Center for Undergraduate Research in Viterbi Engineering (CURVE) Fellowship

Project Title: Neuromodulation and neural recording in urologic chronic pelvic pain

Faculty / PI: Jason Kutch

Lab Name: Applied Movement and Pain Laboratory (AMPL)

Department: Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy (and Biomedical Engineering)

Research Website: https://sites.usc.edu/ampl/

# of Freshmen Positions: 1

# of Continuing Student Positions: 4

Project Description: Urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS) is a condition that, while causing major lifestyle disruption, does not yet have a reliably effective treatment. UCPPS has an estimated national prevalence of 6-12%, affecting millions of Americans every year, and is characterized by chronic and often debilitating pain in the pelvis, prostate, bladder, and/or genitalia that lasts for longer than three to six months.  Symptoms emerge spontaneously and rarely fully resolve, often leaving patients to undergo numerous workups and procedures with different clinicians without any clear answer or relief from their symptoms.

There are currently no effective treatments and no established biomarkers for UCPPS. The majority of well-conducted randomized trials evaluating current treatment options have not demonstrated efficacy over placebo. Our lab is attempting to address both of these issues by identifying neural markers that can be rapidly detected and monitored in UCPPS and investigating the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to alleviate symptoms of UCPPS. Both of these questions will be explored under the recently funded randomized controlled trial out of my lab, “R01 DK121724: Motor cortical neuromodulation in women with Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome: reducing pain by improving brain and muscle activity,” as well as through previously collected datasets.

We currently have a team of clinicians, Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy faculty, graduate students, and a study coordinator designing the clinical trial which will collect fMRI, EEG, and symptom data before and after a five-day, double-blind treatment with rTMS (active or sham) in UCPPS patients. Collection is currently underway. Data from this project will be used to determine if symptom reduction is correlated with changes in electroencephalography (EEG) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) markers of neural activity. This will determine both if rTMS is an effective treatment for UCPPS and, more specifically, whether rTMS can improve neural dysfunction in UCPPS patients.

Student Responsibilities: As a part of this study, students will have the opportunity for hands-on involvement with our clinical trial. Students would be responsible for assisting our researchers, clinical research coordinator, and PhD student in collection and preprocessing of EEG, EMG, and fMRI data, as well as application of rTMS or single pulse TMS (for motor thresholding).

If their schedules permit, students will also be asked to attend our biweekly lab meetings. This will be a chance to participate in team research, read and discuss literature with the lab, and learn about important aspects of clinical research such as IRB approval, HIPPA guidelines, designing and implementing experiments, and how to conduct double-blind interventions. Students will also be expected to meet biweekly with their PhD mentor, Natalie McLain. Other skills and fields that students may practice/get exposure to include urology, chronic pain, conducting and maintaining organized records/notes of literature searches, maintaining a lab notebook, scientific writing, and data visualization with MATLAB.

Interview Required? Yes

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• Coding experience (particularly in MATLAB or python)
• Clinical experience
• Data analysis and collection
• Data science
• Biomedical engineering

Project Title: Natural killer cell derived extracellular vesicles as nanotherapeutics

Faculty / PI: Eunji Chung

Lab Name: Biomaterials and Nanomedicine

Department: Biomedical Engineering

Research Website: biomaterials.usc.edu

# of Freshmen Positions: 1

# of Continuing Student Positions: 1

Project Description: The project involves developing extracellular vesicles and the project includes characterizing their nanomaterials properties, cargo, and therapeutic response in viral infections and cancer applications.

Student Responsibilities: The student will be characterizing the nanomaterials properties, cargo, and therapeutic response in viral infections and cancer applications.

Interview Required? No

Project Title: Epilepsy Bioinformatics Study for Antiepileptogenic Therapy

Faculty / PI: Dominique Duncan

Lab Name: Duncan Lab

Department: Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute

Research Website: https://sites.usc.edu/duncanlab/

# of Freshmen Positions: 2

# of Continuing Student Positions: 4

Project Description: The Epilepsy Bioinformatics Study for Antiepileptogenic Therapy (EpiBioS4R) Scientific Premise is: epileptogenesis after traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be prevented with specific treatments; the identification of relevant biomarkers using innovative methods for MRI and EEG analysis and consequent performance of rigorous preclinical trials will permit the future design and performance of economically feasible full-scale clinical trials of antiepileptogenic therapies.

