Undergraduate Research

There are a number of Undergraduate Research Opportunities available within our Units at LIWA, these include:

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Inflammation & Immunology Unit

• Expression of the extended members of the kallikrein family (hK2-hK15) in human carcinomas of the lung and pleura

        Contact person (s): Prof Kanti Bhoola
        profbhoola@iinet.net.au
        Ph: +61 8 9346 4202

Molecular Genetics Unit

          Aspirin-Intolerant-Asthma Project

• Validate previous association found in the first study. Screen 2 SNPs we have screened previously and confirm original finding, that there is an association between the AIA and Non-AIA cohorts; and
• New analysis of 2 newly screened SNPs in the entire asthmatic cohort. The student is to decide which 2 SNPs to screen based on scientific merit. Ie create or destroys a transcription binding site etc.

        Techniques:

• PCR
• Primer design
• Population screening
• SNP Association statistical analysis

        Bradykinin B1 Receptor Promoter Functional Studies

• Site-directed mutagenesis of the wild type BDKR B1 weak promoter to create a construct containing previously validated SNPs; and
• Functional assays to determine the differences in transcriptional activity between the wildtype BDKR B1 promoter construct and the SNP(s)-containing promoter construct in 2 different cell lines (HeLa, and cultured epithelial cells-16HBE) under different stimulation conditions.

        Techniques:

• PCR
• Sequencing
• Site directed mutatgeneiss and cloning
• Cell culture and stimluation
• Luciferase assays
• Statistical analysis

          iNOS Splice Variants and Asthma

• Establish techniques for splice variant detection and isolation in normal tissues/cells; and
• Investigate differences in levels of expression between asthmatic and non-asthmatic samples.

• Literature search to identify splice variants and identify best cell line
• Sequence analysis
• Primer design
• PCR
• Sequencing
• Cell culture
• RT PCR
• Real time PCR

        Contact person (s): Dr Carolyn Williams
        carolynw@liwa.uwa.edu.au
        Ph: +61 8 9346 7948

CLINICAL SCIENCES

Epidemiology Unit

• Health impacts of living near busy highways (1);
• Mapping of hospital and emergency department disease admissions to assess the impact of living near main roads (2);
• Measurement of air pollutants emitted by road traffic in metropolitan Perth (3);
• Effect of indoor air pollution on respiratory symptoms in asthmatics (4);
• Does indoor air pollution worsen disease outcomes in people with COPD (5); and
• Triggers of respiratory disease in rural Australia (6).

        Contact person (s): Dr Joanne Youd (1, 2, 3)
        jyoud@sph.uwa.edu.au
        Ph: +61 8 6488 2987 or

        Dr Chantal Tomkins (1, 2, 3)
        chantal@sph.uwa.edu.au
        Ph: +61 8 6488 2987

        Dr Peter Franklin (4, 5)
        peterf@sph.uwa.edu.au
        Ph: +61 8 6488 1275

        Dr Angus Cook (6)
        acook@sph.uwa.edu.au
        Ph: +61 8 6488 7804

Advance Lung Disease and Pulmonary Vascular Unit

• Adult respiratory outcomes of low birth weight individuals with oxygen dependence at 36 weeks equivalent gestational age.

        Contact person (s): Dan Chambers
        dan.chambers@health.wa.gov.au
        Ph: +61 8 9224 7983