A New Direction

With the beginning of the 2018 Summer INBRE program comes a new project in Dr. Austin’s lab! We plan on looking at the effects of an experimental drug on the mTOR pathway in the brains of mice. This will involve administering different dosages of the drug to a group of mice and then performing Western Blot tests on their brain tissue in order to test for proliferation of the proteins present in the aforementioned pathway.

The motivation behind this experiment comes from an interest in finding a faster-acting and more effective antidepressant treatment for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Most antidepressant research and medications have been focused on the serotonin system, and this project looks at an entirely new potential treatment. Our mice arrived earlier this week and are currently acclimating to their new environment. In the meantime, we have been preparing buffers, supplies, and our workspace! We are looking forward to the work to come!

#majordepressivedisorderMDD