If you’ve ever seen a premature infant, you’ve marveled at just how tiny one can be, fitting in the palm of your hand. About 12 percent of all births are premature, meaning that they occur before 37 weeks. This comes to roughly half a million premature births per year in the United States.
When an infant is born premature, its lungs are not yet fully developed. As a result, preterm infants often struggle to breathe normally and are at-risk for a number of respiratory complications. These complications are costly and dangerous. Katelyn Dunigan is a doctoral student in UAB’s Graduate Biomedical Sciences program. She currently conducts research on bronchopulmonary dysplasia in Dr. Trent Tipple’s laboratory.
How does the immune system affect Parkinson Disease?
Think about the hobbies you have. It may be running or weight lifting, playing music or drawing. Now, think about your work. Does it involve writing or typing? Do you have to drive to get there every day?
Many of our jobs and hobbies require fine motor skills and coordinated movement, and most of the time, we don’t even think about it. We are able to type on our computers, go for a morning run and do the chores around the house without having to concentrate too much on our coordination. Unfortunately, this is not the reality for people living with Parkinson’s disease. To them, the simplest tasks may be impossible to complete.
Read more: How does the immune system affect Parkinson Disease?
Burning away the fat
Forty percent of adults in the United States are obese, classified as having a BMI greater than 25.
This statistic is shocking considering that obesity is a significant risk factor for several serious illnesses, like heart disease, liver disease, diabetes and cancer. In the interest of our country’s health, there is a critical need for effective treatments for obesity.
Art as a canvas for scientific discovery
“Science is hard.”
This is what third-year graduate student Sarah Adkins was told by a science professor as an undergraduate when she developed test anxiety that caused spasms in her hands – turning them blue!
The pace of protein production
Did you know that protein is related to cancer? Many of us know that protein aids in muscle growth, but fewer of us know that overproduction of protein by our bodies’ cells can enable cancerous growth, once started, to continue. This, along with other reasons, makes it incredibly important for researchers here at UAB to learn more about protein production in our cells. And that’s just what Catie Scull, a UAB doctoral student in biochemistry, is doing.
