My Portfolio
OVX Mouse Model – Postmenopausal women are at an increased risk for heart failure due to the depletion of estrogen. Heart failure is commonly viewed as a cardiovascular condition, but it also affects other systems of the body including the gut microbiome, a diverse community of microorganisms living in the digestive tract. In this study, we explored how heart failure affects the gut microbiome in female mice that have had their ovaries removed. To investigate this connection, we studied four groups of female mice (1) a healthy control, (2) mice that had their ovaries removed, (3) mice with induced heart failure, and (4) mice with both induced heart failure and ovariectomy. Fecal samples were collected, DNA was extracted and sequenced on the Oxford Nanopore MinION. Samples were assembled and annotated against the NCBI-nr reference database. We analyzed the taxonomic composition and the function of the gut microbiome using the MEGAN 6 software, which allowed us to identify what microbes are present and what they might be doing.
MEEMA Project - Obesity is a significant public health problem in America that has a high prevalence in both adults and children. One contributing factor to weight gain for women is pregnancy. Furthermore, women who breastfeed are more susceptible to rapid bone loss but to hyperprolactinemia, amenorrhea and increased bone turnover, especially in the lumbar spine and hip. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, and to continue to up to 12 months. Benefits from breastfeeding affect both the mother and the child. Breastfeeding helps reduce long term weight retention from pregnancy and reduces the risk of childhood obesity. While bone loss during lactation is usually reversed with weaning, not all women recover from the bone loss which increases the risk of osteoporosis later in life. An intervention of weight bearing exercise and dairy intake (milk, yogurt, cheese) plus vitamin D supplementation may provide some protection from bone loss.
Portable VO2 Max Mask Project – VO₂ max is a critical measure of cardiovascular fitness, representing the maximum amount of oxygen the body can utilize during intense exercise. Despite its importance to sports coaches, athletes, and researchers, current VO₂ max testing equipment is often expensive and confined to stationary setups in labs or gyms. There is a lack of affordable, portable solutions that can be used in real-world environments. This project aims to develop a cost-effective, portable VO₂ max mask—making advanced fitness testing more accessible and versatile.
Bat Gut Microbiome – Bats' nocturnal behavior and high metabolic rate enable them to rapidly alter their gut microbiome, potentially shedding its entire composition within a single day. To investigate these dynamics, fecal samples from captive laboratory bats were collected, and DNA was extracted and sequenced using the Oxford Nanopore MinION. Samples were divided into two groups based on collection time—day vs. night—and analyzed for taxonomic shifts in microbial composition.
