This piece was written with the Korea Society, and published with the Korea Economic Institute of America. Link here.
Abstract South Korea aspires to achieve the status of a global vaccine hub as a national strategic policy priority. South Korea’s biomanufacturing industry has ramped up the development and production of therapeutic treatments and vaccines to meet the public health demands of the pandemic. The government has responded by promoting public-private partnerships to expand vaccine production capacity to meet current and future needs domestically and abroad in LMICs. To bolster this strategy, the government has entered into partnerships with international organizations, namely the WHO, ADB, and IVI, by establishing training hub programs for a global biomanufacturing workforce in 2022. This paper examines South Korea’s mechanisms and strategy towards becoming a vaccine hub, the origins of which predate the Covid-19 pandemic but were again spurred by vaccine nationalism and challenges to access early in the pandemic. The F1Doctors the first national, student-led peer mentorship platform created with the goals of providing personalized mentorship and community for international pre-health students. This poster studies the F1 platform users and how mentorship impact the experience of pre-health international students in the US. Link here.
Whole‐blood dysregulation of actin‐cytoskeleton pathway in adult spinal muscular atrophy patients6/17/2020
This project and paper were created in the Swoboda laboratory. To access the full paper, please click here.
Abstract Recent advances in therapeutics have improved prognosis for severely affected spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 and 2 patients, while the best method of treatment for SMA type 3 patients with later onset of disease is unknown. To better characterize the SMA type 3 population and provide potential therapeutic targets, we aimed to understand gene expression differences in whole blood of SMA type 3 patients (n = 31) and age‐ and gender‐matched controls (n = 34). We performed the first large‐scale whole blood transcriptomic screen with L1000, a rapid, high‐throughput gene expression profiling technology that uses 978 landmark genes to capture a representation of the transcriptome and predict expression of 9196 additional genes. The primary downregulated KEGG pathway in adult SMA type 3 patients was "Regulation of Actin Cytoskeleton,” and downregulated expression of key genes in this pathway, including ROCK1 , RHOA , and ACTB, was confirmed in the same whole blood samples using RT‐qPCR. SMA type 3 patient‐derived fibroblasts had lower expression of these genes compared to control fibroblasts from unaffected first‐degree relatives. Overexpression of SMN levels using an AAV vector in fibroblasts did not normalize ROCK1 , RHOA , and ACTB mRNA expression, indicating the involvement of additional genes in cytoskeleton dynamic regulation. Interpretation Our findings from whole blood and patient‐derived fibroblasts suggest SMA type 3 patients have decreased expression of actin cytoskeleton regulators. These observations provide new insights and potential therapeutic targets for SMA patients with longstanding denervation and secondary musculoskeletal pathophysiology. Whole Blood SMN Protein Levels Correlate with Severity of Denervation in Spinal Muscular Atrophy6/8/2020
This project and paper were created in the Swoboda laboratory. To access the full paper, please click here.
Abstract We asked whether survival motor neuron protein (SMN) blood levels correlate with denervation and Survival of motor neuron 2 (SMN2) copies in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Using a mixed effect model, we tested associations between SMN levels, compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and SMN2 copies in a cohort of 74 SMA subjects. We analyzed a subset of 19 of these subjects plus 4 additional gene therapy treated subjects to examine SMN trajectories early in life. SMA subjects with lower CMAP values had lower circulating SMN levels (P =0.04). SMN levels were different between subjects with 2 and 3 SMN2 copies (P <0.0001) and between symptomatic and pre‐symptomatic subjects (P <0.0001), with the highest levels after birth and progressive decline over the first three years. Neither nusinersen nor gene therapy clearly altered SMN levels. These data indicate that whole blood SMN levels correlate with SMN2 dosage and severity of denervation. Exercise training reverses cancer-induced oxidative stress and decrease in muscle COPS2/TRIP15/ALIEN5/11/2020
This paper was worked on while in the Swoboda laboratory. I focused on the data and elements summarized in figure 5 for this project. To access the paper, please click here.
Abstract We tested the hypothesis that exercise training would attenuate metabolic impairment in a model of severe cancer cachexia. We used multiple in vivo and in vitro methods to explore the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects induced by exercise training in tumor-bearing rats. Exercise training improved running capacity, prolonged lifespan, reduced oxidative stress, and normalized muscle mass and contractile function in tumor-bearing rats. An unbiased proteomic screening revealed COP9 signalosome complex subunit 2 (COPS2) as one of the most downregulated proteins in skeletal muscle at the early stage of cancer cachexia. Exercise training normalized muscle COPS2 protein expression in tumor-bearing rats and mice. Lung cancer patients with low endurance capacity had low muscle COPS2 protein expression as compared to age-matched control subjects. To test whether decrease in COPS2 protein levels could aggravate or be an intrinsic compensatory mechanism to protect myotubes from cancer effects, we performed experiments in vitro using primary myotubes. COPS2 knockdown in human myotubes affected multiple cellular pathways, including regulation of actin cytoskeleton. Incubation of cancer-conditioned media in mouse myotubes decreased F-actin expression, which was partially restored by COPS2 knockdown. Direct repeat 4 (DR4) response elements have been shown to positively regulate gene expression. COPS2 overexpression decreased the DR4 activity in mouse myoblasts, and COPS2 knockdown inhibited the effects of cancer-conditioned media on DR4 activity. These studies demonstrated that exercise training may be an important adjuvant therapy to counteract cancer cachexia and uncovered novel mechanisms involving COPS2 to regulate myotube homeostasis in cancer cachexia. Thank you for stopping by my website! My essays are available upon request. Please do send me a note if you wish to read them and I will happily send an email copy.
