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iResearch Institute 2024 Student Highlights

Vijay Shivnani

Presentation Recognition + Paper Recognition
Title:
Infant Allergy Risk: The Role of Food Introduction on the Gut Microbiome
Hometown: Plano, Texas
School: Shepton High School
Mentor: Trish Millitech, Ph.D.

The development of food allergy (FA) and corresponding gut microbiome changes are influenced by the timing of infant solid food introduction. This microbiome analysis assessed how food selection and timing affected FA risk using the infant (N=198) longitudinal DIABIMMUNE cohort. Root vegetable and grain introduction influenced Streptococcus, Escherichia-Shigella, and Klebsiella genera abundance, all showing differential abundance in allergic infants (p<0.05). On average, earlier food introduction (<6 months) correlated with increased allergic activity. Individual food product introduction, for example, beetroot increased the Allantoin Degradation IV Pathway abundance, correlated with non-allergic infants (p<0.01). Microbiome-food item correlations suggest revisions to infant food introduction guidelines and potential pro-biotics to alter gut-microbiome tp reduce allergy risk.

Saisha Mittal

Presentation Recognition
Title:
Early Depression Risk Prediction in Older Adults
Hometown: Redman, Washington
School:
The Overlake School
Mentor: Anis Davoudi, Ph.D.

Depression affects 5.7% of adults over 60, with over 50% of cases going undiagnosed. As the elderly population doubles by 2050, early depression detection is crucial. This study employs multiple machine learning models to predict early depression risk in adults aged 65+ based on demographic, physical, and cognitive health factors over various time periods. It also identifies and significantly reduces algorithmic bias in protected attributes including gender, race, and education through the method of reweighting. These findings confirm key contributing factors to depression-like clinical conditions, memory decline, and lower education suggesting the need to target these areas for maximized social and emotional improvement as the population ages.

Rishi Pai

Presentation Recognition
Title:  
An alternative composite score to determine breast cancer recurrence probability
Hometown:  Alpharetta, Georgia
School: Innovation Academy
Mentor: Jagdeep Podichetty, Ph.D.

Breast cancer (BC) recurrence is difficult to predictusing machine learning techniques due to a lack of patient data. Currently, theOncotype DX score is widely used for BC recurrence probability and relies onoften challenging to obtain genetic data. This study aimed to develop acomposite score for HER2-negative BC patients using easier-to-access data(clinical, histological, immunohistochemical, molecular biology). A calibratedGradient Boosting Classifier was trained to predict recurrence scores rangingfrom 0-10, with lower scores indicating lower probability. The classifieraccurately (90%) predicted BC recurrence risk scores, presenting it as a viablealternative to Oncotype DX to guide treatment decisions.

Yujia (Aurora) Li

Paper Recognition
Title:  
The instigator of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1D): Connecting Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) with Infant Gut Microbiome
Hometown:  Newport Beach, California
School: Sage Hill School
Mentor: Trish Millitech, Ph.D.

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is influenced by genetics and other factors, but the role of gut bacteria in its development remains unclear. This study investigates how Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) genes and gut bacteria interact to influence T1D risk. Children with high-risk HLA genes generally had fewer beneficial bacteria, like Lachnospira. Prevotella were more abundant in children who developed T1D, while Ruminococcus and others were more common in those who didn’t. Functional bacterial pathways, such as energy production pathways (PWY.5676 and PWY.7220/7222), were more common in T1D low-risk children. The findings suggest that disruptions in gut bacteria with accompanying genetic factors may contribute to the development of T1D.

Jessica Zhang

Presentation Recognition
Title:  
Optimizing Enzyme Thermostability: Plastisphere Enriched Genes for Plastic Degradation
Hometown:  Plano, Texas
School: Jasper High School
Mentor: Robert Broadrup, Ph.D.

Plastic production exceeds 359 million tons annually. Recent advances in plastic-degrading enzymes (PDE) have improved depolymerization, however, activity declines under industrial thermophilic conditions. To optimize PDE thermostability, identifying biological pathways in existing thermophilic PDEs is necessary. The genes of 26 thermophilic PDEs were clustered to identify thermostability overexpressed pathways. Pathways controlling cellular responses to environmental stress and DNA binding were overexpressed in 100% of thermophilic PDEs but only 20% of non-thermophilic PDEs (p<0.05). The findings suggest that pathway overexpression is conserved among taxonomy, plastisphere, and enzyme families and the optimization of thermostability by leveraging pathways key to stress response.

See 2023-2022 Highlights