Sleep deficiency is a common challenge during pregnancy. Lack of sleep puts pregnant individuals and their fetuses at risk for poorer health outcomes. Pregnancy symptoms are known to be one of the main obstacles that prevent pregnant individuals from getting quality sleep. Mindfulness is a therapeutic practice where individuals focus on their feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations in the present moment. Mindfulness meditation targets emotional and cognitive reactivity, which is a common pathway for developing depression and insomnia symptoms. Mindfulness-based interventions are known to help with sleep disorders, but little research has been conducted in regards to the possible relationship between mindfulness and sleep during pregnancy. A cross-sectional study was done to explore the associations amongst sleep hygiene, mood, and mindfulness. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between pregnancy symptoms and morning restfulness in pregnant individuals with insomnia prior to the mindfulness intervention. We are examining the relationships among daily sleep habits, pregnancy symptoms, and quality of sleep in sleep diaries of pregnant individuals with insomnia. Preliminary findings show stronger relations between symptoms of worry and sickness to poorer sleep quality. These preliminary results will better inform mindfulness-intervention design specific to pregnant individuals with insomnia. 

Despite advances in treatment regimens for people living with HIV (PLWH), structural factors like food insecurity and housing inaccessibility continue to impact the populations’ health outcomes. As effective treatments, such as antiretroviral therapy (ART), improve health outcomes of PLWH, a new demographic of aging PLWH emerges. Older PLWH balance typical aging conditions like fragility and inflammation buildup with ART polypharmacy adherence within a complex system of social determinants of health (SDOH). SDOH are societal-driven conditions that impact prospective health outcomes such as race, socioeconomic status, access to adequate, nutritious food and shelter. Food security or the consistent access to sufficient, affordable, and healthy food is an upstream factor that greatly influences inflammation. Specific diet patterns such as high-carb and fat diets can also increase inflammation, in turn affecting health outcomes for aging PLWH. Inflammation induces negative side effects for aging PLWH on ART. Using the data collected from the four-year prospective PROSPER-HIV study, we assess the impact of food insecurity and inflammation on PLWH. We evaluate food insecurity using self-reported questions regarding food access scaled on a 5-point Likert scale. In addition, we assess diet-associated inflammation through a dietitian-led food recall. We hypothesize a strong correlation between food insecurity and aging. We expect the results to show how systemic factors significantly impact the health outcomes of PLWH. The findings have implications for policy development and resource needs for marginalized communities facing food insecurity. Uplifting marginalized communities occurs by identifying research gaps and implementing system-wide policies that address those shortcomings to diminish health disparities and promote health equity.

With advancements in antiretroviral therapy (ART), the prevalence of older people living with HIV (PLWH) continues to rise. Accompanying this increase in life expectancy among PLWH, there has also been subsequent evolving symptomatology. These include an increased burden of age-related comorbidities such as increased fatigue, frailty (i.e., muscle shrinking, weakness, slowness, poor endurance), and a lower sense of perceived well-being (e.g., poor mental health, depression, self-image). Research has demonstrated that physical activity (PA) can reduce some of these symptomatologies, especially those related to physical health. However, the implications of using PA to prevent the evolving symptomatologies of older PLWH are still yet to be explored. This study examines the variability of exercise training responses between men and women with HIV. The study considers multiple scalable data and measurements (e.g., Short Physical Performance Battery, fried frailty criteria, patient health questionnaire-9). Using descriptive analysis, this study provides further insight into the impacts of exercise response for PLWH based on Sex. Sex is likely to influence the physical functioning of PLWH. Data was obtained from the High-Intensity Exercise Study to Attenuate Limitations and Train Habits in Older Adults with HIV (HEALTH). This ongoing study incorporates exercise and biobehavioral coaching interventions to determine the efficacy of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in older PLWH. The HEALTH study involves a randomized trial of 100 older PLWH (≥ 50 years of age) who self-report fatigue and a sedentary lifestyle. Due to the current limitation of sample sizes, the study has been considered with respect to sex-based analyses in the general population. Results of the study is expected to indicate differences in the physical and mental benefits of exercise comparing sex.

The transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) ion channel is a polymodal receptor expressed in sensory neurons that contributes to inflammatory pain sensation. Interestingly, the receptor channel is modulated by specific phosphoinositide lipid molecules in the plasma membrane. During inflammation, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) generates the signaling lipid phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-triphosphate (PIP3). This increase in PIP3 levels leads to trafficking and fusion of vesicles containing TRPV1 with the plasma membrane. Previous research from the Gordon Lab revealed that increased PI3K activity is potentiated by TRPV1 during inflammation. However, the mechanism behind potentiation is undetermined. We hypothesize that stabilized association of PI3K with the plasma membrane by TRPV1 results in increased PI3K activity. To visualize the spatial localization of PI3K and its interaction with TRPV1, we employed a special optical technique called total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM). In TIRFM, selective excitation of fluorophores adjacent to the plasma membrane allows us to study translocation of proteins from the cytosol to the plasma membrane, or vice versa. We utilize TIRFM in conjunction with an opto-PI3K system to better understand PI3K signaling events during inflammation. We transiently transfected F-11 cells, model cells for dorsal root ganglion neurons that sense pain, with fluorescently labeled opto-PI3K system components and TRPV1 ion channels. Our fluorescence measurements show that, upon stimulation with 650 nm light, PI3K is retained at the plasma membrane through interaction with TRPV1. TRPV1 retention of PI3K is direct evidence for the hypothesized mechanism of potentiation through membrane localization. Studying PI3K activity in the prescence of TRPV1 will elucidate key properties of potentiation, such as affinity of the interaction, effects on PI3K activity, and substrate selectivity. These findings will aid in the development of inflammatory pain treatments that disrupt the interaction between PI3K and TRPV1.

Campus safety issues are not typically included in institutional diversity efforts. However, it's important to understand how students with diverse ranges of social identities perceive campus safety; promoting safety should be prioritized. To understand marginalized student perceptions of campus safety and policy, I analyzed focus group transcripts (31 participants) from PNW LSAMP (Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) students and recent alumni from the University of Washington, Washington State University, Oregon State University, Portland State University and Boise State University. Data was coded deductively in NVivo by a pre-determined coding scheme guided by the research question but allowing for inductive coding as other themes emerged. My findings indicate that gender identity has a high impact on perceived safety. Women and non binary individuals tended to discuss feeling uncomfortable in campus areas at night and mentioned taking preventative safety measures like carrying tasers. Participants identified emergency blue lights and safe rides as initiatives which maintained or improved safety feelings. This indicates that on some level, universities are already protecting marginalized students. Little discussion on policy improvement emerged, but instead how universities can use clarity and police presence (or absence) to show students they value their safety. Namely, several Black/African American participants expressed preference for more detailed notifications on how to take action when safety threats are alerted to the university community. Participants generally expressed that police did not improve their safety perceptions or that police presence could detract from other students’ safety depending on their race. These findings suggest that universities are protecting marginalized student safety to some degree. Next steps include clarifying safety notifications, expanding safe ride and emergency blue light operations, and conducting broader surveys on perceptions of campus and municipal police, given police brutality incidents and mixed literature.

Universities hold expectations of students to possess forms of cultural and social capital in order to be successful in their educational careers. This may include knowledge of the financial aid process, an ability to build relationships with faculty, and an understanding of cultural norms of the middle-class. While research shows that underrepresented students may be less likely to possess this capital, institutional expectations regarding social/cultural capital, specifically among first-generation (FG) students, seems largely unexplored in educational research. The goal of our research is to identify the hidden things FG students are expected to learn in higher education, and how they are able to learn those things. We conducted focus groups of students enrolled in LSAMP (a program that supports underrepresented students in STEM) across 5 universities in the Pacific Northwest over Zoom. Our research focuses on how the hidden curriculum, through the lense of cultural norms and the Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), serves as a barrier to self-identified first-generation students in STEM. Focus groups were conducted by LSAMP students across three universities affiliated with LSAMP and researchers at the University of Washington. Focus groups were recorded and transcribed through Zoom, and later coded and analyzed. Our analysis focuses on identifying common barriers among FG STEM students. In our focus groups, FG students spoke about how relationships with faculty and peers were hard to establish because of their FG background, or because of different/potentially intersecting identities, and also how the FAFSA served as a barrier to them. Our findings support the idea that knowledge of the hidden norms and processes may be expected of students by universities, and that FG students may not possess this knowledge. By developing a better understanding of the experiences of FG students with the hidden curriculum, we can better learn how to support these students.