Happy browsing! In this advanced independent study, led for over 6 months with prior pilot study launch in South Korea, I attempt to determine the Need, Use, Awareness and Satisfaction of mental health for international students at Bowdoin. To do so, I collected data through an online survey campaign, and analyzed this data using Qualtrics and SPSS. I also create quantifiers of wellbeing based on previous literature to match the cultural context of international students at Bowdoin as representatively as possible. The final piece remains private due to IRB restrictions, but I would love to answer questions and share parts of the paper with you if you would like to learn more.
Abstract International students make up a significant portion of the undergraduate student body in the United States, and they face challenges unique to their identity, such as difficulties related to cultural shock and acculturation. Despite the distress caused by these challenges, international students consistently underutilize counseling services at their schools. The present study focuses on the need, awareness and use of counseling services by international students compared to resident students in a small liberal arts college in the US, Bowdoin College. The hypothesis was that international students would have higher stress levels and lower awareness, use and satisfaction levels of mental health services than resident students. We recruited 337 students (43 international, 294 resident), aged 18 to 24, at Bowdoin College through an online survey. To determine need, we used the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist 21-item, which measures performance stress, general stress and somatic stress. We then asked participants to answer a series of questions regarding their use and awareness of, and satisfaction in mental health services on campus. Although the levels of need, use, awareness and satisfaction are not statistically different between international and resident students, students report different stressors depending on their status and made suggestions to improve services for international mental health on campus. Keywords: international students, mental health service need, mental health service awareness, counseling use The Chemical Threat and the 21st Century: How International Law on Chemical Weapons Failed Syria5/20/2019
In this research paper for my final government seminar at Bowdoin College, I lead an in depth review of the chemical attacks in Syria as well as determine the diplomatic events that ensued. While I could only access resources in English and French as I do not speak Arabic, I attempted to make my analysis based on as many primary sources as possible. I also compile the laws regarding chemical weapons and assess their efficiency on the international stage.
Abstract With the advent of technology, threats caused by biochemical weapons are increasingly pressing. The Geneva Protocol (1925), the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (1972), and the Convention prohibiting Chemical Weapons (1993) are some of the recent international developments around biochemical weapons. However, the implementation of these treaties has been put in question by several conflicts today. Among the most violent usage of these weapons is the use of chemical weapons in Syria since 2012. This paper analyses the efficiency of policies which the Syrian conflict has pointed loopholes to and proposes ways through which they could be improved in the future. This paper was written as my independent project for the course Race, Ethnicity & Politics at Bowdoin College. This paper combines analysis of French laws and regulations and French colonial history, as well as sociological data (or the absence of thereof). I used both French and American/European scholars for this work, translating when needed.
Introduction Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité: the French motto first appeared in official records in the 1790s, and defending the three principles has been source of pride for the French ever since. However, the words have not been the official motto of the French republic in theory for a continuous time, and it is arguable that it was never fully adopted in practice. Throughout French history, these principles have often applied for certain groups and taken away from others, contradicting their very meaning. For instance, France practiced slavery in its colonies from Louis XIV (around 1685) to 1848, and France’s colonial empire was only officially dismantled in its entirety after WWII. Some argue that the hierarchies put in place in ex-colonies during the times slavery are still present, including in the Departments and Territories d'Outre Mer, as testified for by the 2009 protests in Martinique. Since the end of slavery and beginning of decolonization, France has been following color-blind policies in law and politics. The logic behind this idea is that égalité can only be achieved in a color-blind state. Many scholars have argued that given the growing diversification of the French population, color-blindness cannot stand for much longer, and politicians need to readily address the concerns of French people of colors. This essay aims to understand whether the current color-blind laws are effective in preventing racism and upholding French values of equality. To do this, I examine the text of current policies officially imposing color-blindness in French public life and academia, as well as attempt to understand the demography of France. I then draw the impacts of colorblindness on historical retelling, and explore impacts of the current laws on addressing racial inequality. In closing I draw from scholars and activists to understand alternatives to colorblindness to combat racism, and efforts that have been made to counter it in France. Mental Health in South Korean Youth: Suicide, Medical Practice, and Socio-cultural factors7/20/2017
In this essay, I studied the status of mental health specifically in the context of suicidality in South Korean College students. To do this research, I interviewed one of the main psychiatrist working for the Yonsei University mental health centers (who wished to remain anonymous), and used the Yonsei University and Bowdoin College Library data bases.
Introduction South Korea has become a primordial tourist destination for ‘Medical Tourism,’ where people from East Asia and China in particular, discover and engage in Korean medicine. Current Korean medicine, meddling Western practices and centuries old traditional medicine, blends the ideologies of Confucianism and Western capitalism. However, the current suicide rate in Korea testifies of a great social and medical issue that the medical system has yet to address effectively. Korea has the highest rate of suicide among the OECD countries: 41.7 deaths (per 100 000 people) are to suicide for men, and 18 for women. Suicide is the largest single factor most contributing to the slowing of the rise of life expectancy in the country. In the latest national study about methods of suicide in Korea (2013), the 30-49 age group was the most affected by suicide attempts and fatalities, while youth (10-29 year olds) accounted for 26.7% of attempts and 11.5% of fatalities. Studies link deprivation, such as low educational attainment and socioeconomic status, as well as lack of social support to these high rates. Unemployment, difficulty in social integration and income inequality are also main influences leading to this rise. This paper focuses on reasons for and treatment of suicidality in the younger generation in South Korea, specifically in the context on a university campus in an urban setting. |