Student Responsibilities: MRI and EEG analysis using MATLAB or Python computational tools

Interview Required? Yes

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• programming
• computational methods
• neuroimaging analysis
• signal processing
• applied mathematics

Project Title: Walking rehabilitation for People Post-stroke

Faculty / PI: Kristan Leech

Lab Name: Gait Rehabiliation and Motor Learning Lab

Department: Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy

Research Website: https://sites.usc.edu/grmllab/

# of Freshmen Positions: 1

# of Continuing Student Positions: 1

Project Description: Students engaged in research in our lab will have the opportunity to contribute to projects that are related to the study of walking, how people learn to walk again after an injury to their nervous system, and the development of optimal physical therapy interventions to promote the recovery of walking.

Student Responsibilities: Student responsibilities will vary by the student's skill set, but all students will be responsible for being proactive and eager to learn, attending meetings regularly, asking questions and seeking guidance when needed, and staying actively engaged in research during their rotation.

Interview Required? Yes

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• Knowledge of coding in Matlab
• Knowledge of coding in R
• prompt written and oral communication

Additional Details: students will have the opportunity to learn about biophysical signal collection and processing, neuroimaging, and clinical research

Project Title: Deep learning & brain MRI for Alzheimer's disease

Faculty / PI: Andrei Irimia

Lab Name: Irimia Laboratory

Department: Biomedical Engineering & Gerontology

Research Website: https://gero.usc.edu/labs/irimialab/

# of Freshmen Positions: 4

# of Continuing Student Positions: 0

Project Description: This project will introduce students interested in PhD, MD, and MD/PhD programs to the analysis of neurogenetic and MRI data using deep learning (DL). The goal is to forecast Alzheimer's disease risk on older adults using DL and to mentor students interested in scientific, biomedical and translational research. Our lab has a long track record of undergraduate research and journal publications by undergraduate researchers. Our alumni have received Provost's scholarships, Goldwater scholarships, and have been accepted to the top 10 PhD, MD and MD/PhD programs in the country (see our website for details). This position is for students who are serious about research, dedicated to scholastic achievement, and who are willing to put in the time and effort to succeed.

Student Responsibilities: Analyze MRI and neurogenetics data using deep learning

Interview Required? No

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• quantitative STEM skills
• programming experience preferred but not required
• dedication to hard work
• an inquisitive mind
• integrity

Additional Details: Details on current projects are available from our website (https://gero.usc.edu/labs/irimialab/).

Project Title: Biomechanical evaluation of orthopaedic implants and surgical devices

Faculty / PI: Edward Abrams

Lab Name: JVL Orthopaedic Biomechanics Research Center

Department: BME

Research Website: http://jvlresearch.org/services

# of Freshmen Positions: 1

# of Continuing Student Positions: 3

Project Description: Using biomechanical models including load frames and benchtop simulations as well as computer models to evaluate fixation and wear performance of orthopaedic implants.

Student Responsibilities: Assist with specimen preparation, conducting experiments and data acquisition using LabView, etc., Matlab and other programming for data analysis, literature searches and summarization

Interview Required? Yes

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• Matlab
• General mechanical engineering knowledge
• Hands-on electronics and/or mechanical tools
• Labview

Project Title: An Affordable Diagnostic Device for Early Screening of Alzheimer’s Disease

Faculty / PI: Maral Mousavi

Lab Name: Medical and Analytical Devices Lab

Department: Biomedical Engineering

# of Freshmen Positions: 1

# of Continuing Student Positions: 1

Project Description: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by abnormal accumulation of the amyloid-beta peptide, the tau protein, as well as a variety of biomarkers. This project aims to create a paper-based early screening diagnostic device for AD. Using small volumes of blood from a finger stick, the specific goal is to manufacture a low-cost electrochemical assay with different multiplexed biomarkers that are linked to AD.

