On-Campus Research Opportunities

Title Project 1: Assessment of the Nutrition Status of Older Adults

Title Project 2: Assessment of the Nutrition Status of Preschool and School Age Children

My summer research project consists of two focuses. The first research project’s focus will be to conduct nutrition focused physical examinations (NFPE) on adults attending the Arkadelphia Senior Center. We will read research articles on the NFPE, participate in an interactive online training, and then conduct the NFPE assessments. We will also weigh and measure height and calculate BMIs as well as conduct 24-hour dietary recalls and analyze the nutrient intakes of the seniors. The purpose of the research is to collect data on malnutrition in the elderly. All data collected will be entered into an Excel spreadsheet. Comparisons will be made with any existing data found in the literature. A poster of the research will be presented. The second research project will focus on nutrition assessments of children. We will weigh, measure and calculate the body mass indices of children attending all Arkadelphia summer childcare programs. Nutrition education and information will be provided to all children and a time will be set up at each childcare center to provide nutrition information to parents. We will provide weekly nutrition education with food samples and hands-on activities. The primary goal is to compare results of the Arkadelphia children’s nutrition assessments with state and national data. A poster of the research will be presented.

Development of Bright-1 - a Novel Manganese-based MRI Contrast Agent

Gadolinium (Gd)-based MRI contrast agents (GBCAs) are used in clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for cancer detection. However, there are now concerns about the potential long-term toxicity of GBCAs. GBCAs cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), a devastating disorder that affects patients with kidney disease. The FDA has imposed a warning against GBCA use in patients with kidney disease. It has also been discovered that all GBCAs cause accumulation of Gd in the brain and bone, even in patients with normal kidney function. Gd is highly toxic in its free form and in 2017, the FDA announced a new class warning for all GBCAs. The European Medicines Agency has also suspended the marketing authorizations for the 4 GBCAs that are associated with the highest risk of Gd deposition and arguably may have removed all GBCAs had there been a safe, Gd-free alternative. Accumulation of Gd is particularly worrisome for cancer survivors and those at high risk for cancer, e.g. BRCA positive women, who have a likelihood of between 45% to 85% for developing breast cancer in their lifetime. BRCA positive women require regular GBCA-enhanced MRIs for surveillance or screening and may have dozens of MRIs throughout life putting these vulnerable patients at risk. The purpose of this proposed research is to develop a gadolinium-free MRI contrast agent, Bright-1, which should provide similar relaxation rates in vitro to GBCA’s. Therefore, Bright-1 should have similar image contrast to commercial GBCAs in different animal models. Manganese (Mn) injected as Bright-1 should be less toxic and more efficiently eliminated than Gd from GBCAs. The goal of the study is to synthesize, purify, and characterize Bright-1, a novel manganese-based MRI contrast agent, and establish initial T₁ relaxation rates for this novel MRI contrast agent.

Developing Modern Materials for Biomedical Applications

Manipulating macromolecules like chitosan, collagen, dermatan sulfate, and hyaluronic acid can yield various constructs including nanofibers which have shown promise as tissue scaffolds and drug delivery vehicles. However, little research has been published on the utilization of synthetic analogs to costly biomolecules. The long-term goal of this project is to generate a better understanding of natural polymer-based wound healing materials and the hemostatic capabilities of and cellular responses towards these materials for implementation in biomedical applications. Now that several collagen synthetic analogs have been prepared in our lab, the next step towards this goal is to observe and compare biological responses towards scaffolds prepared from these synthetic analogs. Over this summer, our lab will continue to produce bioresponsive scaffolds containing a novel synthetic collagen analog and we will focus on observing cellular responses to and hemostatic capabilities of these scaffolds. Studies will specifically observe cell viability, proliferation, adhesion, morphology, and spreading. We will also continue to incorporate proteins or small molecule therapeutics into our novel nanofiber mats and will observe the release rates of the payloads from these mats. Additionally, we will continue to explore and characterize degradable nanofiber mats with the potential to further explore the release of small drug molecules from innately therapeutic electrospun scaffolds.

I am interested in studying sex differences in zebrafish. I also teach Neurobiology, the study of nervous system anatomy and expanded understanding of higher order brain functions in humans. I’m interested in the overlap between sex differences and neuroanatomy. Several papers have described interesting sex differences in brain biology in humans, while not much has been studied in zebrafish. I am pursuing a line of research in neurodevelopment and sex differences. I use various histological staining techniques to investigate zebrafish nervous system differences between males and females. The ultimate goal is to better understand sex-specific differences in biology that may underly differences in adverse drug responses, efficacy, or other related sex-differences in human health.

My lab focuses on developing electrochemical biosensors to enhance the understanding and diagnosis of diseases such as breast cancer and preterm birth. Additionally, we study the mechanisms of various redox reporters and their roles in biosensor design. Students will gain hands-on experience with electrochemical techniques, apply them to biological systems, and present their research at the ACS national meeting.

Using quantitative PCR to determineGordonia terrae infection by bacteriophage Ruthy

The Plymale lab studies microbial ecology—the interactions between microbes. This project will continue characterizing interactions between Gordonia bacteriophage Ruthy and its host bacterium, Gordonia terrae CAG3. Ruthy infection has been shown to stimulate growth of G. terrae CAG3. Students working on this project will use quantitative PCR to track pools of uninfected host cells, lysogens, and virions at specific time points in a G. terrae-Ruthy growth curve.

Development of eDNA resources for endangered fish

Students will collect environmental samples, develop genetic primers, and run genetic analyses to help in identifying the distribution of two endangered species of fish, the Caddo madtom and the Ouachita madtom. Students will learn how to extract DNA from water and tissue samples, develop polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers for use in qPCR analyses, perform PCR and qPCR, run agarose gels, and analyze genetic data. The resources developed by students will be used in the conservation and management of endangered madtoms in Arkansas.

Evaluation of breeding birds at Big Timber Wildlife Management Area (WMA)

A student will perform bird surveys as part of an ongoing project into the habitat use and diversity of birds at Big Timber WMA near Gurdon. The student will visit 100 locations within the WMA and identify all of the birds they see or hear within a 10-minute count window. The data gathered will be compared with surveys done in summer 2024 at the same locations to assess the abundance and diversity of birds using different forest habitats at Big Timber. This project will provide students with the opportunity to gain valuable research experience in both field-based and data analysis techniques.

Pine Tree aging for Red Cockaded Woodpecker Nesting

The red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) is a federally listed threatened species found in the southeastern United States including in Arkansas (USFWS 1979). The species is a habitat specialist breeding only in mature open pine forests. They only select trees that are greater than 80 years old for excavation (Rudolph and Conner 1991).

One of the strategies for recovery is reintroducing the species into suitable habitats where they once occurred (Rudolph et al. 1992). Red-cockaded woodpeckers were known to breed in a 915 ha portion of the WMA where older, open pine forests were found. For the site to be selected by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a location for reintroduction, the ages of the large trees within the Demo Area need to be assessed.

Other Research Opportunities involve the Further Study of Differing Light Intensities on Spirulina / Arthrospira platensis Growth and Differing Light and Gravity Conditions on the Development of Dictyostelium discoideum and Physarum polycephalum and The Effect of Gibberellic Acid (GA₃) Applied to the Leaves of Brassica rapa.