13th Mentored Paper (Fall 2024)

Topics

MPI 13.1: Primary breast or prostate cancer patients previously deemed to be cancer-free can undergo metastatic relapse several years later due to the presence of dormant disseminated cancer cells, particularly in bone. What mechanisms are responsible for cancer cell dormancy, and how could dormancy be modeled in vitro? 

 

MPI 13.2: How do cancer cells sense and respond to mechanical forces in their surroundings?

 

MPI 13.3: How can blood vessels be formed or modeled in vitro in a physiologically relevant manner?

 

MPI 13.4: How can adipose tissue vasculature affect adipose tissue health?

 

MPI 13.5: How does exercise influence the adipose tissue?"

 

MPI 13.6: Does low socioeconomic status influence cardiovascular disease risk in individuals?

 

MPI 13.7: How might physiological adaptations, including both metabolic and cardiovascular responses, during long-term weight loss and maintenance, vary depending on socioeconomic backgrounds?

 

MPI 13.8: How do physiological adaptations, encompassing both metabolic and cardiovascular changes, in response to exercise interventions—whether short-term or long-term—differ based on racial variations?   

 

MPI 13.9:  Plant immunity studies have found that many plant immune responses are activated by the plant metabolites salicylic acid (SA) and N-hydroxypipecolic acid (NHP). How might these new findings help better protect crop plants from pathogenic disease in agriculture?

 

MPI 13.10: Plant biologists are on the cusp of uncovering important plant immune signals, and this knowledge could be important for increasing the disease resistance of agricultural crops worldwide. It is thought that the N-hydroxypipeolic acid (NHP) molecule moves from infected leaves to uninfected leaves to activate resistance to potential future infections. Design experiments that would clarify if NHP really is a mobile defense signal capable of moving from one leaf to another.

 

MPI 13.11: Does regular cannabis use impact mood and anxiety levels in young adults compared to adults who don't smoke cannabis?

 

MPI 13.12: What are the mental health implications of chronic illnesses and disabilities, and how can integrated care models better address these issues?

 

MPI 13.13: What is most important to families of children who die in critical care environments around the time of death?

 

MPI 13.14: What barriers do health care providers face in providing quality end of life care to children in critical care environments?

 

MPI 13.15: How does race impact an individual’s risk of cardiovascular disease?

 

MPI 13.16: How do mitochondria help skeletal muscle adapt to exercise?

 

MPI 13.17: Can platelets be used as a marker of mitochondrial health?

 

MPI 13.18: What is the role of KMT2C/MLL3 loss, a histone methyltransferase, in breast cancer initiation, progression and metastasis?

 

MPI 13.19: Describe the role of CUX1 as a tumor suppressor gene as well as an oncogene in breast cancer?

 

MPI 13.20: Describe the role of KMT2C in chromatin remodeling in the context of breast cancer pathogenesis?

 

MPI 13.21: How can community organizations effectively collaborate with healthcare providers to implement social prescribing programs that address the social determinants of health for underserved populations?

 

MPI 13.22: What are the key components of a successful public health policy framework to improve the quality and accessibility of mental health services, particularly for marginalized communities?

 

MPI 13.23: What strategies can healthcare systems implement to better support resident physicians and mitigate burnout, while also addressing systemic issues that contribute to high-stress environments and suboptimal patient care?

 

MPI 13.24: How do disruptions in normal sleep patterns contribute to the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and what are the underlying mechanisms linking sleep disturbances to neurodegeneration and associated memory impairments?  

MPI 13.25: Review the current advancements and potential future applications of nanotechnology in drug delivery systems, imaging techniques, targeted therapies or another application of your choice.

 

MPI 13.26:  Study on the potential risks associated with the release of nanoparticles into the environment and explore strategies for sustainable nanotechnology development.

 

MPI 13.27: How can a combination treatment strategy be utilized in the treatment of AML, and is it possible to target leukemic or pre-leukemic stem cells?

 

MPI 13.28: The use of deep learning and artificial intelligence in the detection of disease progression, specifically in bone and joint diseases

 

MPI 13.29: What advances in prosthetic design have improved the quality of life of patients requiring joint replacements? (They can focus on any one joint, i.e. knee, hip, shoulder, etc.)

 

MPI 13.30: How have advances in medical imaging impacted/improved osteoarthritis patient care?

 

MPI 13.31: How do environmental dimensions (i.e.. childhood adversity, socioeconomic status) interact with biological indicators (i.e.. inflammation, gut dysbiosis) of suicide risk?

 

MPI 13.32: Can alterations in functional brain activity or connectivity serve as a biomarker in the prediction of suicide risk?

