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
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.