Suthakaran, Nirthieca

Epilepsy is a prevalent brain disorder that affects more than 1 in 26 people in the United States. The recurring increased neuronal excitability during seizures results in sleep disturbances and muscle convulsions that reduce the quality of life and increase the healthcare costs for these patients. An epilepsy diagnosis is made when patients have had two or more seizures. There are many types of seizures and an individual can have more than one type. Seizures are classified into two groups, 1) generalized seizures that affect both sides of the brain and 2) focal seizures that are located in just one area of the brain. The causes of epilepsy vary by the age of the person, some with no clear cause may have a genetic form of epilepsy. Due to the various causes and types of seizures, many treatments including invasive surgeries and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) do not work for all epileptic/seizure patients and are merely used to ease symptoms. The physiological complexity of the disorder and limited knowledge on its specific molecular mechanisms may contribute to the lack of effective treatment. In recent years, there has been an estimated average cost in billions of dollars to bring new medicine to the market; due to the lack of novel antiseizure targets and mechanism-based therapies on seizure phenotypes. In response to this, we utilized the electroconvulsive seizure behavioral assay to characterize one generalized seizure phenotype, tonic-clonic/grand mal seizures.

Drosophila melanogaster tolerates several hours of anoxia (the absence of
oxygen) by entering a protective coma. A burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is
produced when oxygen is reintroduced to the cells. ROS causes oxidative damage to
critical cellular molecules, which contribute to aging and development of certain agerelated
conditions. The amino acid, methionine, is susceptible to oxidation, although this
damage can be reversed by methionine sulfoxide reductases (Msr). This project
investigates the effect of Msr-deficiency on anoxia tolerance in Drosophila throughout
the lifespan of the animal. The data show that the time for recovery from the
protective comma as well as the survival of the animals lacking any Msr activity
depends on how quickly the coma is induced by the anoxic conditions. Insight into
the roles(s) of Msr genes under anoxic stress can lead us to a path of designing
therapeutic drugs around these genes in relation to stroke.

The 3MT® competition celebrates the exciting research conducted by graduate students. Developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), the exercise cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. The competition supports their capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes, in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience. The first 3MT® competition was held at the University of Queensland in 2008 with 160 students competing. In 2009 and 2010 the 3MT® competition was promoted to other Australian and New Zealand universities and enthusiasm for the concept grew. Since 2011, the popularity of the competition has increased and 3MT® competitions are now held in over 170 universities across more than 18 countries worldwide.

Drosophila melanogaster can withstand hours of oxygen deprivation (anoxia) by entering a protective coma called spreading depression. When oxygen is reintroduced to the cells, a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) causes oxidative damage. Methionine is susceptible to oxidation to form methionine sulfoxide. This oxidation is reversible where methionine sulfoxide reductase (Msr) A and B reduce the S and R enantiomers, respectively. In this study, MsrA and MsrB single deletion lines were exposed to one hour of anoxia and the Drosophila Activity Monitor (DAM) recorded their recovery times. RNA interference (RNAi) lines were used to mimic the effect of these deletion lines by ubiquitously knocking down their expression. My current data indicates that MsrA loss-of-function strains recover significantly faster than the MsrB loss-of-function lines with increasing age. Insight into the roles of Msr genes under anoxic stress could lead to a better understanding of how these genes contribute to aging.