Hi everyone! I recently had the chance to share a bit of my research with the UCLA community. In college, I’ve had the blessing of working with mentors and students who inspire me to dig deeper, and I’m honored to get to share this part of my life with everybody. 

http://www.spotlight.ucla.edu/students/creating-knowledge-through-research-as-undergraduates/

Creating Knowledge Through Research - as Undergraduates

Undergraduate research scholars (from left) Kimberly Frutoz, William Temple, Matthew Pimentel, and Paula Wu.

Many students in the College participate in research as undergraduates, taking major roles in important studies and publishing their findings even before they graduate.

Matthew Pimentel admits that his decision to engage in research as a freshman at UCLA was practical.

“I was pre-med, and I figured it was something I needed to do to get into medical school,” he said. “It was only after I got involved that my attitude changed.”

For the last two years, the senior majoring in microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics has been studying the effects of stress on breast cancer metastasis in the laboratory of Dr. Lily Wu in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pharmacology. He has traveled to scientific meetings to present his work and, last September, was co-author of a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Research.

Research is no longer something Pimentel has to do; it’s something he wants to do—well beyond graduation.

“You’re surrounded by brilliant people who have such interesting ideas, and you’re challenged to think about new ways to ask questions,” said Pimentel, who intends to pursue a Ph.D. in immunology as a result of the experience. “It’s really exciting.”

Pimentel was one of four UCLA seniors honored in April as part of the national celebration for Undergraduate Research Week. The students were selected, based on their outstanding independent laboratory contributions, by a committee of faculty and staff involved in administering programs in the Undergraduate Research Center/Center for Research and Academic Excellence (URC/CARE) in the Division of Undergraduate Education. The quartet is a representative sample of the multitudes of undergraduates engaged in research on the campus, according to Tama Hasson, director of URC/CARE.

“One of the major successes of UCLA is that we have so many undergraduates who are contributing to the research enterprise,” said Hasson, who estimates that more than 2,000 undergraduates took part this year.

The U.S. House of Representatives designated the week of April 11 to recognize the value and contributions of undergraduate research. But at UCLA, such recognition is not new. Each year in May, the campus holds its own Undergraduate Research Week, including Science Poster Day, in which undergraduates present their work and are eligible for awards. As an indicator of the growth of undergraduate research at UCLA, this year there were 312 posters— more than double the number of participants just five years ago.

William Temple (left) presents his findings at UCLA’s Undergraduate Science Poster Day in May.

“Students who participate in undergraduate research take responsibility for innovative projects and become key members of the faculty mentor’s research group,” said Judith L. Smith, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, who has been a strong proponent of undergraduate research since her appointment to the position in 1996.

“There is no better way for our students to engage in the bold excitement of a research university and excel in their quest for knowledge,” said Smith.

The opportunity to participate in one of the world’s leading research enterprises is what drew Kimberly Frutoz to UCLA. Frutoz was a junior-college student when she experienced research for the first time during a summer program at UC Irvine.

“I went into it without really knowing what it was going to be like, and I came out if it thinking it was amazing—this is how we generate new ideas, how we improve knowledge,” Frutoz said. “It opened my eyes to the opportunities offered by the UC system.”

Since transferring to UCLA, Frutoz, a physiological sciences major and a biomedical research minor, has capitalized on those opportunities. Working in the lab of Dr. Bennett Novitch in the Department of Neurobiology, Frutoz is studying the development of progenitor cells in the spinal cord. In addition to her participation at Science Poster Day, she won an award for her presentation at the California Alliance for Minority Participation 2011 conference in Irvine and was selected to be a Howard Hughes Medical Institute EXROP (Exceptional Research Opportunities) student for the summer of 2011. Frutoz hopes to submit a publication in the next year as she continues her work in Novitch’s lab while applying to M.D./Ph.D. programs.

For Paula Wu, a senior neuroscience major and biomedical research minor and editor-in-chief of UCLA’s Undergraduate Science Journal, basic science represents the best of two worlds—an ideal intellectual challenge with humanitarian ends.

“A career where you have to be really creative and also think critically and scientifically is a unique combination,” Wu said, “and I find it really fulfilling to know that it’s not just esoteric—what we’re doing will one day contribute to helping people.”

Working in the lab of Dr. Ronald Harper in the Department of Neurobiology, Wu is using state-of-the-art imaging techniques to study the function of various sub-regions within the brain’s insular cortex that are related to cardiovascular control. The research may lead to better understanding of how the brain regulates basic physiological responses.

Wu has worked at the National Institutes of Health for several years, continuing the project she started in the NIH Summer Internship Program; like Frutoz, she plans to enroll in a joint M.D./Ph.D. program.

As a high school student, William Temple read with fascination about stem cell research and the potential for a new era of personalized medicine resulting from completion of the Human Genome Project. But Temple didn’t envision participating in the pursuit of discovery until a conversation with a resident assistant at his dormitory.

“She was a pre-med student involved in research, and she told me how to get involved,” Temple said. “I had no experience, but I was enthusiastic.”

Paula Wu

That was enough for one investigator, who allowed Temple to get his feet wet as a freshman. The next year, Tempe began work in the lab of Benur Lee in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, where he has been working ever since.

Temple is studying the role of a carbohydrate-binding protein and how it modulates the behavior of dendritic cells and T cells of the immune system. His group found specific cells that appear to suppress the immune response, suggesting their potential for a therapeutic role in patients with autoimmune diseases. A paper with Temple as a co-author was recently submitted to the Journal of Immunology. He was selected to present his findings at the 2011 National Conference on Undergraduate Research.

“This is a new frontier,” said Temple, who plans to continue in Lee’s lab next year while applying to medical schools.

“I’m doing experiments that no one else in the world has done, and building on research conducted by world-renowned scientists who have contributed to what we know about the immune system,” said Temple. “Working with a pediatric oncologist, I see children with cancers related to immune system problems, which shows me how my research is relevant. It’s been amazing to experience this all as an undergraduate.”

SfN: How Neuroscience will shape law, society, and morality

Almost a month later, I’ve finally found time to blog about SfN. Here is the post I started a long time ago, but never published…

——-

I’ve spent the last few days running around San Diego at the Society for Neuroscience conference. It’s an annual nerd gathering, where people from all walks of life come together to talk about their shared interest in the brain. 

I saw a lot of really cool things here. It’s incredible that people from different countries, cultures, and walks of life can all find common ground in brain research. One of my favorite talks here was on how today’s Neuroscience research will influence many aspects of society - law, policy, and philosophy. 

The speaker,  Dr. Hank Greely, is the Director of the Center for Law and Biosciences at Stanford. As a Professor of Law, Dr. Greely is uniquely situated to comment on the broader implications of Neuroscience research. He offered several examples of ways in which Neuroscience could one day affect our future and society at large.

For instance, if fMRI can one day be used as a reliable lie detector, will the justice system embrace new and upcoming changes in technology, or will we face political and/or social opposition to developing neuroscience technologies? 

A growing field of research is under way to study whether neuroanatomical and neurobiological markers can predict criminality. Will further understanding into mechanisms of psychiatric pathology refine our court and legal system? Will these findings adjust our method for determining and examining criminality? 

If we can one day find indicators of consciousness in the form of neural responses under functional MRI, will that refine our understanding of the difference between life and death? Will that change how hospitals and doctors must respond or assess patient life/death?

Do humans really have free will? A recent study showed that before we really think of a decision, there are neural  manifestations of that decision already on their way in other parts of our brain unbeknownst to our consciousness.

And what is consciousness really? One study published recently in JAMA showed that some (but not all) vegetative patients in a coma were able to produce neural responses indicating accurate answers to verbal questions under functional MRI despite not being able to register any physical or otherwise outwardly perceivable activity. Should we consider these patients conscious? Do they deserve to live longer because they are able to produce neural responses, or should we end their lives sooner so they can escape their misery? What does it mean to be conscious?

The questions abound. To what extent are criminals slaves of their neuroanatomy? What do these questions about consciousness and free will have to say about long-held assumptions about morality? Was Descartes really right that “I think, therefore I am?” What commentary will further findings about freewill contribute to questions of sin, or justice? 

Research on the brain, combined with an increased understanding of the mechanisms of consciousness, could one day shape our theories of morality and ego. The discoveries of Neuroscience will extend into spiritual and philosophical domains and could alter to these dialogues into the future.

Finding answers to these questions will take hundreds of years. Science is a constant work in progress, and theories and concepts once held to be law are continually revised, added to, and sometimes even discarded. Therefore, I do not believe that we will ever arrive at conclusive answers to these questions of humanity through science within our lifetime, or even within the lifetimes of the next few generations. There will be many spiritual questions that the scientific method will never answer. In the near future, I believe that science will only be able to hint at and nod its head at these long-standing questions and moral traditions. It is evident, however, that the evolution of science will continue to contribute to these discussions, and drastically alter current debate. 

