I am Thalia
Dimopoulos, a senior studying neuroscience and doing OSCAR’s Summer Intensive
Program! My mentor is Dr. Jane Flinn, the director of the Cognitive and
Behavioral Neuroscience program here at Mason. Together, we came up with my
current project, which is The effects of A. bisporus on the Circadian Rhythms
and Spatial Memory of Human Amyloid Precursor Protein (hAPP) Transgenic Mice.
Essentially, I am feeding transgenic and wildtype mice a 10% white button
mushroom diet three times a week, and mice not on the diet are consuming their
regular food yet in the same liquefied form as the diet of 10% mushrooms. I am
performing behavioral tests on my mice at 3 and 8 months of age, which include
Morris Water Maze (to test their spatial cognition) and circadian rhythm trials
(to examine their sleep/wake cycles). White button mushrooms have been shown to
be anti-inflammatory and overall fantastic for your brain in regards to memory!
I can see this project
being of great use to my future because I want to be on the forefront for helping
fight Alzheimer’s. My long-term goal is to see this project be able to
ameliorate the situation of people suffering from Alzheimer’s. I have
experienced firsthand the horrible effects of Alzheimer’s on the patients and
their families. I would like to either receive an MD in geriatrics or a PhD in
Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience (with an Alzheimer’s concentration) so I
can somehow make a difference in patients’ lives; whether it’s face-to-face or
behind the microscope. So far I have learned how flexibility, patience, and perseverance
are essential in research. I will not see results overnight, which I am
accepting since I am anticipating this project to have significant results. The
wait is worthwhile, and even if I do not see the results that I expect, this
experience has been priceless. The valuable lessons I have learned will remain
with me for the rest of my life. I love
research and hope to continue this new and exciting path!