 

MPI 13.33: How does psychological and/or physical pain influence suicide risk, and how does it intersect with other related behaviours, like non-suicidal self-injury?

 

MPI 13.34: Sialidase is an emerging immunotherapy. Discuss its historical development, advantages and limitations for a chosen disease (review article). OR propose an immunotherapy using sialidase (research protocol).

 

MPI 13.35: What is CAR-M therapy, compare its advantages and/or limitations to CAR-T therapy in a disease of your choice (review article).

 

MPI 13.36: Describe/propose new strategies to improve cell survival in transplantation (research protocol or review article).

 

MPI 13.37: Metastatic prostate cancer continues to pose a significant challenge to our healthcare system, with many patients finding limited to no relief using standard of care therapies. What current advancements are being made to improve the efficacy or uptake of existing drugs?

 

MPI 13.38: Targeting cancer cells using their intrinsic/resonant frequency proves to be an interesting, yet controversial area of research. What research has been done in the recent years to target cancer cells using such biophysical properties? How can these strategies be employed in the clinical setting?

 

MPI 13.39: One of the most complex aspects of the bone is its rigid and calcified composition. While several recent bone-on-a-chip platforms have developed very few consider the dense bone microenvironment. What work has been done to mimic this environment? (or) How would you aim to mimic that calcification in vitro?

 

MPI 13.40: What are hypothesized the multiscale mechanisms of depression, and how do they relate? (literature review of gene, cell, circuit, network, and symptom levels)

 

MPI 13.41: What are the current state- and location-specific EEG/ECOG/MEG biomarkers for depression diagnosis and successful treatment?

 

MPI 13.42: Discuss the similarities and differences between estrogen receptor (ER) positive and negative breast cancer metastasis.     

 

MPI 13.43: Investigate how 3D printing has been integrated into the most complex applications from various fields. In the scope of this research, the fields of exploration could be from medical sciences, engineering or both. The most complex applications of 3D Printing technology in medical sciences, like organ printing, tissue engineering, etc., could be studied. For engineering applications or complex fields this could include investigating new material discovery, construction, defense science, etc.

 

MPI 13.44: Is it possible to study and enhance Metallic or Polymer composites for the Infantry (On-Ground Soldiers) or Military?

 

MPI 13.45: Understand and evaluate the performance of nanomaterials as biosensors/sensors. This can include a study about its biocompatibility for biomedical applications like drug delivery (nanomedicine), wound bandages, or a study about its versatility within engineering applications based on their properties that are being utilized for very complex applications not widely known, such as automotive components, aerospace structure coatings, and fuel performance applications.

 

MPI 13.46: How can we use nanocomposite materials in Military and infantry applications where we wish to be sustainable and also efficient at the same time? The application can be subjected to high temperatures, pressure, various forces, etc.

 

MPI 13.47: How does adolescent cannabis use affect susceptibility to schizophrenia?

 

MPI 13.48: How does prenatal nicotine exposure affect short-term and long-term memory?

 

MPI 13.49: How does chronic stress exposure compared to acute stress exposure affect susceptibility to alcohol abuse?

 

MPI 13.50: How can we address immune escape in cancer?

 

MPI 13.51: How can machine learning methods be used to gain insight from clinical or other data?

 

MPI 13.52: How can survival analysis be used to gain insight from clinical or other data?

 

MPI 13.53: What is the appropriate red blood cell transfusion strategy to manage patients with hematological malignancies?

 

MPI 13.54: What biomarkers can be used as surrogates of bleeding in patients with hematological malignancies?

 

MPI 13.55: How do red blood cell transfusions impact hemostasis and vascular function, more specifically endothelial integrity, inflammation, coagulation, and fibrinolysis parameters, in patients with hematological malignancies?

 

MPI 13.56: How do differential compositions of the human microbiome impact immunity?

 

MPI 13.57: What are the possible enzymatic solutions to degrading plastics?

 

MPI 13.58: How is de novo protein design being used to develop novel drug delivery systems?

 

MPI 13.59: How can we effectively deliver drugs to the brain considering the physiological limitations of the Blood-Brain Barrier?

 

MPI 13.60: What is image-guided therapy and how is it shaping the future of surgery in medicine?

 

MPI 13.61: How can we improve the quality of life and, if possible, the survival of patients affected by bone metastases? A review from well-established treatments to emerging technologies.

 

MPI 13.62: How does the gut microbiome contribute to diabetes development?

 

MPI 13.63: How do macrophages contribute to metabolic diseases and are these cells suitable therapeutic targets? (Can be a literature review or research proposal on targeting macrophages to combat a particular metabolic disease)

 

MPI 13.64: Clearance of senescent β-cells to prevent diabetes progression: should we eliminate the cells most therapeutic approaches aim to preserve?