Hello! The larvae was irradiated using a TORREX x-ray generator with 2500 Rad by my professor, Dr. Pam Harvey. This was the only source of radiation tested during the experiment, so I cannot fully answer the second question, but I would infer that a different source would have different effects on the larvae.
Great use of the figures throughout your presentation to explain what you’re talking about. I believe you could have gone a little more in-depth on the abstract and introduction to give a more descriptive background to your experiment. However, you did get your point across so good job regardless. One other note is I believe that you could have condensed your references more to free up some space in the presentation. Overall, great job on both the presentation and the project in general.
Hi! I’m assuming by “positive” results you mean more promising results, in which case yes, more testing is needed. I could have run multiple max dosage experiments and dilution experiments, both with larger numbers of larvae, to achieve more data and more definitive results.
Was there a specific reason you chose to test the chlorotoxin as a cancer treatment? Also very well done presentation and extremely well put together poster.
Thank you so much! My group and I selected chlorotoxin based on the effects it has on enzymes (matrix metalloproteinases), that give cancer cells their ability to metastasize. In vivo studies have shown that chlorotoxin reduces the function of these enzymes, and we wanted to investigate how this would play out in the Drosophila cancer tumor model.
Hello! I did not perform any experiments with chlorotoxin on non-irradiated larvae during this research process, but I would predict that it would still result in a lower percent survival than a negative control compound like DMSO, even without radiation. Higher concentrations of chlorotoxin may be needed to see a hugely significant drop in percent survival, but given that this compound is a derivative of a venom, such concentrations could end up being harmful to healthy cells.
How was the larvae you used irradiated, and do different sources of radiation have different effects on the organism?
Hello! The larvae was irradiated using a TORREX x-ray generator with 2500 Rad by my professor, Dr. Pam Harvey. This was the only source of radiation tested during the experiment, so I cannot fully answer the second question, but I would infer that a different source would have different effects on the larvae.
Great use of the figures throughout your presentation to explain what you’re talking about. I believe you could have gone a little more in-depth on the abstract and introduction to give a more descriptive background to your experiment. However, you did get your point across so good job regardless. One other note is I believe that you could have condensed your references more to free up some space in the presentation. Overall, great job on both the presentation and the project in general.
Thank you so much for the feedback! I will keep it in mind for future research endeavors.
Do you think there is anything else you could have done to have achieved more positive results? Or do you think more testing is needed?
Hi! I’m assuming by “positive” results you mean more promising results, in which case yes, more testing is needed. I could have run multiple max dosage experiments and dilution experiments, both with larger numbers of larvae, to achieve more data and more definitive results.
Was there a specific reason you chose to test the chlorotoxin as a cancer treatment? Also very well done presentation and extremely well put together poster.
Thank you so much! My group and I selected chlorotoxin based on the effects it has on enzymes (matrix metalloproteinases), that give cancer cells their ability to metastasize. In vivo studies have shown that chlorotoxin reduces the function of these enzymes, and we wanted to investigate how this would play out in the Drosophila cancer tumor model.
Do you have any predictions about how chlorotoxin would function in larger, non-radiation trials?
Hello! I did not perform any experiments with chlorotoxin on non-irradiated larvae during this research process, but I would predict that it would still result in a lower percent survival than a negative control compound like DMSO, even without radiation. Higher concentrations of chlorotoxin may be needed to see a hugely significant drop in percent survival, but given that this compound is a derivative of a venom, such concentrations could end up being harmful to healthy cells.
Was there a specific reason you chose to test chlorotoxin as a possible cancer treatment? also very well done presentation and poster.