Student Responsibilities: The Curve student will be working with a PhD student in the Medical and Analytical Devices (MAD) Lab to fabricate these devices. The student would also help with the immobilization of the biomarkers on the paper-based device.  The skills learned from working on this project include, device development, general electrochemistry, impedance measurements, antigen-antibody reactions, while building a solid foundation of research competence and laboratory techniques.

Interview Required? No

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• Resilience
• Interest in brain research

Project Title: Caffeine detection: A point-of-care saliva sensor

Faculty / PI: Maral Mousavi

Lab Name: Laboratory for Design of Medical and Analytical Devices

Department: Biomedical Engineering

# of Freshmen Positions: 1

# of Continuing Student Positions: 1

Project Description: Coffee is the most common drink around the world and caffeine is the main chemical in coffee which excites people. However, the healthy dose of caffeine is 400 mg per day, which means 2 cups of venti Americano (300 mg per cup). Intake of more than 400 mg per day can have side effects such as depression, anxiety, nervous, anger, as well as headache and tremors. In long term, research concluded that overdose of caffeine would influence the volume of gray matter in brain. It is difficult to estimate how much caffeine is present in drinks due to effect of preparation and type of coffee. What we aim to do is to develop a disposable electrochemical sensor to directly detect the concentration of caffeine from saliva, which will people an opportunity to monitor their daily caffeine consume with this cheap, user-friendly, fast sensor. You will contribute to this project by utilizing screen printing to fabricate suitable electrodes with surface modification for the detection of caffeine.

Student Responsibilities: Active participation in the literature review, design of experiments, conducting experiments, data analysis

Interview Required? Yes

Project Title: Jaundice Screenings in Low-Resource Settings

Faculty / PI: Maral Mousavi

Lab Name: Laboratory for Design of Medical and Analytical Devices

Department: Biomedical Engineering

# of Freshmen Positions: 0

# of Continuing Student Positions: 1

Project Description: Liver disease is responsible for approximately 3.5% of global deaths, amounting to 2 million deaths annually. A typical first and only characteristic of liver disease is jaundice, characterized by the yellowing of the skin and eyes. Jaundice is quantitatively assessed via levels of the biomarker bilirubin (BR). As traditional quantitative BR tests are often inaccessible in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), such settings often depend on qualitative and unreliable visual identifiers of jaundice. This work developed a potentiometric sensor using a polymeric ion-selective membrane (ISM) for quantification of free BR in serum.

Student Responsibilities: Active participation in literature review, design of experiments, conducting experiments, data analysis

Interview Required? Yes

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• Basic chemistry background
• Basic wet lab experience
• familiarity with electrochemistry

Project Title: Point-of-care drug monitoring for bipolar disease

Faculty / PI: Maral Mousavi

Lab Name: Laboratory for Design of Medical and Analytical Devices

Department: Biomedical Engineering

# of Freshmen Positions: 1

# of Continuing Student Positions: 1

Project Description: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent mood fluctuations which significantly affect patients' quality of life. In 2020, 2.8% of US adults were diagnosed with bipolar disorder, impairing their ability to perform daily tasks. Valproic acid (VA) is one of the primary compounds in the antimanic drug prescribed for mood disorders. VA has a narrow effective therapeutic range in serum, and the risk of acute toxicity associated with the higher levels indicates the necessity of real-time monitoring of VA levels.  Although, several analytic methods exist to determine VA levels. However, these methods are time-consuming, inconvenient, expensive for the patients, and ineffective in emergencies. Therefore, we developed a miniaturized fiber-based sensing platform for the real-time screening of VA in biofluids.

Student Responsibilities: Active participation in literature review, design of experiments, conducting experiments, data analysis

Interview Required? Yes

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• Basic chemistry
• Basic wet lab experience
• Basic familiarity with electrometry and potentiometry

Project Title: Safer Management of Chronic Kidney Disease with a Calibration-free Multiplexed Point-of-care Sensor

Faculty / PI: Maral Mousavi

Lab Name: Laboratory for Design of Medical and Analytical Devices (MADLAB)

