“Have fun in the corn
fields, Kate!” This was my
friends’ response when I told them how I would be spending my summer:
completing a research and job-shadowing internship at the University of Iowa
with neonatologist (and Juniata alum) Dr. Steven McElroy. I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting
Iowa to offer much more than hot, flat farm land either. So when, after driving 8 hours from my
home in Michigan, I finally exited I-80 and drove into Iowa City, I was
confused; everything was green! Wow, I thought, this seems like a really nice place to live! Two weeks later, I have found no reason
to change my mind. The beautiful
Iowa River snakes through downtown, and the city’s many large parks and huge
trees provide wonderful places to sit and read or to go running.
Everyone here has
been extremely friendly and welcoming!
I am living in a medical student co-ed fraternity, and as soon as we
sorted out some initial confusion and established that I was not, in fact, a
first year medical student but a junior in college, the move out to Iowa ran
very smoothly. I have already met
three med students who know about Juniata – JC’s net of connections never
ceases to amaze me!
Right now the only people in the McElroy
lab are Dr. McElroy, myself, and another undergrad from UI named Matt. Dr. McElroy’s research deals with
neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a disease of the small intestine that
is one of the leading causes of illness and death in premature infants. While the mechanism and cause of NEC
are not understood completely, the leading hypothesis is that the immaturity of
the immune system in the premature small intestine can sometimes allow bacteria
through to the epithelium (the interior lining of the intestine). This causes an extreme inflammatory
response, which can allow more bacteria through and the bacteria produce air and free radicals, causing tissue
destruction. Paneth cells are one
component of the immune system in the small intestine; they secrete antimicrobial
molecules when exposed to bacteria and help to maintain intestinal stem cells. However, infants with NEC have far
fewer Paneth cells than healthy infants.
My project this summer will look at the relationship between signaling
from Paneth cells, intestinal stem cell response, and the development of NEC. I really like
this research because it is very applicable to the real-world problems Dr.
McElroy faces in the hospital every day!
If you want to learn more about
the lab and NEC, check out McElroy Lab website .
