2009-09-26: Luncheon Honoring our 50/60 Year Members with a Special Presentation by our Project SEED Kids!

We are celebrating our 50 and 60 year members and having our Project SEED kids give them a presentation of the research they completed this summer. Project SEED takes kids and puts them in a laboratory environment to provide them an opportunity to engage in an authentic research experience. We think our veteran members would enjoy hearing about their research.

The students who took part in our Project SEED Program this summer are Karen Hernandez, Alejandra Leon and Perla Gama. Following are abstracts of their presentations.

Fabrication of a Microfluidic Enzyme Reactor Utilizing Magnetic Beads.
Karen Hernandez and Alejandra Leon, Roosevelt High School, and Frank A. Gomez, California State University, Los Angeles.

An enzyme-catalyzed microfluidic assay using magnetic micro-beads is being developed. Here, diaphorase (DI) (E.C. 1.6.99) is covalently attached to the magnetic micro-beads (2.7 mm) and integrated into a short section of a microchip fabricated from poly(dimethylsiloxane) PDMS. DI converts nonfluorescent resazurin to fluorescent resorufin in the presence of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADH). Proof-of-concept of the microreactor has been demonstrated. Current work is focused on optimizing conditions for the assay. This work has great potential in the development of microscale enzyme assays. The amounts of enzyme and substrate required are orders less than that used in typical enzyme assay protocols, which should benefit those working with expensive reagents. Future work is focused on examining other enzyme systems and in developing multistep enzyme reactions.

DNA Amplification of the Animals of the Chumash Indian Tribe of Channel Islands. Perla Gama, Roosevelt High School and Robert Vellanoweth, California State University, Los Angeles.

In order to discover how the Chumash tribe migrated through the Channel Islands, the remains of the Channel Island foxes and dogs are being examined. Fox blood was attained from the Santa Barbara Zoo to practice DNA extractions and other methods without using the delicate ancient DNA. Mitochondrial DNA was extracted from the fox blood, but literary searches lead to the decision to no longer use mitochondrial DNA because of the large range of polymorphisms already existent in the population. The research was refocused to studying the dog remains and DNA. Chelex and phenol-chloroform extractions have been conducted on a dog sample. Although there was trouble with the phenol-chloroform extraction, the DNA from the extractions will be used to amplify mitochondrial control regions by using PCR.

Reservations: There is a choice of Marie’s Home-Style Pot Roast, Gilled Lemon Chicken or Chicken Broccoli Fettuccine. The cost of the luncheon is $23 per person including tax, tip, salad and wine with luncheon; cash or check at the door. Please call Nancy Paradiso in the Section Office at 310 327-1216 or email office@scalacs.org by Monday, September 21, 2009 for reservations. Note: Please honor your reservation. If you make a reservation and do not attend, you will be liable for the cost of the dinner.

Directions: From the 60E, take the Atlantic Blvd. exit. Turn left onto South Atlantic Blvd. The restaurant is on the right before Garvey. From the 60 W, turn right onto South Atlantic Blvd.