Women fare significantly worse than men when using web-based alcohol interventions. These findings in the civilian population are mirrored among US veterans as evidenced by women veterans experiencing worse outcomes following completion of the VA’s web-based alcohol intervention “VetChange” compared to their male counterparts. Research is needed in order to inform adaptations to the “VetChange” web-based alcohol intervention that improve outcomes for women veterans. This project utilized a “think-aloud” methodology to collect data from women veterans with substance use disorder (SUD) and clinicians treating women veterans with SUD about their opinions of the current “VetChange” program. In accordance with “think-aloud” methodology, researchers observed participants’ use and impressions of VetChange during a period of unstructured access to the website, followed by a semi-structured qualitative interview to gather overall impressions of VetChange and what changes they recommend. Expected results include the ways in which the web-based intervention can improve two specific outcome measures, situational confidence and recovery-related coping behaviors, in order to adequately address women veteran’s SUD. The protocol and eventual data collection are of critical importance given that increasing numbers of women veterans are seeking SUD treatment and women veterans are dying at disproportionately younger ages than their civilian counterparts. Moreover, findings from this project can inform effective web-based interventions for women in the civilian population.

Underlying the mechanism of many biological processes are biomolecules called proteins. Proteins have dynamic 3D structures, fluctuating between an ensemble of different shapes (conformations), which often have varying physical and chemical properties. Thus, to understand how proteins function, we must understand their conformational dynamics: the kinetics and energetics associated with a protein’s conformational landscape. Here, we develop a novel combination of two spectroscopy techniques for probing protein conformational dynamics: single-molecule detection, and transition-metal-ion-fluorescence-resonance-energy-transfer (tmFRET). tmFRET is the distance-dependent transfer of energy between a donor fluorophore and an acceptor transition metal ion, and this phenomenon has previously been used to detect conformational changes in bulk samples of protein. Extending tmFRET to monitor the conformational state of single protein molecules allows us to detect intermediate states that would be averaged out and thus unobservable in bulk samples, as well as measure the rate of conformational state transitions at equilibrium. To achieve single-molecule tmFRET measurements using a maltose binding protein (MBP) model system, we: label MBP with a metal ion at an engineered metal-binding site and with a fluorophore using cysteine-specific chemistry; specifically anchor MBP molecules to a functionalized glass coverslip; and image single MBP molecules using total-internal-reflection-fluorescence microscopy. Finally, we use quantitative image analysis to recover fluorescence parameters that we can interpret in the context of MBP’s previously well-characterized conformational transitions. Preliminary results culminating in movies of individual fluorescent MBP molecules are presented. Overall, this novel combination of tmFRET with single-molecule fluorescence is a powerful new tool for researchers seeking to probe the conformational dynamics of proteins of biological interest.

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) produce motor impairments that have devastating consequences for the independence and quality of life of affected individuals. These impairments result from the weakening of connections between the cerebral cortex and the spinal cord. Therefore, there is an ongoing need to develop interventions that strengthen corticospinal connections post SCI. Our laboratory focuses on a hybrid intervention that combines intraspinal neuromodulator delivery with use-dependent physical rehabilitation, which increases motor performance after SCI. However, the mechanisms behind this recovery remain relatively unexplored. Our project aims to address this knowledge gap by using evoked potentials (EPs) as biomarkers to quantify the strength of neuronal connections. EPs represent electrical responses in the brain to stimuli. Following a stimulus event, measuring the EP amplitude allows us to assess the strength of neuronal connections. For our experiment, we will implant chronic cortical and spinal microwire arrays in adult rats with chronic cervical SCI and conduct weekly recording sessions before, during, and after a 6-week therapy period. We will then compare changes in the size of EPs recorded during these sessions. We will also assess motor recovery through behavioral scores on a forelimb reach-and-grasp task, which the cervical cord injury directly impairs. We hypothesize that our interventions will strengthen corticospinal connections damaged by the injury, as manifested in a correlation between an increase in EP amplitudes and changes in motor performance. Ultimately, results from our experiments will help us understand how physical rehabilitation and targeted delivery of neuromodulators mediate recovery of the damaged central nervous system. We also hope our project will inform future rehabilitation strategies targeting SCI.

