Author: jfavors7

2025 Cohort, Michigan State University – Dr. Anne Bronikowski’s

Understanding DNA Damage and Repair Capacity: My Summer Studying Aging as an IISAGE REU

My name is Kendra Guitar, I am a senior biology major at Kalamazoo College who had the opportunity to work in the Bronikowski lab this summer under the IISAGE REU program. My interest in understanding how biology at the smallest level can present itself in such apparent phenotypes, like aging, drew me to apply for the IISAGE program.
My research focused on analyzing DNA damage and repair capacity using the Comet Assay technique. Increased accumulation of damaged DNA and decreased repair efficiency is one of the underlying hallmarks of aging. Therefore, we can study repair efficiency to understand how the decreased efficiency with age leads to the aging phenotype. In addition, we compared repair ability in two different cell types with two different preservations: peripheral blood mononuclear cells and red blood cells, both freshly collected and slow frozen for preservation were analyzed.

Our research found different results than those anticipated. In previous studies, researchers found cells in the repair treatment group had lower DNA damage than those in the damage treatment group. Yet, in our studies the cells showed continued damage in the repair groups. With this, we believe cells have a DNA damage threshold in which they are no longer able to repair themselves.
Looking back, this experience widened my skill set and allowed me to gain knowledge on a variety of biological topics as well as useful lab techniques and skills that will be carried into my future work. I became skilled in the comet assay protocol, learned how to analyze data, and how to properly create a write up to summarize my findings. In addition, I developed organization expertise and mastered reading scientific papers.
Going forward, this experience will make me a well-rounded and qualified applicant for graduate school.

2025 Cohort, Cornell University – Dr. Duan’s Lab

Stem Cells and Self-Discovery: A Summer in the Duan Lab

My name is Hannah Rams, and I attend Cornell University. As a rising junior majoring in Animal Science with a concentration in Veterinary Medicine, I had come to the realization that a lot of my hands-on experience only surrounded the “patient-care” side of animal medicine – I had no idea what the “behind the scenes” efforts looked like. Through talking with my advisor, I came to learn about the IISAGE REU Program. I have always had a broad interest in genetics and genomics, so when I heard that my own advisor’s lab, the Duan Lab, was a part of this opportunity, I immediately jumped on board.
The goal of my research project was to better understand how pluripotency differs between male and female bovine embryonic stem cells (bESCs). In other words, embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are prized for their ability to self-renew and differentiate into any cell type found in the adult body, making it a valuable tool. My focus was rooted in trying to better understand how the embryonic stem cells’ ability to differentiate changes based on the sex of the cell. Several studies have also been conducted regarding how X-chromosome dosage compensation is speculated to contribute to the sex-differences found in ESCs.

There is a gap in knowledge when it comes to livestock ESC, as the main models are humans and mice, which is why I thought this particular objective was interesting. Over the course of this program, I had learned how to culture cells, run PCR and qPCR, conduct AP staining, and how to design primers. In order to answer my objective, I used two reference genes (GAPDH and B-Actin), and five target genes (DDX3Y, XIST, Sox 2, Oct 4, Nanog). Through my experiment, I learned that the sex of embryonic stem cells can be validated by XIST and DDX3Y. The analyzed data also revealed that of all the target genes tested, only Sox 2 showed a significant difference in expression between males and females.

Through this experience, I have developed an appreciation for lab work, and a deeper understanding about the importance of IISAGE’s focus. Experiments similar to the one I performed can be used to help investigate the dynamics of sex differences during development, aging and disease progression. Despite having been extremely nervous about not having much experience prior to starting this program, my mentors have guided me every step of the way, facilitating a warm and welcoming learning environment. This experience had pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me grow into a more capable and confident individual. Although learning something new can be quite daunting, the IISAGE REU program, Dr. Ellie Duan, and Dr. Meihong Shi have helped make this experience a magnificent one!

2025 Cohort, The University of Maryland, College Park – Dr. Wilkinson’s Lab

Nocturnal Insights: My Summer Experience in Aging Research

Hello! My name is Saffron Nizza, and I’m a senior biochemistry major at the University of Maryland, College Park. This summer, I had the chance to work in the Wilkinson Lab to collect and test bat samples. I’ve always found genetics to be a fascinating field of study, particularly in its significant role in aging research. When I heard about the IISAGE REU program, I thought it was an amazing opportunity to learn more about my topics of interest and to gain valuable hands-on experience in research overall. This summer, my goal was to find sex and age differences in a urinary DNA damage biomarker in greater spear-nosed bats using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Before I began processing samples, I hypothesized that this biomarker, 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), would increase with age and that the trend between sexes was unpredictable. While the data is preliminary, statistically significant interactions between sex and age were found. Urinary 8-OHdG concentrations seemed to increase early in life, and decrease later in life, fitting an inverse parabolic curve for both male and female greater-spear nosed bats, with males having a peak in concentration earlier in life than females. If these trends were to hold under other multiple controlled variables, such as other bat species, environmental surroundings, and bat behavior, 8-OHdG could become a reliable metric for aging.

