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Shenee M

- Research Program Mentor

PhD at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill)

Expertise

Neuroscience, Alzheimer's disease, sleep disruption, synapse biology, tau pathology, sleep, memory

Bio

Hi! My name is Shenee Martin and I am currently a post doctorate research associate at UNC studying neuroscience. My research specifically focuses on the most conserved behavior that we all engage in, sleep. I would like to understand how sleep disruption in Alzheimer's disease affects disease progression and treatment. The most exciting part of my research is utilizing sleep as a potential therapy to alleviate the consequences of Alzheimer's disease. This disease has been around for decades and I hope to bring some insights into the field using something we all do, sleep! I am originally from the US Virgin Islands so I love the beach and island living. I decided to move to the mainland because of the vast amount of opportunities available and because of my love for science. Every summer in my undergraduate education I have spent in a new state learning new skills which have informed my scientific journey. Overall, I believe access to science should be open, available and fun. Outside of science, I enjoy thrifting because of the hunt to find that hidden gem. I also enjoy playing volleyball, spending time with my puppy and my family. I really enjoy tutoring and I hope we can have a great time and learn a lot through this process!

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Sleep disruption profiles in various mouse models of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been studied for decades but we are no closer to understanding the mechanisms of the disease. Because of the vast number of researchers studying AD, there are numerous models used to study the disease. All these models have different sleep profiles, phenotypes, disease onsets, sex differences etc. Therefore, in this project we will compile a document based on extensive literature review about the various models there are. We will focus on sleep profiles in these animals with an emphasis on male and female differences. This information is valuable because it is important to know which model is best to use to answer your scientific questions and there is a lot of criticism (by other scientists) that can be brought on by the model chosen so you need to be able to justify your choice. This project will also introduce you to the world of AD research and some of the gaps in knowledge in the field.

Sleep improvements in a new model of Alzheimer's disease

My research is focused on targeting the endocannabinoid system to improve sleep phenotypes in a model of AD. I have created a new genetically altered mouse that we hope will show improved sleep phenotypes. We use a sleep system in our lab to measure sleep and this data is available for analysis. After I have monitored sleep in these animals we will work together to analyze the sleep data and generate sleep traces, total hourly sleep amounts and assess quality of sleep in these new mice. This experiment will introduce you to data analysis, making figures and presenting data. You will also gain insights into sleep behavior in mice.

Teaching experience

At the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill I served as the Neurobiology tutor for first year neuroscience students. In this role I successfully coached 4 students through the core graduate level neurobiology class. This class consists of topics including electrophysiology, neurodevelopment, synapse growth and maturation, neurodegeneration and more. I arranged and led weekly 1 hour sessions to review materials covered in class. I also helped students prepare for their qualifying exam by designing a rigorous critical review paradigm for scientific papers that ultimately helped each student succeed.

Credentials

Work experience

REU-CRIB Summer Research Program (2012 - 2012)
Research Intern
Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training Program (SMART) University of Colorado Boulder (2013 - 2013)
Research Intern
MSU Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP-BEACON) Michigan State University (2015 - 2015)
Research Intern
UNC Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) (2016 - 2017)
Research Assistant

Education

University of the Virgin Islands
BA Bachelor of Arts (2016)
Psychology & Biology
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill)
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Neuroscience

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