Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2005

Mentor: H. Dwight Cavanagh, MD, PhD
Department: Ophthalmology
Room number: E7.234
Mail Code: 9057
Phone number: 8-8074
E-mail: Dwight.cavanagh@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: A Comparison of 12 Month Daily Wear of Two Novel Hyper-Oxygen Permeable Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses (HOP/SiH) and A Control, Standard Oxygen Permeable lens; and, 30-Night Versus 6-Night Immediate Extended Wear of Two HOP/SiH Lenses

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): 0202-112

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Project Type (patient-based research, animal-based research, or basic research; this characterization is only to permit a general classification for grouping similar types of projects) patient-based

Brief Description of Project:
The specific project measures binding of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) to cells exfoliated from corneas (eyes) wearing test contact lenses of varying O2-transmission. The hypothesis is: PA binding is regulated by lens O2. Other outcome measures include surface corneal epithelial desquamation rates and corneal epithelial thickness measured by in vivo confocal microscopy. Specific techniques to be learned: 2-photon laser scanning confocal microscopy, in vivo confocal microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, cell culture, western blotting, immunocytochemistry, and bacterial cultures (PA).

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:
Our lab (myself, Drs. James Jester, W. Matthew Petroll, and Danielle Robertson), have had medical students for research for the past 12+ years. The summer of 2004 we had 4 students: Rebecca Bradshaw (SUMR), Katherine Chung (student intern), Linda Ly (SUMR), and Mary Black (SURF).

Return to UT Southwestern Homepage

Return to Student Research Projects Index