Friday, August 8, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Policy

UT Arlington student links worm behavior to brain disease

April 30, 2024
in Policy
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Hannah Selvarathinam
66
SHARES
600
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

As an undergraduate student in The University of Texas at Arlington’s Honors College, Hannah Selvarathinam knew she wanted to conduct research. Near the end of her first year at UTA, the Keller native reached out to the lab of biology Assistant Professor Piya Ghose.

Hannah Selvarathinam

Credit: photo courtesy UT Arlington

As an undergraduate student in The University of Texas at Arlington’s Honors College, Hannah Selvarathinam knew she wanted to conduct research. Near the end of her first year at UTA, the Keller native reached out to the lab of biology Assistant Professor Piya Ghose.

“Hannah has been a very impressive scholar from Day 1,” Ghose said. “She had the foresight to reach out for research opportunities very early on.”

Ghose brought Selvarathinam in to work on one of the lab’s core projects related to the genetics of cell death, modeled in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. Selvarathinam’s work eventually led to her honors thesis, focused on brain health and behavior. The result is a new peer-reviewed publication detailing the genes affecting worm behavior that also are relevant to neurological disease in humans.

“Through combing the literature and discussing her findings with me, she was able to make connections between the genes she was already studying as part of her cell biology project with her undergraduate psychology major and interests in human health,” Ghose said. “Hannah drove this project and regularly communicated with me for guidance and to share her exciting results. She took on the brave task of adapting and optimizing a published behavioral protocol for her project, which is exceptional for such a young trainee.”

For her study, Selvarathinam leveraged the fact that worms have similarities in their genes to humans and predictable behaviors that are easy to study. She proceeded to optimize an experi-mental protocol that aimed to link the mental illness schizophrenia to neurodegenerative disease using worm behavior.

“Normally, worms spend much of their time eating. But if they are interrupted by physical insult, they briefly stop in a manner similar to the startle response in humans,” Selvarathinam said.

Schizophrenia has similar symptoms, and one hallmark is abnormal reactivity to a continued stimulus. Essentially, individuals with the illness take longer to become accustomed to a stimulus than those without.

“What we found in our study is that healthy worms, as expected, momentarily stopped eating when they were exposed to a stimulus, but soon continued to eat again,” Selvarathinam explained. “But for worms with mutations in many of the neurodegeneration genes, such as with those related to hereditary spastic paraplegia and Alzheimer’s disease, they continued to eat even after being exposed to the stimulus, which shows a heightened startle response.

“Our publication adds another building block to our understanding of brain disease in the hopes of finding a cure and also highlights C.elegans as a powerful model organism to pursue this goal.”

After completing her honors thesis and graduating in winter 2022, Selvarathinam began working as a technician in Ghose’s lab while preparing applications for medical school. She’s now on track with another peer-reviewed publication for work she has done assisting on one of the lab’s cell death projects.

“My research experience complements my goal to practice medicine by teaching me many transferable skills, such as reading scientific literature and applying my knowledge to solve problems and answer interesting questions,” Selvarathinam said. “I am grateful for the opportunities I have had at UTA and for the chance to work with the Ghose Lab team. I am also thankful to the Honors College for its wonderful capstone project program. I encourage students to reach out to professors and seek out research opportunities here at UTA.”



DOI

10.17912/micropub.biology.000897

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

Neurodegeneration-related genes influence C. elegans pharyngeal activity

Article Publication Date

13-Mar-2024

COI Statement

PG is funded by a Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Recruitment Award (RR100091) and a National Institutes of Health-National Institute of General Medical Sciences Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) (R35GM142489).

Share26Tweet17
Previous Post

The question for online educational platforms: offer courses following a schedule or release them on demand?

Next Post

NYUAD researchers harness the power of the Webb telescope to discover thick, dusty clouds on “nightside” of giant exoplanet

Related Posts

blank
Policy

Illinois Tech Showcases Nation-Leading Energy Innovation at EV Readiness Community Awards

August 7, 2025
blank
Policy

Navigating the Future: A Thoughtful Strategy for Governing Emerging Quantum Technologies

August 7, 2025
blank
Policy

Emerald Publishing Enhances Research Integrity with Dimensions Author Integration

August 6, 2025
blank
Policy

NTU and NUS Strengthen Collaboration by Sharing Advanced Research Facilities to Propel Scientific Innovation in Singapore

August 6, 2025
blank
Policy

Key Traits Shared by Scientists Achieving Remarkable Early-Career Citation Success

August 6, 2025
blank
Policy

Survey Reveals Limited Public Support for Federal Reforms in Child Health Programs

August 6, 2025
Next Post
Figure 1

NYUAD researchers harness the power of the Webb telescope to discover thick, dusty clouds on “nightside” of giant exoplanet

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27531 shares
    Share 11009 Tweet 6881
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    942 shares
    Share 377 Tweet 236
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    641 shares
    Share 256 Tweet 160
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    506 shares
    Share 202 Tweet 127
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    310 shares
    Share 124 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • Discovering a Phage to Combat Drug-Resistant Bacteria
  • Deep Learning Enhances Pediatric MRI Image Quality
  • Metabolic Constraints Shape Fish Habitat Predictions
  • Nassau Grouper Faces Extinction at Glover’s Atoll

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,858 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading