This Field Study will not be offered Spring of 2012
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Biology & Cell Membrane Function
A field study focusing on developing a novel Cystic Fibrosis medication
Sponsored by Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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Overview: In 1989, the gene responsible for Cystic Fibrosis was first cloned. Finally, the basis for the most common lethal genetic disorder in humans was known. Since that time, research efforts have multiplied and several possible treatments are in the process of being developed. One of those treatments was developed by a local company, Inspire Pharmaceuticals, based on research done at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Students attending the Biology Field Study will study the methods employed by researchers at Inspire to develop a drug for the treatment of Cystic Fibrosis. They will review the basics of cell structure and function and then look in-depth at a signaling process that is defective in CF patients and use their newfound understanding of how the disease works to propose and then evaluate a potential treatment.
Students will become proficient with the use of a pipettor as they treat lung cell cultures with candidate drugs, evaluate their effects, and then present their findings to their classmates.
Activities featured:
simulated ELISA, construction of a dose-response curve for a chemical
treatment, handling of mammalian cell cultures, construction of a
standard curve/use of a spectrophotometer, interpretation of
experimental data.
Science Concepts: protein
synthesis, intracellular communication, function of the respiratory
tracts, protein assays, in vitro testing, osmosis/diffusion, cell
structure and function
Standard Course of Study Objectives Addressed: 1.01-1.05, 2.01-2.03, 3.01, 3.03, 3.04, 4.03, 4.04
Student Profile: This unit is appropriate for students in Standard, Honors, or AP Biology. The content is sufficiently flexible to accommodate students from entry-level to highly advanced.
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