Poster Presentation at the AIMRC Symposium
Author: Carson Caudill | Major: Exercise Science | Semester: Fall 2024
My name is Carson Caudill, and I just graduated Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas Honors College with my B.S. in Exercise Science. I have spent the past two years working in the HHPR department under Dr.Tyrone Washington. I just completed my semester of grant funding this fall. My plans include attending UAMS College of Health Professions and earning my Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Dr. Washington’s lab focuses on examining muscle plasticity through molecular biology techniques, particularly looking at cellular signaling within skeletal muscle induced by aging, obesity, cancer cachexia, regeneration, or altered loading. The area of most interest to me was sarcopenic obesity. Obesity is defined as an abnormal or excessive amount of body fat. It’s linked to many adverse conditions, including the number one killer in the world, heart disease. Sarcopenia is the gradual loss of muscle mass, strength, and function. Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is the combination of these two conditions. SO has been linked to more negative effects than obesity or sarcopenia alone. It is important to understand SO due to the fact that 60% of obese individuals are over the age of 60. This means that SO is a very common condition and is rapidly rising in prevalence. Dr.Washington’s lab has previously produced literature showing that moderators of skeletal muscle maintenance were altered in sarcopenic obese mice. I chose to look further into the data they produced from this study. Dr.Washington’s study primarily focused on the gastrocnemius muscle, a primarily slow-twitch muscle. I looked at the data for the plantaris muscle, which is a primarily fast-twitch muscle fiber. After filtering and sorting the gene counts and signaling pathways. We were able to identify some pathways that seemed to be unique to SO in the mice model. We identified an upregulation in cellular sessance, which was not seen in the non SO groups. These pathways seemed unique to the SO group, showing a possibly dysregulated phenotype.
For my Honors thesis defense, I presented at the AIMRC symposium. I was one of many students ranging from other undergraduates to Doctoral students. During the symposium, I was able to interact with professionals who had much more experience than I did. It was intimidating at first. However, once I started presenting, I realized everyone wasn’t trying to confuse me; rather, they were collaborating with me. I was able to have conversations with people about my work and they asked very insightful questions, even adding their own thoughts in regards to what they are currently researching. This collaboration truly advances the field.
The Honors College research process when I first started was very intimidating. The idea of writing a thesis is very daunting. However, once I started working in Dr.Washington’s lab, I began gaining valuable skills and knowledge that would prepare me for working on my thesis. In the lab, Dr.Washington was instrumental in helping me with my skills and helping me every step of the way through the research process. We met frequently when I was writing the honors research grant, and he gave me many tips and helped revise my grant. In addition to Dr.Washington himself, I became close to his doctoral students. Anytime I had questions, or I needed to learn a new skill in the lab, Dr.Washington’s other students were always willing to help. So, while the Honors process can seem very scary, just know that you will not be doing it alone. Build a relationship with your faculty mentor and the other students because they genuinely want to help you succeed!