Without conclusive scientific answers to the deeper questions of humanity our personal answer to these questions will lie within our personal subjectivity. 

Overall, however, what struck me was the contrast that Dr. Greely’s views provided compared to my own as a young Neuroscience student.

After spending many hours in lab, it’s tempting, and perhaps natural, to view the consequences of my research as being limited to my immediate domain. “I’m writing this paper so it will answer other scientific questions” “If this transcription factor does THIS, then maybe THAT transcription factor…” 

As scientists in general, I feel that it’s tempting to become so focused at the hypothesis or experiment at hand, that we forget about the rest of this broader dialogue.

Perhaps this bias is only natural. Psychologist Erikson describes one essential stage of development as being characterized by “egoism,” which Wikipedia astutely defines as “the tendency to perceive, understand and interpret the world in terms of the self.” Erikson believes that as children, we are naturally prone to view the world in terms of how we ourselves perceive the world. While playing hide-and-seek, a child who hides under a blanket and assumes that nobody can see her because she herself cannot see anyone. Maybe hiding too much in our labs causes the assumption that the rest of society won’t care about our science either.

I realized that research must never be viewed as an esoteric art - it’s more than just answering hypotheses. The ultimate sum of our work as scientists will result in changing lives, not merely by a medical standard, but also in terms of our very understanding of our selves, our consciousness, and our political and legal system.

SfN: poster presentations

I had two poster presentations today!

I spent the morning preparing for my presentations by the smell of salt and sea. 

view from my balcony

Poster 1.

Poster 2.

I thought nobody would stop by, but people actually did! All good fun.

SfN: a hodgepodge from the conference

Below are a few cool clippings from the conference.

• A group at Harvard is working on a way to tag dopamine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters with a molecule that ionizes water upon activation. In MRI, this could be used to directly image neurotransmitter activity
• Attended a nanosymposium on poverty and Neuroscience. Studies have shown that poverty causes epigenetic changes in neurological development and changes in neuroanatomy. Questions abound - how do these neuro changescorrelate with school performance and “getting out of the hood?” To what extent do these neurological changes directly impact behavior, and how do these changes in behavior manifest on a macro scale in terms of society patterns? Should neuro development be considered an immediate concern for those working on improving the conditions of impoverished areas? Scientists are only beginning to characterize what the neural effects of poverty are, and what exactly this means about broader questions on a individual behavioral and greater social level.
• Former Representative Kennedy (D-RI) gave a talk about his passion for Neuroscience research. Kennedy views Neuroscience research as an essential tool for our national security and wellbeing, as well as a moral imperative: “The brain works at a level that is ..unimaginable. To save our veteran, we must commeand ourselves to eeply understand how that brain works.” Kennedy described the need for NEuroscience research as not merely “symbolic,” but “personal” - research in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, and more will be required to adjust the psychological cost of war. He announced the founding of a new campaign for Neuroscience research, the Next Frontier Campaign. This campaign according to Kennedy is a “national security endeavor, to protect men and women in the military and the men and women in our families.” 

Above: lunch with the Harper lab! 

Paly Voice article

The Paly Voice recently did an article about me. As a former Viking, Paly journalism never fails to make me proud! Great job on the article, Hannah and Jen!

http://voice.paly.net/node/23714

From Lab Coat to Pageant Crown

Paly graduate claims title of Miss Taiwan World 2010

posted October 25, 2010

by Hannah Kim and Jen Lin of The Paly Voice  

Sarah Yeh Liu

Last year’s Miss Taiwan, Kaisarine Su, crowns Paula Wu as Miss Taiwan World 2010.

At 11 p.m., long after her scheduled working hours, the newly-crowned Miss Taiwan World 2010 Paula Wu can still be found in her lab at the National Institute of Health in Maryland pursuing her passion for research.

“I love staying here [NIH] late studying because I feel like the research I’m doing can really make a difference,” Wu, a 2007 Palo Alto High School graduate, said. “I’m here late, but I’m happy.”

Wu, a current senior at the University of California, Los Angeles, took a week-long break from her summer scientific research at the NIH to participate in — and win — the Miss Taiwan World 2010 competition, which was held last August and based in Los Angeles.

“I was sitting around one day, and I thought, ‘You’re only young once, so why not?’” Wu said. “It was different from my usual line of duty in neuroscience, but it was really fun.”

To apply, Wu submitted an application, requiring a head shot and a full-body shot, an essay and a resume. With her strong application, Wu qualified for the semifinalist stage of the contest.

