Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2006

Mentor: H. Dwight Cavanagh, M.D., Ph.D.
Department: Ophthalmology
Room number: E7.234
Mail Code: 9057
Phone number: 8-8074
E-mail: Dwight.cavanagh@utsuothwestern.edu
Project title: Assessment of Tissue-Engineered Corneal Epithelial Sheets In Vivo

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): NA

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): Pending

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)

Animal-based

Brief Description of Project:
The specific research project will investigate whether telomerase-immortalized human corneal epithelial cells will differentiate normally when grown on nude mouse corneas, but subsequently could be effectively eliminated by topical administration of gancyclovir without toxic insult to the eye (using an anti-neogenesis fail-safe gene). Specific techniques to be learned include in vivo confocal microscopy, laser scanning confocal microscopy, cell culture, and animal surgery.

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). The summer of 2005 we had 4 students, Anand Allam (med student), Linda Ly (med student), Sara Lindsey (med student), Judith Mei (student intern), and Brooke Hyatt (SURF).

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