OCTOBER 13, 2016
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
ALPHA EPSILON DELTA
THE COUGAR SCALPEL Paper Balls and Unity
By: Umair Siddiqi
The last event that I attended for AED was the Third General Body Meeting. I personally feel like through the meetings you truly get a sense of community within the club. During the meeting, we all participated in a little game where we split into two teams and the team that could transport the most paper balls, won. Although it initially seemed childish, within five minutes, I instantly began clicking with those around me. It’s small things like these that I feel are very important in achieving that sense of community and AED succeeds in that regard.
Expanding the Roles of Surfactant Proteins Dr. Joseph Alcorn, an Associate Professor at the McGovern Medical School, is interested in learning about the role of surfactant proteins in the innate immune system. Surfactant proteins are predominantly found in the lungs and aid in decreasing surface tension (class 1) and providing defense (class 2). Dr. Alcorn focuses on the second class, and conducts research on whether surfactant protein A (SP-A) could play a role in protecting neonatal intestinal tract. Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a disease that mainly affects the intestines of premature infants and formula-fed infants. Inappropriate exposure to bacteria, causes the intestinal cells to undergo necrosis (cell death). What Dr. Alcorn has discovered is that when purified SP-A was given to
REPORTER: KEZIAH THOMAS
neonatal rats with NEC, the tissue destruction and inflammation in the gut decreased. SP-A performs this heroic task by tagging the bacteria and flagging the macrophage. The macrophage then engulfs the bacteria. Dr. Alcorn’s interest in research began from a very young age. “My parents gave me a microscope in eight grade for Christmas and I was hooked. And then I did a science fair project; I went around all the wooden areas and collected water [samples]. I would look under the microscope and draw all of the paramecia,” Dr. Alcorn said. Additionally, he got to take his project to the state science fair, and his interest in life science grew from there. An advice he had for undergraduates interested in pursuing research was to keep up with the literature and find a mentor that they can emulate. He also wanted to remind students that at times research can be 90% disappointment and 10% success, but they should never give up when faced with the obstacles.
Speaker of Day: Dr. Stephen Spann Dr. Stephen Spann received his medical education from the Baylor College of Medicine and his M.B.A education from the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Spann currently serves as the Planning Dean for the proposed University of Houston Medical School.
ISSUE 4
FALL 2016
!1
OCTOBER 13, 2016
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
ALPHA EPSILON DELTA
MCAT Question of the Day Chronic alcohol consumption can cause which of the following neurological disorders? A. Dementia
B. Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy
C. Korsakoff’s Syndrome
D. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Upcoming Events! 10/16: Houston Food Bank
10/17: UTMB Tour & Bake Sale Social
10/18: Bake Sale!!!
10/20: HPAC Workshop
10/23: Zoo Boo
10/24: Journal Club
10/26: Blood Drive & Halloween Party Baked Goods Social
10/27: Halloween Party
10/29: Baylor College of Medicine Tour
10/31: UTMB Tour & Bake Sale Social
11/01: Bake Sale!!!
Answer: C
Source:
www.mcatquestion.com
Social Media Deets!
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REPORTER: KEZIAH THOMAS
ISSUE 4
FALL 2016
!2
