The University of Texas at Arlington’s Honors College undergraduate student, Hannah Selvarathinam, transformed her thesis on schizophrenia research into a peer-reviewed publication. As a freshman at UTA, the ambitious Keller native expressed her interest in research and reached out to biology Assistant Professor Piya Ghose. Ghose, impressed by Hannah’s initiative, brought her into the lab to work on a project related to schizophrenia.The lab’s main focus is on the genetics of cell death, using the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model. Selvarathinam’s research in this area led to her honors thesis, which specifically examined brain health and behavior. Her work has resulted in a new publication in a peer-reviewed journal, outlining the genes that impact worm behavior and their relevance to neurological diseases in humans. “By reviewing existing literature and discussing her findings with me, she was able to draw connections between the genes she was already studying in her cell biology project and her undergraduate psychology major, as well as her interest in human health,” Ghose said. “Hannah was the driving force behind this project.”and regularly communicated with me for guidance and to share her exciting results. She bravely took on the challenge of adapting and optimizing a published behavioral protocol for her project, which is remarkable for such a young trainee.”
For her research, Selvarathinam utilized the fact that worms share similarities in their genes with humans and exhibit predictable behaviors that are easily studied. She then proceeded to optimize an experimental protocol that aimed to connect the mental illness schizophrenia to neurodegenerative disease through worm behavior.
“Typically, worms spend the majority of their time feeding. However, if they are disrupted by physical stimuli, such as a poke or a temperature change, they stop feeding and display a different behavior.”t, they momentarily pause in a way similar to the startle response in humans,” Selvarathinam said.
Schizophrenia has comparable symptoms, and one key feature is unusual reactivity to a prolonged stimulus. Essentially, individuals with the disorder take longer to get used to a stimulus than those without.
“What we discovered in our study is that healthy worms, as expected, briefly stopped eating when they were exposed to a stimulus, but soon resumed eating again,” Selvarathinam explained. “But for worms with mutations in many of the neurodegeneration genes, such as those related to heredi rnrnTary spastic paraplegia and Alzheimer’s disease, they continued to eat even after being exposed to the stimulus, which shows a heightened startle response.
“Our publication adds another building block to our understanding of brain disease in the hopes of finding a cure and also highlights C.elegans as a powerful model organism to pursue this goal.”
After completing her honors thesis and graduating in winter 2022, Selvarathinam began working as a technician in Ghose’s lab while preparing applications for medical school. She’s now on track with another peer-reviewed publication for work she has done assisting on one of the lab’s c rnrn
Tary spastic paraplegia and Alzheimer’s disease, individuals continued to eat even after being exposed to the stimulus, indicating a heightened startle response.
“Our publication contributes to our understanding of brain disease and the pursuit of a cure. It also highlights C.elegans as an effective model organism for this goal.”
Selvarathinam started working as a technician in Ghose’s lab after completing her honors thesis and graduating in winter 2022. She is now preparing applications for medical school and has another peer-reviewed publication in progress for her work in the lab.death projects.”
Selvarathinam stated, “My research experience has helped me develop skills that are transferrable to my goal of practicing medicine. These skills include reading scientific literature, using my knowledge to solve problems, and answering interesting questions. I am thankful for the opportunities I have had at UTA and for the chance to work with the Ghose Lab team. I am also grateful to the Honors College for its capstone project program. I encourage students to reach out to professors and explore research opportunities at UTA.”
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