While I thoroughly enjoyed participating in this program this past summer, it did not go by without challenging experiences. I learned that research is not a straightforward path, and it is important to develop skills in problem-solving, collaboration, and perseverance. You may not always succeed immediately, but staying determined is well worth it to contribute to impactful research. In regard to the future, this program has provided me with valuable experience that I can carry forward into prospective research or scientific fields beyond research. I’d like to thank the IISAGE REU program, as well as my mentors, Dr. Wilkinson and affiliated graduate students, for giving me the opportunity to explore research and for guiding me through my first research experience. 

2025 Cohort, The University of Alabama at Birmingham – Dr. Riddle’s Lab

Fly‑by Summer: How Drosophila Led My Summer Research 

This Summer, I received the opportunity to join the IISAGE Undergraduate research experience in Dr. Riddle’s Lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). As an incoming transfer student at UAB, I believed that this opportunity would allow me to make connections and become familiar with campus relations at UAB. I knew that I aspired to research genetics and biological relationships, and this undergraduate opportunity would help me navigate my future field.  

In the lab, I began working with Drosophila melanogaster, or the common fruit fly. These organisms are a great model species to research, as they are easy to care for and generally have quick lifespans and generation time. My goal was to prepare a gene knock down, silencing a target gene and observing the efficiency of the knock down via reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (rt-qPCR). To prepare a stock for a gene knock-down, I had to backcross our parent lineages to the yellow white (yw) homozygous recessive genotype. This would allow me to accurately view the effects of a gene-specific knock down.  

My day-to-day began by caring for our flies, creating new stocks and setting up a backcross for my experiment. I collected young flies and placed them in bottles with their desired mates to create our backcrossed offspring. Viewing the generations over time and noticing the small changes in phenotype was very intriguing. Once I had a large enough stock size, I began performing PCR on a temperature gradient to find the ideal annealing temperatures for our target genes. By the end of the experience, I had successfully backcrossed our parent lines and grown their stock to a large enough size to collect tissue samples.  

Overall, the IISAGE REU provided me with lab skills and experience working in a research environment – which was exactly what I needed. I got comfortable with collaborating with other researchers in the lab space and organizing my own experiments. I also gained the ability to analyze scientific literature that applies to our field, providing me with a stronger foundation for my future course-load and career pursuits. The IISAGE Undergraduate research experience was the perfect introduction to my major-specific classes and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  

2025 Cohort, The Buck Institute – Dr. Webb’s Lab

Jumping into Mouse Metabolism: A Journey into Aging Research

Aging is inevitable for most organisms, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it. My name is Ashley Liao, and I am a microbiology and immunology major and psychology minor entering my fourth year at the University of California, Merced. I’ve always been curious about the world, but my interests have shifted over the years, being shaped by my experiences in the lab, classes, and life.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a joint hallmark of aging and many illnesses. This summer, we aimed to understand how mitochondrial function in mouse flexor digitorum brevis, a foot muscle involved in postural stability, differs with age and sex. We assessed mitochondrial content and expression of proteins involved in the electron transport chain (ETC) of 3-month and 24-month-old male and female C57BL/6 mice using qPCR and Western blot.

Our results suggest that mitochondrial content increases with age, supporting our hypothesis that declining mitochondrial function triggers compensatory mitochondrial biogenesis, which increases mitochondrial content. Additionally, the expression of ETC complexes I and IV did not significantly differ with age or sex. This indicates that mitochondrial dysfunction is not strictly due to differences in the rate-limiting steps of the ETC and there may be other factors driving the differences in mitochondrial content and overall function, such as ATP demand or mitochondrial dynamics.

IISAGE has enabled me to grow both as a scientist and as a person, providing wonderful mentorship and opportunities to expand my knowledge of aging research and potential career paths. Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to meet and connect with individuals at the Buck Institute. I look forward to taking these experiences and skills with me as I take the next steps in my journey.

