Obesity Research at The University of South Carolina Department of Chemical Engineering
This summer I obtained a full time position as an undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Gower at the University of South Carolina, Department of Chemical Engineering. What initially interested me in pursuing biomedical engineering research with Dr. Gower was the all-encompassing nature of his research focusing on obesity. Most biomedical engineering research labs focus on cell-culture experiments, animal experiments, or biomaterials experiments. Dr. Gower’s research encompasses all three areas, allowing me to gain invaluable experience and a wide range of research skills that will aid me in pursuing my PhD after graduation.
I have been involved with the Gower lab since its genesis in August of 2014. Unlike most undergraduates,
I was given the opportunity to start research in a lab that was just becoming established. Naturally, a lot of work needed to be done before any experiments could even be conducted, but I loved being a part of the Gower lab’s development. Over the course of the school year I helped properly dispose of biological and chemical hazardous wastes leftover from the previous lab occupants, install newly purchased lab equipment, and bring inherited lab equipment back to working order. The research I am involved in focuses on a potential obesity therapy that artificially induces the thermogenic properties of brown adipose tissue via transduction of those genes from a viral vector. Unlike white adipose tissue, which mainly serves as an energy storage depot for excess triglycerides and an endocrine organ, brown adipose tissue contains an abundance of mitochondria that allow it to oxidize chemical energy and to produce heat during thermogenesis for protection against hypothermia and obesity. In theory, if the metabolic phenotype of brown adipose tissue can be induced in the white adipose tissue of obese mice, then excess fat stores could be depleted over time as heat is generated, reversing obesity Research officially began in May 2015 utilizing 3-D biodegradable polymer implants to engineer the metabolic phenotype of adipose tissue in mice. I utilize a mixture of sodium chloride and PLGA or poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) to manufacture porous biodegradable implants that act as delivery devices for viral vectors, proteins of interest, and cell growth factors. Each implant must be individually manufactured using a hydraulic press to form the basic shape of the implant, high-pressure carbon dioxide to bind the polymer around the salt crystals, and deionized water to leach the salt out of the implant, creating pores. Once I mastered implant manufacturing, I began assisting with surgeries to administer the implants into the white adipose tissue of mice and harvest organs of interest at the animal research center in the GSRC building. In addition, I also perform histology staining of the tissues harvested from the mice and microscopy techniques to analyze the tissues and structure of the implants we manufacture. In the coming months I will be learning how to perform immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and cell culture so that we can begin introducing viral vectors encoding for the genes responsible for thermogenesis in our mice.
All seriousness aside, I have loved the time spent working in Dr. Gower’s lab. The environment feels more like a family atmosphere than a job. We even wore matching “Team Gower” t-shirts recently to support a lab member presenting her summer REU research with our lab. I highly recommend any undergraduate biomedical or chemical engineering students interested in research to contact Dr. Gower about available positions in the lab. During my senior year I plan to continue research in the Gower lab before pursuing my PhD in biomedical engineering.