Are you are clever student expected to write your master project in bioinformatics in a near future? Then maybe this project from my colleague is something for you.
Topic: Analysis of Clariom D (Affymetrix microarray) data sets from experiments on:
Whole-brain transcriptomes during brain development and under exposure to paracetamol
Whole-brain transcriptomes in neuroglobin and cytoglobin knock-out mouse models
Background:
Project 1: Mild analgesics as ipren and paracetamol/acetaminophen (N-Acetyl-
p-Aminophenol) is recommended for pregnant women if having fever, headache, or mild pain. But several studies have raised concern about the intake of paracetamol during pregnancy and shown an increased risk of having a child developing ADHD, autism, low IQ and learning disabilities. The project investigates the genetic landscape of the developing brain from foetus to adult and thereby uncover those cell types (neurons, glia etc.) and cellular pathways there are affected of exposure to paracetamol. This will tell us more precisely the regions of the brain that are vulnerable to paracetamol exposure during pregnancy. In a human context: Minimize unintended side effects of using mild analgesics during pregnancy and early childhood.
Project 2: The globin family of proteins consisting of approximately 35 members are characterised by having a globin fold that can harbour a heme-group. Two of these globins, haemoglobin and myoglobin are used for oxygen transport and release (respiratory globins), whereas the endogenous function of the other members remains enigmatic. Especially, two of the members neuroglobin (Ngb) and cytoglobin (Cygb) have attracted much attention as they are localised in the brain, and were believed to be the respiratory globins of the brain. Our hypothesis is that Cygb and Ngb both act as reactive oxygen and nitric oxide scavengers (RONS) not as respiratory molecules in the brain. In this study we investigate the whole brain transcriptome in wild type (WT), Cygb-KO, and Ngb-KO mice either in naïve state or after oxidative stress.
For further information contact:
Anders Hay-Schmidt
Professor dr. scient
Odontologisk Institut
Panum 24.5
Blegdamsvej 3
2200 N
Email: ahay@sund.ku.dk
Tel.: +45 2875 7260