In the United States, 296,000 people live with spinal cord injury (SCI)1. SCI is one of the most debilitating neurological conditions due to the crucial role played by the spinal cord in everyday life. The current treatments for SCI involve invasive surgeries, such as spinal laminectomies and decompressions, which are often paired with non-invasive therapies, such as medications and physical rehabilitation. Despite major innovations in medicine, regeneration of central nervous system (CNS) neurons remains challenging. As a result, reorganization and adaptation, promoted by current therapies, play key roles in recovery after CNS damage with physical rehabilitation being the gold standard of treatment after SCI. Recent SCI research in our laboratory has focused on development of neural interfaces for targeted, intraspinal delivery of plasticity-enhancing neuromodulators, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and serotonin. In these experiments, neuromodulator delivery was paired with use-dependent physical rehabilitation on a forelimb reach-and-grasp behavior that is directly impaired by the cervical SCI. We found that our combined intervention promoted greater forelimb-motor recovery compared to physical training alone. However, there were variabilities in the recovery profiles across animals with similar injuries within the same intervention group. Low levels of motivation can lead to less engagement in physical therapy and may be contributing to the observed variabilities. The purpose of this study is to assess motivation levels in spinal-cord injured rats to understand how it affects forelimb-motor recovery given our interventions. Motivation levels will be assessed before, during, and after therapy to examine its influence on motor recovery. We will also assess how SCI and motor recovery impact animal motivation. Preliminary analysis in 6 adult female rats, whose motivation levels were compared before and after injury, shows that SCI lowers motivation (t(5) = 3.052, p = .03, paired samples t-test). Experiments in additional rats are currently ongoing.

The brain maintains body weight homeostasis via a tightly regulated neuronal circuitry. Microglia, the innate immune cells of the brain, elicit an inflammatory response that triggers increased food intake and weight gain on a high fat diet. We are curious how microglia regulate the neuronal circuitry to affect food intake and body weight. We have developed a chemogenetic mouse model that expresses a modified Gs-protein-coupled DREADD (Designer Receptor Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs) selectively on microglia. Administration of the ligand Clozapine-N-Oxide (CNO) activates the cyclic AMP signaling cascade in microglia. We have found that CNO administration for three days increases the cytokine IL-1𝞫, and reduces chemotactic signals (P2RY12 and CCL3) and Agouti-Related Peptide (AgRP). AgRP is produced from neurons in the hypothalamus and is responsible for feelings of hunger. I hypothesize that microglial Gs-DREADD activation suppresses AgRP signaling and reduces food intake and body weight. To test this hypothesis, mice expressing the microglial Gs-DREADD (MG Gs-DREADD+) and control littermates (MG Gs-DREADD-) will receive daily intraperitoneal administration of CNO (1 mg/kg), and will be monitored for food intake and body weight for a week. Mice will then be placed on a high fat diet (60% kcal obtained from fat) under daily CNO administration, and will be monitored for food intake and body weight gain for 4 weeks. I hypothesize that MG Gs-DREADD+ mice will show reduced food intake and weight gain on a HFD when compared to MG Gs-DREADD- mice. At the end of the study, I will examine changes in inflammatory mediators and neuropeptides in the hypothalamus of the mice. Overall, this study will help elucidate how microglia alter hunger and satiety signals in the brain to regulate appetite and body weight. Moreover, the ability to modify these signals can help individuals manage their weight and prevent obesity.