I would like to thank the IISAGE team for allowing me to take part in the REU, Jordan Favors for coordinating the program, my fellow REU students who took part in similar journeys alongside me, and my PI Dr. Ashley Webb, mentor Dr. Angelina Holcom, the Webb Lab, Senior Program Manager Dr. Gregory Chin, and Summer Scholars for all of their guidance and support at the Buck Institute.

2025 Cohort, The University of Alabama at Birmingham – Dr. Riddle’s Lab

Working with Drosophila: My First Undergrad Research Experience

As someone who didn’t know what they wanted to do in biology, getting the chance to do undergraduate research at UAB through the REU program was a blessing . My fascination with how life worked can be seen in genetics, which the Riddle lab specialized in. I finally realized I could turn my passion for nature into a career through biology. With my senior year upon me, I wanted to get some work experience. I was a bit unsure about grad school, so working in a lab would be a great place to start.

         Working under a graduate mentor, I did my work in the Riddle Lab to figure out why male and female fruit flies age differently. Female flies typically live longer than males, but we don’t know why. I was focusing on looking at the RNA of fly tissues to see how it changed with age. RNA is a molecule that transports and reads out the information on DNA to be made into a protein. The work I did included sorting flies by sex, dissecting flies, and isolating RNA from samples using a kit. I also got to do simpler things like making fly food and washing vials. The variety of activities kept my workdays dynamic. I also learned to code in RStudio, which was the most challenging. I read a lot of papers on topics related to my project too. I spent most of my time in the lab optimizing[AF3]  the protocol for getting quality RNA, which involved a lot of trial and error when developing a good dissection procedure and isolating RNA. I mostly spent my time finding the best way to do those things, in other words. Getting to make a poster for the 2025 UAB Expo and IISAGE REU Expo was also new and fun, and I’m grateful to my coworkers for giving me feedback.

I also learned things other than science, like improving teamwork. Likewise, I learned how to better accept criticism. I also learned a valuable lesson about science and research: you don’t always get answers to your questions; let alone the answers you were expecting. Science is all about asking questions to learn more about things, and while in my project I couldn’t sequence the RNA from my samples, I did optimize the protocol for getting good quality RNA that was ready for sequencing. That’s the other thing about science: Sometimes you are left with more questions than answers, and sometimes what you learn along the way wasn’t exactly what you were aiming to learn. I learned quite a lot from this experience, and it ignited my fascination with grad school even more. I enjoyed working with animals, but the genetics part wasn’t as interesting to me. I am sure now that I want to do grad school, but more with wildlife ecology and conservation. Genetics is still confusing for me.

2025 Cohort, Brown University – Dr. Larschan’s Lab

Studying RNA-Protein Interactions to Characterize Equitable Gene Expression: A Reflection

My name is Vivian Chute, and I am an incoming sophomore at Brown University. At Brown, I am concentrating in Biophysics, and hope to continue to graduate school in biology, physics, or medicine. I was drawn to this program because of the opportunity to engage in a newer and more niche form of biology research and the ability to connect with people across the country working with IISAGE.

This summer I worked in the Larschan Lab on RNA-Protein interactions in the dosage compensation complex (DCC) of Drosophila melanogaster. The DCC is responsible for dosage compensation, the equalization of X-linked gene expression across sexes, which is important to understand because of its ties to aneuploid diseases and use as a model for studying gene expression patterns. My mentor, a PhD student in the lab, and I used techniques such as protein purification, in vitro transcription, and MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) to test the interactions between RNA on the X2 (roX2), a long noncoding RNA, and Chromatin-Linked Adapter for MSL Proteins (CLAMP), a pioneer transcription factor, both found in the DCC.

Using MST, which tests the binding between two molecules, we were able to find new insights regarding the interactions between roX2 and CLAMP in Drosophila. We found a specific region on roX2 that binds to CLAMP extremely well, which may indicate an important region in the in vivo mechanism of dosage compensation, and proved that both zinc finger domains on CLAMP are necessary for proper binding to roX2. These results, and future research, will help to propose a comprehensive mechanism for dosage compensation. 

This summer I learned a lot, both about my project and larger scientific themes. I learned how to persist through challenges – like malformed proteins, experiments that took days to work, and bad yields – and when to stay late to get something done or leave early and prevent burnout. I learned how to read scientific papers well, approach research questions, and most importantly how to collaborate with the amazing scientists around me. I had a great time working with my mentor and the lab in general, and hope to continue working at the Larschan Lab during my time at Brown. 

