Variety is the Spice of Research: Breast Cancer, Stem Cell Transplantation, Orthodontic Adhesives

 

 

 

Institute Research Student Seminars

Speakers:  Marco Silipo, PhD student (Reproductive & Vascular Biology),

Intan Abd Hamid PhD student (Transplantation) and Hadi Ismail, PhD student

(Oral & Dental Sciences)

 

Venue: Seminar room L2.5, 2^nd floor, Leech Building, Medical School

Date and time:  Wednesday 14 May 2014 at 1.00pm

 

Marco Silipo will present:

 

“Role of HER2 alternative splicing in breast cancer progression”

 

20-30% of breast cancer cells over-express the epithelial growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) resulting in a more aggressive disease. The status of HER2 is clinically assessed in breast cancer patients to assist with treatment decisions that inhibit HER2 activity.   However, clinical assessment for HER2+ breast cancer does not take in consideration functional alternative splice variants of HER2. My project aims to identify different HER2 splice variants that may have an impact on breast cancer biology and to understand the factors that regulate their expression.

 

Key words:  Breast cancer, HER2, alternative splicing

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Intan Abd Hamid will discuss:

 

“Long-term outcome of SCID patients who had underwent Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation”

 

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disorder is a rare disease affecting children with incidence of 1 in 100,000 live births.  It is considered as one of the paediatric emergencies and most patients do not reach their one year old birthday if left untreated. The focus of my research is to explore the long term outcomes of those who have been transplanted and how issues such as donors’ selection, choices of stem cell source and genotype-phenotype association influenced the outcome.   

 

Key words: Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disorder (SCID), Hematopoietic STem Cell Transplantation (HSCT), Long-term Outcome

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Hadi Ismail will speak on:

 

“Development of a fluoride releasing acrylic resin for using as an orthodontic adhesive”

 

In fixed appliance treatment, bonding systems are used to secure orthodontic brackets to teeth. 73% of patients experience decalcification around brackets during treatment. Fluoride releasing adhesives are effective in preventing or reducing demineralization around brackets because they provide a fluoride reservoir that does not require patient cooperation. One of the key properties of the orthodontic adhesives is handling, which is dependent on the rheological properties of the adhesive.

 

Key words: orthodontic adhesive, Fluoride release, Acrylic resin

 

 

Chair:  Sophie Cassidy, PhD student (Movement & Metabolism)