Karen Beljan, BS '05, Environmental Engineering
Beljan, of Eden, New York, evaluated remediation alternatives to improve the water quality of Onondaga Lake, ultimately helping to develop a method to aerate the lake that would improve the water and ecosystem.
(Photo: KC Kratt, MFA '84)
This project will involve a study of the effects of aging on the response of human osteoblastic cells to strontium citrate. Emerging studies in our lab have indicated that human osteoblastic cells respond to strontium citrate with an increase in alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme involved in bone formation. However, this response appears to be dependent upon the age of the cells and may be lost as the cell passage increases. In this proposal, the student would further investigate the validity of our initial observations and attempt to understand the mechanism of action of strontium citrate's effects on osteoblasts. This study is significant because strontium citrate may be an effective therapy against the bone loss that occurs with aging in humans, but the optimal conditions for strontium's effects on bone must be delineated.
Date Open: Aug 10, 2009 to Dec 25, 2011
Suggested Skill Set: Basic knowledge of cells, basic computer skills, attention to detail, knowledge of solution making, data keeping
Compensation: Credit, Voluntary, Work Study
Professor(s): Rosemary Dziak (rdziak@buffalo.edu)
Department: Oral Biology
Address: 320 Foster Hall
Phone: 829-3827