Where is the Corn?

“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 .