For my Scholar’s practicum project, I worked in the Jay Biotherapeutic and Delivery lab at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Jay’s lab aims to develop new biotechnologies to address clinical needs in would repair and cardiovascular disease, using extracellular vesicles (EVs) and engineered protein therapeutics.
In the Fall 2021 semester, I reached out to Dr. Jay and asked if he had any open undergraduate research positions in his lab. I provided my resume and a letter of interest, as I had begun my search looking at all of the faculty in the bioengineering department that had labs. His research stuck out to me the most and I indicated that in my letter of interest. He matched me with a PhD candidate named Daniel Levy, who was my mentor for the duration of my project, and helped me with all of my lab work. My advice to future scholars students is to perform research on UMD’s websites, looking for faculty members whose research seems interesting to you. Next, I would apply to do undergraduate research with them, and usually, the steps to apply are provided on their lab’s website. Finally, when they contact you, be outgoing in setting up a meeting and make sure your enthusiasm comes across in the meeting.
At my site, I performed hands on research in the Jay lab, conducting my own experiments and helping Dan with his. I was able to learn a wide array of modern biological laboratory techniques, including western blot, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), EV isolation via tangential flow filtration (TFF), as well as endothelial gap closure and proliferation assays. In general, EVs derived from iPSCs have been shown to possess robust anti-inflammatory and moderate angiogenic properties, and thus their angiogenic potential can be improved. To do so, iPSCs were transfected with a plasmid overexpressing HOTAIR, a pro-angiogenic lncRNA, in order to load it into the iPSCs. Then, the EVs containing HOTAIR were isolated using TFF. Next, qPCR was performed to determine the amount of RNA that was loaded into the EVs. Finally, a gap-closure assay was conducted to check for endothelial migration, serving as a proxy for angiogenesis.
Overall, throughout my practicum project, I learned a lot about new groundbreaking topics in science. As a bioengineer, I have taken biology classes in the past, but being able to read research articles and dive more deeply into the content matter allowed me to expand my knowledge of bioengineering as a whole. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted by all cell types and facilitate intercellular communication via transfer of cargos including proteins, nucleic acids and lipids. EVs derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) produce therapeutically potent EVs through the delivery of these bioactive components to recipient cells. iPSCs are self renewing and therefore have utility for scalable biomanufacturing of EVs. One therapeutic property of iPSC EVs is their ability to induce angiogenesis - the sprouting of new blood vessels to replenish nutrients and oxygen, though the migration and growth of endothelial cells. HOTAIR is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) that has been shown to promote angiogenesis and wound healing in diabetic mice. My project revolves around developing strategies to load HOTAIR into iPSC EVs to enhance their angiogenic potential and therefore utility in a variety of disease applications.
My practicum project has also opened my eyes beyond science. After undergrad, I was planning on going to get my masters in bioengineering and then planned on going into the pharmaceutical and biomaterials industry. This research experience has taught me that I am destined for a career in medicine. The biggest reason that the Jay lab studies EVs is for clinical applications and to advance theraupics to help people. I realized that what I want to do in life is expand medicine and create better solutions to medical issues, such as for populations without access to proper healthcare and to provide better healthcare to all. Therefore, I am now on the pre-medicine track at UMD and will be applying to medical schools soon!