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  1. MADURA PROGRAM
  2. Research Placement Descriptions

Research Placement Descriptions

Our MADURA Program benefits from a diverse range of dedicated, multi-disciplinary experts who serve as Placement Site Mentors. They conduct research projects related to Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/RD), and welcome students to learn from active participation in their projects.

MADURA undergraduate students receive hands-on experiences on these research projects, and Mentorship from their Investigators, as well as from associated research staff and graduate students.

Research placements last a minimum of one academic quarter, and some placements require a longer commitment (2+ quarters).

If requested by both the MADURA student and the Placement Mentor, students may opt to remain on the same project for multiple quarters, thereby deepening their skills in a particular research area.  Alternatively, some students may seek exposure to different research areas, and may elect to request new placements each quarter. The MADURA Program allows for either contingency – a desire for more in-depth experience in a specific topic, or introduction to a wide array of topics and research experiences. 

2023-2024 Placement Lab Examples

This project seeks to conduct the first confirmatory efficacy trial for older adults with hoarding disorder (HD). We propose a RCT comparing CREST, a cognitive treatment that aims to improve the deficiencies in cognition present in this population, to a CM control condition for 150 adults age 50 and older with HD. We will also examine factors that mediate improvement in CREST (improved inhibition/cognitive switching and reduction in fear/anxiety of discarding items) through physiological, behavioral, self-report, and paradigm assessments. Individual moderators will also be examined. We will conduct in home assessments with participants examining their executive functioning, memory as well as collecting basic vitals to assess for changes in physiology as a potential effect of anxiety/distress.

The Women Inflammation and Tau study (WITS) is dedicated to improving the understanding and contributions of biological factors and lifestyle factors to brain health and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in older women. The main goal of WITS is to elucidate the relationship between tau and inflammation in women. To investigate this, the study uses blood tests, CSF analysis, brain imaging (PET and MRI), questionnaires, and battery of neurocognitive tests. By understanding how biological factors (e.g., hormones, and inflammation) and lifestyle factors (e.g., exercise, diet, and sleep) may contribute to the greater tau burden and steeper cognitive decline in older women at-risk for AD, this study could identify potential targeted treatments to delay or reduce risk of AD dementia in women. Study visits are completed remotely as well as in-person at the UCSD ACTRI Clinic. The study is Co-Lead by investigators, Dr. Sarah Banks and Dr. Erin Sudermann, leaders in research on sex differences, biomarkers, and neuroimaging in Alzheimer's dementia.

In the laboratory of Dr. Matthew Shtrahman, we use recombinant Adeno-associated virus (rAAV) infection in the mouse brain as a model system to understand how AAV and other viruses cause neurodegeneration and disruption of neurogenesis in the hippocampus, a region mainly involved in the processes of learning and memory. Currently, there are several projects using this AAV-infection model in our lab: (1) the study of the molecular mechanism that leads to degeneration of neurons, specifically the DNA Damage pathway that is upregulated in the mouse hippocampus, (2) investigating the onset of an inflammatory reaction happening after AAV infection that leads to the activation of microglia and astrocytes in the mouse hippocampus, and (3) investigating the mechanism of T cell infiltration in the mouse hippocampus after AAV infection, and the role of cytotoxic T cells in the elimination of AAV-infected cells in this region.