This week we heard about a variety of different experiments that are occurring within different Duke labs . With this, we learned the reasoning, motivation, and methods behind each project.
Emma’s chalk talk garnered my attention because of the way that she was so calm, cool and collected. She was also able to answer the audience’s questions with detail.
This chalk talk focused on epilepsy, which is associated with seizures. Emma explained that there is a possibility that there exist pathways that could help inhibit seizures in epilepsy patients. As for right now, this testing is done on mice so nothing conclusive can be said about humans right now. The main question of Emma’s presentation was: what specific pathway can inhibit seizures and where is it found? Currently there is a hypothesis that the neuregulin 1 (NRG1) gene is involved in helping inhibit seizures. Additionally Emma stated that using this pathway was only effective on mice that had seizures previously.
Overall, Emma’s presentation was very professional and she helped me understand a complex topic in a digestible way.
