythms and variability in time between each individual heartbeat while the Empatica E4 Wristband measures EDA through the degree to which skin conducts electricity. We monitored the participants during the various phases and tracked their activity for media-induced arousal task compliance. After the remote assessment visit, participants continued to track media use, sleep, and their arousal responses on designated study nights. The pandemic necessitated major protocol changes such as mailing the measurement devices, remotely downloading games, and conducting Microsoft Teams sessions in comparison to the original in-person design. This created barriers such as unstable internet connection and improper camera positioning which hindered our ability to obtain reliable data during assessment tracking. Despite the challenges of implementing virtual assessments, it is possible to transition a psychophysiological experimental protocol to remote administration by revising participant instructions, introducing instructional videos for visual reference, and ensuring a more robust protocol with closer collaboration with the participants. Ultimately, state arousal levels are predicted to return more quickly to baseline in the mind-body intervention group (e.g: bedtime yoga, breathing exercises) during follow-up assessments, during and after ceasing evening media use, and at bed time in comparison to the control group.

Binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy (BIO) is the gold standard for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening, however, associated use of an eyelid speculum results in significant infant stress. Handheld optical coherence tomography (OCT) may identify ROP severity biomarkers and is non-contact. We performed a prospective, observational study to compare vital signs measured during BIO and OCT to identify whether OCT has an advantage in lowering cardiorespiratory impact of screening. This study included 16 premature infants screened for ROP, recruited between April 2019 and February 2020. Each infant underwent BIO and OCT at least 30 minutes apart, alternating the order at each consecutive screening session. Infants who were too unstable were excluded from the study. Vital signs were obtained 1 minute before, 1 and 2 minutes into, and 15 minutes after the examination. Vital sign deviations from baseline were compared for each infant between the two imaging modalities using a paired linear mixed model to adjust for multiple imaging sessions.This study included 26 examinations among 16 infants (62.5% female, mean gestational age 285.86±2.82 weeks, mean birth weight 1058.25±289.00 grams) with 9 infants at ROP stage 1, 4 at ROP stage 2, and 1 at ROP stage 3. BIO duration was significantly shorter than OCT (4.4 vs.10.8 minutes, P<0.001). Vital signs increase from baseline were significantly greater for BIO compared to OCT for heart rate at 1 minute (18.81±20.75 vs. 0.00±22.82 beats per minute, P=0.04), diastolic blood pressure at 2 minutes (41.22±31.69 vs. 28.19±25.84 mmHg, P=0.04), mean arterial pressure at 2 minutes (46.83±34.83 vs. 36.99±20.08 mmHg, P=0.04), and systolic blood pressure at 15 minutes (10.85±10.55 vs. -5.12±13.53 mmHg, P=0.04). OCT resulted in significantly lower impact on heart rate and blood pressure compared to BIO. The ability to screen for ROP using OCT may benefit overall health for these vulnerable premature infants. 

Epilepsy is one of the most significant neurological diseases in the world. Although there have been numerous advances in the study of epilepsy, there is still much we can learn about it. This is supported by the fact that one third of the patients with epilepsy are resistant to their anti-seizure drugs. With the mechanisms of pharmacoresistant seizures still unresolved, this project utilizes the mouse 6 Hz model of pharmacoresistant focal seizures to help answer some of its questions. Specifically, we hypothesize that the extent of brain region activation is directly correlated with increasing stimulation intensity used to invoke a seizure. Using cFOS, a marker for neuronal activity, we characterized the effect of varying stimulation intensities on cFOS immunoreactivity and its recruitment of nearby brain regions at various stimulus intensities. Using the established 6 Hz model we determined the convulsive current that caused a seizure in 97% of the population (CC97) in adult male mice. Ninety minutes after stimulation, brains were extracted, and processed for immunohistochemical labeling of the early activation gene, cFOS. Pending results will determine whether increasing stimulation intensity will result in greater cFOS labelling as well as greater recruitment of surrounding brain regions. These data will inform our future studies investigating the effects of several antiseizure drugs on blocking the recruitment and activity of different brain regions at varying stimulus intensities in the 6 Hz model.

 The methionine salvage pathway (MSP) is a set of metabolic reactions that is highly conserved among species. The SPE3 gene of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, characterized as essential for growth, encodes spermidine synthase, which catalyzes the 3rd enzymatic step of the MSP and is involved in biosynthesis of spermidine. We investigated the effects of mutations in SPE3 and other genes of the MSP by comparing strains containing mutations in genes encoding for different MSP enzymes. Diploid heterozygotes were created via mating, and double mutants were created via knockout PCR, transformation, and recombination. Cell growth rate, viability, vacuolar morphology, and genetic relationships were analyzed via growth curves, viability tests, microscopy, and spot test assays. We found that SPE3 knockout haploid (spe3Δ) mutants are viable with a generation time unaffected by growth in minimal media. We also show that SPE3 mutations result in a hindered ability to respond to stressors. Characterization of these mutant strains and their responses to stressors will lead to better understanding of spermidine biosynthesis and the functions of the Spe3p enzyme and other MSP enzymes in S. cerevisiae.