Department: Biomedical Engineering

Research Website: https://sites.usc.edu/mousavi/

# of Freshmen Positions: 1

# of Continuing Student Positions: 1

Project Description: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a debilitating disease accompanied by progressive kidney deterioration with an eventual kidney failure. More than 90% of CKD patients were classified as disabled at the time of starting dialysis. Affecting more than 40 million Americans, CKD is a growing health concern and is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide. Monitoring electrolyte imbalances is a major part of CKD management and lowering of CKD mortality rate. Despite this importance, for serum electrolyte analysis, patients need to frequently visit the local clinical laboratories or hospitals just to submit blood or urine samples and then these samples will be sent to central laboratories to be analyzed and the results will be reported back to a healthcare provider. This process is time-consuming, inconvenient, costly for the patients, and ineffective in the case of emergencies. Thus, the overall goal of this proposal is to create a robust, inexpensive multiplexed electrochemical sensor for the detection of physiological electrolytes in small sample volumes in a paper-based platform for at-home monitoring of electrolyte levels in small sample volumes (i.e. blood obtained from a finger stick).

Student Responsibilities: Students will actively work on experimental design, literature review, conducting research, and data analyzation

Interview Required? Yes

Project Title: Smart health management: A point-of-care diagnostic tool for vitamin-D detection

Faculty / PI: Maral Mousavi

Lab Name: Laboratory for Design of Medical and Analytical Devices

Department: Biomedical Engineering

# of Freshmen Positions: 1

# of Continuing Student Positions: 1

Project Description: Vitamin D is a crucial nutrient for mental health as it is for physical health. The research supports that vitamin-D deficiency could lead to several health problems. For instance, people with depression have higher chances of having vitamin D deficiency. Typically, these vitamins are detected in laboratories, making them expensive, time-consuming, and requiring trained technicians. Here, we plan to fabricate a novel paper-based electrode and utilize electroanalytical and electrochemical methods to create a point-of-care diagnostic tool for smart health management.

Student Responsibilities: Participation in literature review and background . Active participation in designing experiments, conducting experiments, and data analysis

Interview Required? Yes

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• Basic wet lab techniques
• Chemistry background

Project Title: Wearable Microneedle-based Biomarker Monitoring Device

Faculty / PI: Maral Mousavi

Lab Name: Laboratory for Design of Medical and Analytical Devices

Department: Biomedical Engineering

# of Freshmen Positions: 0

# of Continuing Student Positions: 2

Project Description: The project aims to develop a wearable device that sits on the skin for continuous biomarker detection. A blood test, the standard method for biomarker level measurement, is invasive and time-consuming. Interstitial fluid (ISF) is the fluid found in the surrounding space of cells and tissues. It is in contact with blood and can be used to proxy blood. Using microneedles, we can reach ISF without causing pain. As a result, the device measures the levels of the biomarkers in ISF. The microneedles have a hollow structure with a microcavity inside them. We will characterize and deploy a gold-coated yarn into this microcavity to act as an electrode. Capturing elements, such as antibodies highly specific to an antigen, are immobilized on the gold surface to bind to the target biomarker. The wearable device uses electrochemical techniques to measure ISF's biomarkers levels through gold-coated yarn integrated into hollow microneedles.

Student Responsibilities: - Academic papers and literature review

- Use computers to compile and analyze data

- Deploying gold yarns into the hollow microneedles

- Working on the gold yarn surface characterization

Interview Required? Yes

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• Ability to work in a lab environment
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment
• Basic knowledge of the chemistry and electrical engineering
• Basic knowledge of data analyzing tools or programming languages is an advantage but not necessary

Project Title: Engineering Organs on Chips

Faculty / PI: Megan McCain

Lab Name: Laboratory for Living Systems Engineering

Department: Biomedical Engineering

Research Website: https://livingsystemsengineering.usc.edu/

# of Freshmen Positions: 1

# of Continuing Student Positions: 2

Project Description: We engineer "organ on chip" platforms, which are microfabricated devices that are used for culturing cells in environments that mimic features of the human body.

Student Responsibilities: device fabrication (3-D printing, biomaterials fabrication, etc.), microscopy, cell culture, image processing

Interview Required? Yes

Skills and Competencies (Preferred)

• MATLAB
• basic wet lab skills (pipetting, etc)
• biology
• chemistry
• 3-D printing