Isolating RNA from Breast Tissue

Presentation Type

Poster

Keywords

microbiome, breast tissue, RNA isolations, gel electrophoresis

Department

Biology

Major

Biology

Abstract

Breast cancer affects millions of women worldwide and is a major focal point for researchers all over the globe. As a member of the Stiemsma Lab, I spent last summer investigating the role of the breast tissue microbiome in breast cancer development. We have compositional data characterizing the bacteria associated with tissues among three groups of women: healthy women, women who donated healthy tissue but were later diagnosed with breast cancer, and women with cancer. Our goal is to assess both the composition and the function of the breast microbiome of the samples. Isolation of RNA would serve as a functional assessment, which we could correlate with our microbiome compositional data. Last summer, I performed RNA isolations on breast tissue belonging to a diverse array of women of all ages, races, and body mass indices. Following each isolation, I ran gel electrophoresis for each of the RNA samples to analyze the quality of each RNA extraction. The samples were later sent to a lab for a pilot study to be sequenced and further analyzed for quality. Although the RNA samples were somewhat degraded, we hope to utilize data from this study for future research projects. We also can use this pilot assessment to enhance our RNA isolation protocols and conduct additional functional assessments on the breast tissue microbiome.

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Leah Stiemsma

Funding Source or Research Program

Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Location

Waves Cafeteria

Start Date

25-3-2022 2:00 PM

End Date

25-3-2022 3:00 PM

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Mar 25th, 2:00 PM Mar 25th, 3:00 PM

Isolating RNA from Breast Tissue

Waves Cafeteria

Breast cancer affects millions of women worldwide and is a major focal point for researchers all over the globe. As a member of the Stiemsma Lab, I spent last summer investigating the role of the breast tissue microbiome in breast cancer development. We have compositional data characterizing the bacteria associated with tissues among three groups of women: healthy women, women who donated healthy tissue but were later diagnosed with breast cancer, and women with cancer. Our goal is to assess both the composition and the function of the breast microbiome of the samples. Isolation of RNA would serve as a functional assessment, which we could correlate with our microbiome compositional data. Last summer, I performed RNA isolations on breast tissue belonging to a diverse array of women of all ages, races, and body mass indices. Following each isolation, I ran gel electrophoresis for each of the RNA samples to analyze the quality of each RNA extraction. The samples were later sent to a lab for a pilot study to be sequenced and further analyzed for quality. Although the RNA samples were somewhat degraded, we hope to utilize data from this study for future research projects. We also can use this pilot assessment to enhance our RNA isolation protocols and conduct additional functional assessments on the breast tissue microbiome.