INSTRUCTIONS - PROFESSORS: Please print and review this form. Complete or correct the sections, as applicable, from "Supervisor's Name" to "Ethics, safety, and training". Please sign and date near the bottom ("Supervisor's signature").
INSTRUCTIONS - STUDENTS: You may receive this form by email, or you may download it from www.mcgill.ca/science/research/ours/396 after it has been posted. Either way, print and review this form. Complete or correct the sections, from "Student's Name" to "Student's Level", and sign ("Student signature). Ask your supervisor to sign her/his section near the bottom. Take it to the department corresponding to the course number; this may or may not be your own department. Do not register for a '396' course on Minerva until you receive departmental permission. Have a discussion with your supervisor about time/work expectations, keeping in mind that this is a 3-credit course (roughly, 10 hours per week for 12 weeks). Remember that a '396' course is an elective.
INSTRUCTIONS - DEPARTMENTS: After the unit chair/director/designate approves (or not) this project, please notify student. If approved, please give student permission to register on Minerva, and fax this form (with signatures) to the Office for Undergraduate Research in Science at 514-398-8102. The Office for Undergraduate Research in Science will later post the project online at www.mcgill.ca/science/research/ours/396/listing, indicating whether the project is open for students to apply or taken.
QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK? Contact Victor Chisholm by email, or phone 514-398-5964
Supervisor's Name: Raquel Aloyz, co-supervisor Chantal Autexier
Supervisor's Email: raquel [dot] aloyz [at] mcgill [dot] ca
Supervisor's Phone: 514-3408222 ext 5288
Supervisor's Website: http://www.ladydavis.ca/en/raquelaloyz
Supervisor's department: Anatomy and Cell Biology
Course number: ANAT396 (Anatomy and Cell Biology)
Term: Winter 2011-2012
Project start date: Monday, January 9, 2012
Project end date: Monday, April 16, 2012
Project title: Role of eIF4E in drug resistance in CLL
Project description: The student will assess the role of the translation initiation factor eIF4E in the survival of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cell lines after treatment with a chemotherapeutic, fludarabine, the current standard treatment for CLL. She will use specific inhibitors of eIF4E in the presence or absence of fludarabine. To this end she will use survival assays and biochemical techniques well established in the laboratory. In addition, to assess the role of eIF4E downstream targets in acquired resistance to fludarabine, she will select CLL cell lines with acquired resistance to fludarabine. The cell lines are partially characterized for the expression of eIF4E and upstream signaling modulators (i.e. mTor and MNK kinases). The IC50 for fludarabine have been determined previously in our lab as well. The design of the experiments is based in preliminary results generated in the laboratory using CLL cell lines and primary CLL cell purified from patients.
2 weeks: The student will get familiar with the bibliography and manipulation of the cell lines in sterile conditions.
6 weeks: The following 3 month the student will assess the effect on survival and cytotoxicity of fludarabine onto eIF4E signaling (i.e. eIF4E-I and MNK). She will perform the selection of CLL cell lines with acquired resistance to fludarabine.
8 weeks: The student will assess biochemical changes in eIF4E signaling after treatment with vehicle or fludarabine in sensitive cells and cell with acquired resistance to fludarabine. The same assays will be performed with eIF4E signaling inhibitors. In addition, the effect of the inhibitors on cells with acquired resistance to fludarabine will be assessed by the student.
During the last week the student will write her report and present her results to one of our weekly lab meeting. In addition, the student will attend and participate of the weekly laboratory meetings and meet with her supervisor once a week. The student will be supervised daily in the laboratory by an experienced Research Associate, Veronica Martinez-Marignac.
Prerequisite: 1 term completed at McGill + CGPA of 3.0 or higher; or permission of instructor.
Grading scheme (The final report must be worth at least 50% of final grade): The final grade will be based in the performance of the student in the lab (50%) and her writen report (50%).
Project status: This project is taken. The professor has no more '396' projects this term.
How students can apply: N/A; this project is filled.
Ethics, safety, and training: Supervisors are responsible for the ethics and safety compliance of undergraduate students. This project involves: Biohazardous substances; Handling chemicals.
Student's Name:
Student's McGill ID:
Student's Email (first [dot] last [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca):
Student's Phone:
Student's Program:
Student's Level (U0 / U1 / U2 / U3):
Student's signature - I have not applied for another '396' course in this term:
Supervisor's signature - I give my permission for the student identified above to register for this project under my supervision:
Date:
Unit chair/director/designate's name:
Unit chair/director/designate's signature - I certify that this project conforms to departmental requirements for 396 courses:
Date: