Si Jia Chen
Program: Unspecified
Current advisor:
Undergraduate university: University of Maryland-College Park
Research summary
A previous screen in the SH-SY5Y line that aimed to search for a genetic pro-death program downstream of SARM1 activation indicated MAP4K4 as a promising candidate. My current rotation revolves around understanding whether MAP4K4 plays a pro-degenerative role in SARM1-dependent neuronal cell death and potentially delineating the underlying molecular pathway using human iPSC-derived motor neurons. Specifically, I will first evaluate cell death and axon degeneration with various molecular markers to validate the applicability of the previous screen result in motor neurons. Next, I will investigate the relationship of MAP4K4 activity to SARM1 activation via metabolite assay. Following that, I will examine the potential involvement of c-Jun in this pathway utilizing immunostaining.
Graduate publications