Individualized Learning Stories
Cracking The Code
Chelsey Sand '11 and Professor Beth De Stasio '83
When asked to explain Chelsey Sand’s independent study project in bioinformatics, Elizabeth De Stasio ’83, professor of Biology and Raymond H. Herzog Professor of Science, said, “It’s like looking through a room full of people and pulling out all of the redheads.”
While the analogy is easy to grasp, the research itself is, indeed, complex. For the past year Sand ’11 used computer algorithms to search a database of DNA sequences for particular motifs that are common in a particular set of genes. “We’re trying to understand which genes are necessary to keep neurons functioning properly and to determine whether there is an ‘on-off switch’ that controls whether or not a gene will be used in a particular cell,” said De Stasio, who first identified the genes during her sabbatical research in Sweden two years ago. “The genes may be involved in maintaining neurons during aging,” she said, “so this research has relevance to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.”
Although this type of computer-based research was a first for Sand, it helped the biology major cement her interest in genetics and molecular biology. “This is completely different from anything that I’ve done in the lab,” said Sand. “It’s been really unique and I’ve been teaching myself every step of the way.”
Sand’s year of hard work paid off in other ways as well. Her independent study project thesis, “Novel Motif Discovery in a Set of Co-regulated Genes,” was awarded magna cum laude honors at the conclusion of the 2010-11 academic year.
“Chelsey is a trailblazer,” said De Stasio. “As soon as I handed the project over to her, she ran with it and has taken it to a completely different level — and that’s exactly what you’d hope for.”
As far as what lies ahead, Sand will continue her research with De Stasio for five weeks this summer. Eventually, she hopes to apply to medical school. And although the research could go on for years, she is satisfied with what she has accomplished. “It’s been a really great experience and I’ve learned a lot from it,” she said.
