Genetics research projects and talks impress

By Naischa Puri ‘23

On Friday, May 19 at noon in the Oakwood Room, seven students presented their findings on their research regarding Drosophila melanogaster, better known as fruit flies. Each student studied the impacts of specific gene mutations on the flies over the course of the year under the mentorship of Dr. Susan Zusman and a subject-specializing professor from Princeton University.

The talks of Naischa Puri ‘23, second year researcher and teacher’s assistant, and AnTing Luo ‘23, also a second year researcher and teacher’s assistant, focused on heart development in the flies.

Puri ‘23, for example, studied the MekY310C under the guidance of Dr. Rob Marmion of Princeton University. This gene mutation was edited using CRISPR technology and tested the effects of changing amino acid Y (tyrosine) to amino acid C (cysteine) in the Mek signaling pathway.

“I am thrilled to have been a part of this program for two years, and am so excited to see what the future holds for research at W+H and beyond. Fruit flies are an incredibly important vessel in our advancement of scientific understanding and medical resources. After spending countless hours in the lab analyzing larvae, it has become infinitely clear to me that the lessons and qualities that are developed through research are truly one of a kind,” Puri said.

Simrah Razvi ‘24 and Sanya Sidhu ‘24 collaborated in their presentation on tracheal development and function in Drosophila melanogaster. They were mentored by Dr. Jodi Schottenfeld-Roames. Under the advisory of Dr. Girish Deshpande, Andrew Wolff ‘23, Joanne Ding ‘24, and Gbemi Olarewaju ‘24 informed the audience with their talk on the relationship between the FOI (fear of intimacy) gene and the hedgehog signaling pathway in Drosophila melanogaster.

“Research in Genetics gave me the opportunity to dive deeper into the field of genetics and biology in a unique and hands-on capacity. Dr. Zusman and Dr. Deshpande, our mentor at Princeton University, helped us find a significant discovery, and it was amazing to share it with the community!” said Olarewaju.

The presentations were wonderful exhibits of the power that research has in making our world a better place, one fruit fly under the microscope at a time.