Wu joined more than 100 other semifinalists from North America, Taiwan, Japan and Brazil for her first pageant. Several of the other girls had pageant experience and most had arrived in Los Angeles three weeks before the competition began. Wu, on the other hand, said that she had only one day on-site to prepare, as her internship inhibited her from traveling earlier.

“I wasn’t able to attend the preparation since I was in Maryland interning at the National Institute of Health,” Wu said. “I prepared on my own by reading books and online articles, rehearsing my speech and watching and analyzing videos of other pageants.”

For the first section of the pageant, Wu and the other semifinalists each had one minute to introduce themselves to the judges and audience. They then had another minute to describe any place in Taiwan important to them. Wu chose to talk about her memory of the college that both of her parents attended, the National Taiwan University of Taipei.

“I wanted to choose something that was personal and meaningful and would stand out and show personality,” Wu said.

The last segment of the pageant consisted of answering a question given to the semifinalists ahead of time.

“I tried to bring the best I had to the pageant night,” Wu said about the grand finale of the pageant on Aug. 14.

And she did, by claiming the Miss Taiwan World 2010 title.

“I was so surprised!” Paula Wu said after the winning announcement. “I would never have thought that this would ever happen. I see it as a blessing and opportunity from God.”

Now, as Miss Taiwan, Wu’s duties involve promoting Taiwanese culture and attending celebrations.

Originally, Wu planned to travel to Taiwan for its Independence Day on Oct. 10 to participate in a parade, meet the president and attend dinners and celebrations. However, after coming down with a fever, Wu canceled her plans and will reschedule the trip to a later date in the upcoming winter or spring.

Courtesy of WCBSUR conference

Paula Wu speaks at the West Coast Undergraduate Biological Sciences Research Conference in 2009 about her research on the neural function of the insular cortex.

During her time at Paly, Wu was involved in various school clubs.

As a junior in high school, Wu was president of the tennis club, vice president of Math Club and an active member of both Youth Community Service and the debate team. As a senior, Wu was president of the Paly Christian Club and continued her staff position on Verde Magazine.

Before discovering the field of research in college, Wu remembers exploring different academic subjects.

“In high school I was still trying to figure out what my interests were academically,” Wu said. “I really liked math and I was vice president of Math Club for a year, and I used to wear shirts that said ‘Pi’ and I’d celebrate ‘Pi Day’ with everyone. I also became interested in biology, but I wasn’t really sure about what I wanted to do until I found research.”

Wu describes research as a creative process because one can come up with questions and spend time solving the questions through different applications of methodology, which can then be applied to real life. After graduating from UCLA, Wu plans to return to the NIH and pursue a MD/Ph.D. dual degree program, also called the medical science training program.

Now, at the NIH, Wu studies how changes in the blood flow to the brain can change the magnetic resonance imaging signal. with With this knowledge, she is learning how to use MRI to study such conditions as strokes, sleep apnea and congenital central hypo-ventilation syndrome.

“There’s been so much to do,” Wu said. “That’s what I love about being here [NIH], there’s so much to do in a good way.”

As Miss Taiwan World 2010, Wu plans to use her title to help others and possibly incorporate her studies into her service.

“I’m really excited with my new findings, my research, the things I want to do with Miss Taiwan and the people I want to serve,” Wu said. “It’s just a really exciting place to be right now, being able to dream.”

For a glimpse into Paula Wu’s Miss Taiwan pageant night and her work click here.

i love lab

i’ve stayed in lab three days this week until midnight, tonight until only 10 because my body was crying out for sleep. i love walking through the empty halls of the clinical center. i love the stillness of the night, the annoying bugs whizzing around building 10 when it’s abandoned, the cockroaches on the sidewalk that come out when it’s dark. like me, they understand what the NIH looks like when it’s abandoned. at night the silent buzz in my cubicle is a soothing rhythm, the solitude a perfect haven.

i love the story of life as it comes exposes itself on my screen. the research, the results, the conclusions, the themes, the concepts, put words to creation - they reveal nature’s intricacy, infinitude, and detail: they add description to the details of material reality. this esoteric art draws beauty from the life before us. it makes that beauty tangible in the language of data and knowledge. the process of science is the narration; the story, the microcosm of wonder the results expose. nothing is routine. even the methods i repeat over and over spiral toward a greater purpose. 

but research isn’t simply an esoteric art, it also changes lives. doctors make their decisions everyday based on studies that have been published, facts painstakingly sought out, rigorously tested. our livelihood stems from our understanding of the world around us.

 that is what every minute spent in lab is worth.