TREATING NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE

1. Introduction to Biotechnology (VBS 1001): A Visual Guide to Student Research Presentations Patricia Goodman-Mamula, Ashley Melco, Mackenzie Webster, Martin Wolf and Pam Skinner Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota GENETIC ENGINEERING OF PLANTS FOR EARTH AND MARS TREATING NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE ABSTRACT Students in Introduction to Biotechnology (VBS 1001) spent half of the semester focusing on group research projects aimed at finding feasible solutions to real world problems utilizing biotechnology. The major themes across the presentations were curing disease, food production, and environmental remediation. Approaches ranged from gene therapy to utilizing algae for waste water treatment. One group went to the extreme of proposing bioengineering plants for growth on Mars. Students received feedback from peers and instructors, while also having the opportunity to peer review each other’s projects. This poster utilizes many of the students’ own slides to demonstrate their unique research proposals. The goal of this research project is to perform a mediated conditional knockout of the APOEε4 gene for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease . We plan to study mice who have had their APOEε4 gene eliminated at different ages. The eventual aim of these studies is to reduce brain shrinkage and potentially completely eliminate Alzheimer’s as a brain disease. BIOREMEDIATION LYME DISEASE VACCINE This research aims to answer the question of whether or not algae, given its potential as a biofuel and its other useful properties, can be effective enough in wastewater treatment to be implemented into the world’s water treatment facilities. CANCER THERAPY Acknowledgements: We wish to thank the VBS 1001 spring 2014 class for their thought provoking ideas and enthusiasm. This poster would not have been possible without all their hard work.