Pariza F's Senior Project Blog

Project Title: Differences in Males and Females that Experience Traumatic Brain Injuries
BASIS Advisor: Mrs. Hagerman
Internship Location: 475 N. 5th Street Phoenix, AZ 85004
Onsite Mentor: Dr. Theresa Currier Thomas



Project Abstract

Every year, approximately 1.7 million people in the United States sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to various causes, including sports, falls, and motor vehicle accidents. Fortunately, the human body has a natural defense mechanism, much like a personal army. Our immune cells continuously patrol for damage and injuries. However, when a TBI occurs, the brain quickly mobilizes its primary defender: microglia. These specialized immune cells rapidly move to the site of injury through the bloodstream, fully prepared to assess and respond to the damage. Upon arrival, microglia change shape into an ameboid form, enlarging in size and contributing to inflammation in the brain to help clear away the damaged tissue. Recovery is a gradual process, as microglia must take control of the situation, which can take months or even up to a year. Our study examines this process in the brains of younger rats that have experienced a TBI, as a younger age exhibits a greater capacity for recovery due to neuroplasticity, which plays a crucial role in healing.

    My Posts:

  • Conclusion!

    Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a devastating event, especially in young individuals, leading to long-lasting physical, cognitive, and emotional consequences. Among its many effects, one lesser-known but critical outcome is how the brain’s immune cells, called microglia, respond and potentially drive further damage. Our recent research dives deep into this response, focusing on how microglia... Read More

  • Reviewing Articles

    This week, I reviewed some research articles to better understand our findings and the purpose of the CD68 marker. I will be presenting these and my results in my lab at the next meeting, so please let me know if it makes sense! The first paper discusses CD68, a protein found mainly in macrophages, which... Read More

  • CD68 Staining and GraphPad

    Hello everyone! This week, I used a software called GraphPad to look closely at the macrophages we found in the CD68 staining, which marks macrophages. Unfortunately, CD68 also stains capillaries in the blood, which can be confused with macrophages when counting. To give a little intro to what GraphPad is: GraphPad is a statistical and... Read More

  • Research Research Research…

    As we have been analyzing and gathering the data from our images, we are now looking for the answers in our results. Our images were analyzed by two people (Sam and I) and our pixel software, which I discussed in my last post. Rest assured, we can say the data is pretty accurate since it... Read More

  • Pixel Software

    Back to the data we collected two weeks ago, I have individually counted the microglia, and now to double-check our data, we are using a pixel software. Pixel is a software tool designed for quantitative analysis of microglia or any macrophage—the immune cells of the brain—based on imaging data. It is particularly useful in neuroscience... Read More

  • Analyzing Macrophages

    This week I was working with two sets of data. One was the brain slides with microglia staining, which I have been working on for the past couple of weeks. The other set of images I am working on are DAPI stainings, SOX9 stainings, S100B stainings and GFAP stainings. DAPI stainings are mainly used for... Read More

  • The Next Part…

    Working with my other lab member, Sam, we have combined the data of the 64 brain slides by taking the microglia count and dividing it by the percent area. We are doing this to compare our data since we used the same brain slides and images to retrieve our data. Especially since we have to... Read More

  • Last Piece of the Puzzle!

    So, we have finally finished brain imaging and five hundred seventy-six calculations! For calculations, we took the total area of the image and divided it by the specific area we were measuring (which is outlined in red below). After getting the percent area, we divide it by the amount of activated microglia in each region. ... Read More

  • Microglia Activation Post Injury

    This week I completed brain imaging as well as the calculations needed for analysis. Every individual brain slide came from a random rat that had experienced a traumatic brain injury. Each slide makes up a different portion of the brain. Therefore, when you put the first 32 brain slides together, they should make a 3D... Read More

  • Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats

    Armed with many soldiers, our bodies have a strong defense mechanism to protect us from injuries. From macrophages to microglia, our immune cells patrol the area continuously for injuries. This interest of mine has led me to do a research project on traumatic brain injuries at the University of Arizona’s neuroscience laboratory. Currently, I am... Read More