Futures: Cellular Physiology - Aging and Protein Expression

Changes in gene expression can cause proteins in the human body to fold incorrectly. The buildup of misfolded proteins is linked to Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Yet a similar buildup of proteins happens on a smaller scale as part of normal aging. In this course, high school students will study the buildup of misfolded proteins in nematodes. High school students will manipulate cellular aging processes to better understand how age-related diseases develop. The focus is on helping participants learn to apply advanced molecular biology concepts in a research setting.

This course is part of Life Sciences Research Program for High Schoolers.