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Biology and chemistry students publish articles on Parkinson’s disease
First research team worldwide to use fission yeast model to study a neurological disease
Lake Forest, Ill. (July 7, 2006) - Simple yeasts that help make the bread we eat are also providing important clues into the mysteries of Parkinson’s disease, the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the United States after Alzheimer’s disease.
Two studies conducted by nine undergraduate biology and chemistry students and Assistant Professor of Biology Shubhik DebBurman found that yeasts are an effective way to learn more about Parkinson’s, which could lead to the discovery of new drugs to treat or cure a disease that afflicts 1.5 million Americans. The studies, published together in the latest issue of the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, also highlight the strength of an undergraduate biology research program producing work that is traditionally conducted in teaching hospitals and major research universities who employ graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Professor DebBurman and the students are among a small group of scientists who began to use yeasts rather than common research animals like mice and flies to study diseases that affect the human brain. Yeasts share a similarity with humans in the mechanisms used to make proteins, which has provided an effective way to study alpha-synuclein, the protein that causes Parkinson’s disease. Professor DebBurman began this unconventional research approach after receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Campbell Foundation seven years ago.
Both studies demonstrate new evidence about the mechanism by which the protein that causes Parkinson’s disease loses its healthy shape and how it can gain the toxic properties needed to kill cells.
The first study* looked at why brain cells die in people who have Parkinson’s disease and found evidence in yeast cells that the combination of the protein alpha-synuclein and harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species may be what kills brain cells. Nijee Sharma ’04 and Katrina Brandis ’06 served as lead authors, and co-authors included Brandon Johnson ’03, Sara Herrera ’05, Tulaza Vaidya ’07, Ruja Shrestha ’07, and Professor DebBurman.
In the second study**, the students used a fission yeast model to study the disease. As the first lab to publish research using this kind of yeast, their findings support test-tube research on proteins and demonstrate how yeast is an effective way to study Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases. Brandis also served as lead author on the second study, along with co-authors Samantha England ’04, Isaac Holmes ’05, Nijee Sharma ’04, Lokesh Kukreja ’08, and Professor DebBurman.
Lake Forest undergraduate biology and chemistry students have the opportunity to work closely with professors in laboratories that are outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment and to conduct research that often leads to published articles and presentations at conferences. All of the students involved with this research are planning or have begun to pursue biomedical careers as future physicians and scientists.
For more information on the studies or the College’s biology program, contact Lindsay Beller at 847-735-5019.
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*Sharma, Nijee; Brandis, Katrina A.; Herrera, Sara K.; Johnson, Brandon E.; Vaidya, Tulaza; Shrestha, Ruja, and DebBurman, Shubhik K. Alpha-SYNUCLEIN BUDDING YEAST MODEL: Toxicity Enhanced By Impaired Proteasome and Oxidative Stress. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience 28, 171-178.
**Brandis, Katrina A.; Holmes, Isaac F.; England, Samantha J.; Sharma, Nijee; Kukreja, Lokesh; DebBurman, Shubhik K. Alpha-SYNUCLEIN FISSION YEAST MODEL: Concentration-Dependent Aggregation Without Membrane Localization or Toxicity. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience 28, 179-192.
Two studies conducted by nine undergraduate biology and chemistry students and Assistant Professor of Biology Shubhik DebBurman found that yeasts are an effective way to learn more about Parkinson’s, which could lead to the discovery of new drugs to treat or cure a disease that afflicts 1.5 million Americans. The studies, published together in the latest issue of the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, also highlight the strength of an undergraduate biology research program producing work that is traditionally conducted in teaching hospitals and major research universities who employ graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Professor DebBurman and the students are among a small group of scientists who began to use yeasts rather than common research animals like mice and flies to study diseases that affect the human brain. Yeasts share a similarity with humans in the mechanisms used to make proteins, which has provided an effective way to study alpha-synuclein, the protein that causes Parkinson’s disease. Professor DebBurman began this unconventional research approach after receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Campbell Foundation seven years ago.
Both studies demonstrate new evidence about the mechanism by which the protein that causes Parkinson’s disease loses its healthy shape and how it can gain the toxic properties needed to kill cells.
The first study* looked at why brain cells die in people who have Parkinson’s disease and found evidence in yeast cells that the combination of the protein alpha-synuclein and harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species may be what kills brain cells. Nijee Sharma ’04 and Katrina Brandis ’06 served as lead authors, and co-authors included Brandon Johnson ’03, Sara Herrera ’05, Tulaza Vaidya ’07, Ruja Shrestha ’07, and Professor DebBurman.
In the second study**, the students used a fission yeast model to study the disease. As the first lab to publish research using this kind of yeast, their findings support test-tube research on proteins and demonstrate how yeast is an effective way to study Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases. Brandis also served as lead author on the second study, along with co-authors Samantha England ’04, Isaac Holmes ’05, Nijee Sharma ’04, Lokesh Kukreja ’08, and Professor DebBurman.
Lake Forest undergraduate biology and chemistry students have the opportunity to work closely with professors in laboratories that are outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment and to conduct research that often leads to published articles and presentations at conferences. All of the students involved with this research are planning or have begun to pursue biomedical careers as future physicians and scientists.
For more information on the studies or the College’s biology program, contact Lindsay Beller at 847-735-5019.
###
*Sharma, Nijee; Brandis, Katrina A.; Herrera, Sara K.; Johnson, Brandon E.; Vaidya, Tulaza; Shrestha, Ruja, and DebBurman, Shubhik K. Alpha-SYNUCLEIN BUDDING YEAST MODEL: Toxicity Enhanced By Impaired Proteasome and Oxidative Stress. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience 28, 171-178.
**Brandis, Katrina A.; Holmes, Isaac F.; England, Samantha J.; Sharma, Nijee; Kukreja, Lokesh; DebBurman, Shubhik K. Alpha-SYNUCLEIN FISSION YEAST MODEL: Concentration-Dependent Aggregation Without Membrane Localization or Toxicity. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience 28, 179-192.
