The scientific environment is further enriched by our Summer Seminar Series, which brings the Fellows together each week and exposes them to other research projects and to issues in science ethics and policies. The seminars have included topics such as:

• Transgenic mouse as a model system for studying nervous system development
• The molecular mechanisms for signaling between cells
• Molecular approach to genetic diseases
• How sex hormones affect the brain and modulate behavior
• From molecules to circuits: an anatomical substrate for dementia
• A basic bioenergetics dilemma
• Biological functions of promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein (PLZF)
• The life cycle of HIV
• Myofibroblasts: bringing wounds to closure
• Differential gene expression in breast carcinoma cells upon estrogen treatment
• Gene therapy for genetic disorders and cancer
• Molecular basis of inherited cancer syndromes
• Tetracycline-resistance in Gram-positive bacteria
• Herpes virus replication
• Anabolic steroids & behavior
• HIV pathogenesis and molecular approaches to therapy
• Protein modules as a biological velcro
• Myofibroblasts -- friend or foe?
• Organization and plasticity of the motor cortex
• New categories of transporters that confer multidrug resistance
• Tumor suppressor protein p53
• Mechanisms of neoplastic transformation: aberrant regulation of the cell cycle by oncogenes
• From organelle biogenesis to signal transduction: the varied roles of a dnaJ molecular chaperone protein

Based on interests expressed in the applications, the successful applicants are matched with specific research mentors who are carefully chosen from our Graduate Faculty. The Summer Fellows will spend ten consecutive full-time weeks in the laboratory engaged in supervised research activities. They are provided with the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research projects in one of our Multidisciplinary Training Areas in areas of research including:

• biochemistry
• biomathematical sciences
• biophysics
• cancer biology
• cell & membrane biology
• cell biology/anatomy
• computational neuroscience
• developmental biology
• endocrinology
• environmental pathobiology
• enzymology
• gene expression
• gene therapy
• gene transcription
• human genetics
• immunobiology
•  mathematical modeling
• microbiology
• molecular biology
• molecular biophysics
• molecular endocrinology
• molecular genetics
• molecular neurobiology
• neurobiology
• neuropharmacology
• organellar biology trafficking
• pathobiology
• peptide hormones
• pharmacology
• physical biochemistry
• rational drug design
• receptors
• signal transduction-cell cycle
• structural biology
• systems physiology t
• ransport channels/metabolism
• virology and oncogenes
• computational biomedicine
• genomics
• neuroendocrinology
• sensory transduction

The seminar series culminates with a session of research poster presentations by the Fellows.

The following are some of the most recent research projects that have been presented at the poster sessions:

• Dicer knockdown in mouse podocytes causes changes in gene expression and phenotype
• Interaction between HERV-K1, HERV-K2 and HMTV: Their Involvement in Human Breast Cancer
• Pathological tau and its effect on neuronal density in mice expressing normal human tau isoforms
• Optimizing Diffusion-weighted Imaging in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
• Common Variable Immunodeficiency: The Role of Interferon-Alpha and Toll-Like Receptors 7 and 9 in Stimulation of B Cell Proliferation
• Impaired expression of synaptic proteins in Down syndrome
• Mechanical damage and apoptosis of MLO-Y4 osteocytic cells in vitro
• The creation of fluorescent molecular clones of HIV carrying env genes from primary isolates to test the efficiency of direct cell-cell transfer
• Effect of Knockdown of Wls Gene in Cancer Cells with Aberrant Wnt Signaling
• Designing a New FRET Assay for Histone-Protein Interaction
• Characterization of Bone Marrow Mast cells deficient in Foxo3 transcription factor
• Effects of Alteration to an Avian-Like PDZ Domain Ligand Motif in the Influenza A Virus NS1 Protein on Host Cell Adaptation
• Development of a Novel, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Based Assay for Langerhans Cell Chimerism
• Does SUMOylation of Kir2 channels affect interaction with PIP2?
• Thalamus volume and glucose metabolism in autism spectrum disorder patients.
• Phenotype Prediction in Inherited Metabolic Diseases: Supervised Machine-Learning Based Classification
• c-MAF and transcriptional regulation of osteoarthritis
• Synaptic distribution of ER-b and the effects of estrogen on nuclear ER-b levels in CA1 region of female monkey hippocampus
• Transduction of Müller Cells by Adeno-Associated Virus
• Exploring the Potential Relationship Between RSC and Cohesin at Telomeres
• Variations in APOBEC3G alleles modulate activity against HIV-1