This experience showed me all the different ways that science is used throughout life and a variety of careers and how I can keep research an important part of my academics and future plans. 

I’d like to thank my mentor, Isabelle Pilo, Dr. Erica Larschan and all lab members, Jordan Favors and the IISAGE team, and the National Science Foundation for funding the REU program.

2025 Cohort, The University of Alabama at Birmingham – Dr. Riddle’s Lab

Uncovering the Role of p53 in Aging: My First Dive into Scientific Research 

Hello, my name is Luther Williams, and I am an Incoming Freshman at University of Alabama at Birmingham with hopes of majoring in Biomedical Science with aspirations of going to medical school one day. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been intrigued with science so that created a desire for me to pursue this REU opportunity of studying about aging with zero lab time. I was ready to soak in as much as possible and assist in any way necessary. 

For this summer, our group examined sex-differentiated aging profiles of activity of a tumor suppressor protein p53 using a model organism of fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster. Although p53 is well known with DNA repair activity as well as with induction of apoptosis, its activity towards aging—particularly in male as well as female flies—had not been understood clearly. Our goal was to determine whether or not p53 knockdown would create a differential effect towards aging as well as DNA repair for both sexes. 

We analyzed gene expression at the mRNA level with qPCR, p53 protein with Western blot, and DNA repair function with comet assay. We further intended to pursue RNA-seq and ATAC-seq to investigate gene expression as well as entire chromatin accessibility for young and older flies.

One of our earliest intuitions from our first datasets was that DNA repair function was substantially more attenuated after p53 downregulation in older females than in males. Although harder analysis would be required to establish this assertion, this would suggest sex-specific weaknesses of genomic maintenance with age that would be relevant for understanding susceptibility of age-associated disease. Aside from learning about science, this activity revealed much about the research process—and about myself. There were instances where I erred, felt insecure about my capability, or felt overwhelmed. Yet, soon enough, I realized that

erring is part of science. That doesn’t signify you are not passing; it simply means you are learning. My mentor was very patient as well as supportive, urging me continuously to pose questions, be analytical, as well as have faith in the process. 

Summer highlights were groupwork. Even though you were given individual projects, you were not alone once you were with your lab. Every person in your lab was a teamplayer who took you into their group. Being with a group of people where each one’s contribution counted for each of them inspired you. 

The past has only solidified more my passion for performing biomedical research as well as provided a boost of confidence to take challenges in situations where I am not quite prepared for. For me, research is no more an activity for “experts only,” but a learning place, thinking place, as well as problem-solving place. 

I would like to express a thank you to both the REU program, my great mentor, as well as our benefactors for making this a reality. Thank you for all that I’ve learned—and am more eagerly awaiting what’s next.

2025 Cohort, Brown University – Dr. Larschan’s Lab

My First Research Experience: IISAGE Summer 2025

Hello everyone! My name is Romer, I’m a rising junior studying Computational Biology at Brown University from Silver Spring, Maryland. This summer, I had the opportunity to do research in the Larschan Lab at Brown as part of the iiSAGE program. 

This summer, I worked on a project that combined my interests in computer science and biology. I built different machine and deep learning models to predict the presence of a DNA motif related to dosage compensation in Drosophila. Using lab generated data from ChIP-seq and micro-c experiments, my models were able to learn important relationships between the input data and motif presence across the X chromosome. 

Coming into the program, I was, admittedly, a bit nervous. I had no prior research experience, and although I had some computer science and biology knowledge from previous classes, I had never combined the two in a research setting. However, everybody in the lab was very welcoming, approachable, and eager to help me learn and get adjusted to the new environment. Not only did I learn what working in research meant, but I also learned how to communicate scientific findings with others, read scientific papers effectively, and work as a team towards a common goal.

The highlight of the summer was definitely being able to present my findings to my peers at the iiSAGE virtual expo, as well as at Brown’s Summer Research Symposium. I created a poster with the help of mentors in my lab and was able to share what I found during my research, as well as hear about everybody else’s work. It was very interesting to hear about the different ways people were researching sex differences in aging, and the whole experience was very fulfilling and rewarding.

I had a great time conducting research for the first time, and it is because of this program that I am now considering research as a possible career in the future. To everyone involved in the IISAGE program: thank you for this opportunity! I learned so much and made great connections with other scientists in the field I hope to one day go into. If other prospective applicants are reading this, I highly encourage you to apply and make the most of it! It was a great experience and I am very grateful. Thank you!