Research
Giulivi Laboratory: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Since my Sophomore year, I have worked under Dr. Giulivi in the UCD Veterinary School. In the beginning, I started with analyzing mitochondrial morphology in animal disease models. Specifically, I first worked on a project that analyzed the mitochondria in Age Related Macular Degeneration in non-human primates. To this day, this project is not 100% completed, but will be completed soon. During my Sophomore year I presented our findings at the UCD URC. Scroll down to see!
During my Junior year I worked closely with my other lab mates to complete a project on Metformin's impact on treatment of Wilson's Disease. This paper is done and will soon be published. During my Junior year I presented my team's findings at the UCD URC as well.
Currently, as a University Honors Program Senior, I am in the process of completing my Senior Thesis. Specifically, the title of my senior thesis is: Direct Effects of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists on Mitochondrial Function in Human-Derived In Vitro Models: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
When I presented my UHP senior thesis at the UCD URC, I had completed most of it. However, since then, I have gone back and redone a major part of my data extraction. Due to this factor, the poster in this photo does not accurately reflect my completed thesis. I plan on publishing this thesis so I am unable to provide the whole version on a public site. See below for the abstract!
Process: In order to carry out this systematic review and meta-analysis I had to collect a wide net of articles from various databases. To the right, you can see in total I originally collected 1,547 articles related to GLP-1RAs and Mitochondrial Function. After de-duplication I was left with 1,203 articles. Then, with the help of my lab mates in the Giulivi lab, we screened all articles using a software called Covidence. In the end, we were left with 17 articles. We then performed data extraction on all articles using Excel and Notability. Despite some articles investigating the mitochondria, some explored outcomes that I was not interested in collecting (like mitochondrial morphology). From the start I was interested in quantifying biochemical, physiological themes. So, I knew I would be unable to do so if I included qualitative evidence. For these reasons, in the end I was left with 11 studies to perform statistical analysis on. All statistical analysis was performed by Dr.Giulivi, where she used MedCalc® Statistical Software version 23.5.2 to create funnel and forrest plots. With this data I was able to pinpoint themes of GLP-1RA usage causing positive, significant impacts on mitochondrial function.
Product: In the end, using forrest and funnel plots, my end product was a 20+ page paper on the intersection of GLP-1RAs and mitochondrial function. As mentioned above, I am unable to provide the full version since it will be undergoing peer review soon before being published.
Reflection: I originally started this project because I was interested in the physiological impact of taking GLP-1RAs. Specifically, in the past year or so, Ozempic (which is a GLP-1RA) has caught the attention of many people. Originally, Ozempic was used in chronic disease cases like T2DM. However, nowadays, people who are obese or simply want to lose weight are on Ozempic. The combination of this culture change paired with my Grandpa passing away due to T2DM complications fueled my interest in understanding how GLP-1RAs work on one of the most important organelles in our body, the mitochondria. The mitochondria is commonly referred to as the "powerhouse of the cell" since its primary action is to make ATP for our body. Logically, I originally hypothesized that since GLP-1RA usage causes individuals to no longer feel the need to consume food, it would ultimately negatively impact the body's fuel stores that are connected to the mitochondria. However, as I performed my systematic review and meta-analysis, I quickly learned that current research say the opposite. This thesis taught me to never jump to conclusions and to always assess ideas with a scientific thought process. This thesis is the product of dozens of iterations, starting over, finding mistakes, and never giving up. The biggest thing I have learned from this process was the importance of perseverance.
