Gervette P
- Research Program Mentor
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Expertise
genetics, molecular biology, basic microbiology, rare diseases, general biology
Project ideas
A look at rare disease inheritance
The goal of this project is to understand the inheritance patterns of rare disease and the molecular mechanisms behind how the genetic changes occur. In this project, you will also become familiar with common genetic terms and expressions. This will involve research about how a rare disease is inherited, the gene/s involved in this disease (genotype), how the symptoms (phenotype) manifests in the patient. Examples are well known diseases like sickle cell anemia and Huntington's disease. You will have the opportunity to research whether there are any known or available treatments or gene therapies available for this rare disease and what some of the challenges are with developing therapies. The expected result of this would be a research paper or presentation.
Designing a CRISPR experiment to study the function of a gene
In this project, the goal is to design a mock experiment to understand the concept of how reverse genetics works. This means that we alter the function of a gene by disrupting it and then make observations about the effects that we see in the organism we use. With guidance, you will be expected to research how CRISPR works, the types of modifications that we can use CRISPR to make, and design a simple experiment to study the function of a gene of your choice.