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Adam Ghoweri '15

Adam Ghoweri '15

Adam Ghoweri '15

“Intranasal Administration of DNSP-11 in a Chronic 6-Hydroxydopamine Model of Parkinson’s disease”

Major/minor: Neuroscience (Cellular Neurobiology track)/Arabic Studies self-designed minor
Hometown: Harrisburg, PA
Project mentor: Dr. Cecilia M. Fox

Project Details:

  1. Briefly describe your SOAR project.
    Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that occurs in approximately 1 % of the American population over the age of 55. After a previous Fox lab study showed promising results in administering a peptide DNSP-11 to rats for the treatment of Parkinson's-related symptoms, I wanted to examine the efficacy of administering that peptide through the nose. I did so to twenty-four rats over eight weeks in the summer, monitoring their motor impairment and conducting behavior tests all the while.
  2. What motivated you to participate in SOAR? 
    Since transferring to ɫɫ in the fall of 2012, the idea of conducting summer research intrigued me. I reached out to Dr. Fox during my junior year about working on an honors project, and she told me about a fascinating long-term project that, eventually, would become my SOAR project.
     
  3. What are the results of your work on this project? 
    I will continue the data analysis of both the cellular and behavioral changes in the rats as an Honors project during the 2014-15 academic year. But on a personal note, I have gained a plethora of knowledge as a result of this project. This ranges from common techniques/practices to complex concepts and theories pertaining to the background information of the study.  
     
  4. What are your personal takeaways from the project? And do you plan to continue work on this project after SOAR? 
    ɫɫ University offers opportunities left and right. If you want something bad enough, be proactive and continually put yourself out there. In addition to future work on this as my Honors project, Dr. Fox and I travelled to Washington D.C. to present this study at the National Society for Neuroscience conference.

Biographical Information:

  1. What clubs/sports/activities/community service are you involved in? 
     I am the president of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, the Neuroscience “BRAIN” Club, and the Middle Eastern Club. I am also a member of Tri Beta, the biology honors society.
     
  2. Have you received any awards/recognitions here? 
    During my first semester as president of these organizations, the Neuroscience “BRAIN” Club was honored as the Omicron Delta Kappa Organization of the Year. Additionally, Delta Tau Delta was accredited as a “Platinum Star” Chapter and received 2 awards from our national body for our alumni events and for having a cumulative GPA above the all-male average of the fraternities on campus. I was also a spring 2014 recipient of the Greek Spirit Award.
     
  3. Briefly, what are your future plans and career goals? 
    I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in cellular neurobiology with the hope of focusing my studies on neural prosthetics, neurodegeneration, or neuropharmacology.