肉肉传媒

KENNESAW, Ga. | Aug 24, 2023

肉肉传媒 biology professor Brandon Carpenter was inspired to pursue a career in science because of an undergraduate research experience. With a recent grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), he鈥檒l provide a similar experience to his students.

Carpenter, an assistant professor of cellular and molecular biology who studies neurodevelopmental  disorders and genetic mutations, received a $432,000 to continue research that will help uncover the mechanisms that regulate inheritance of epigenetic states, or 鈥渃ellular memories,鈥� from one generation to the next. In doing so, his work will shed light on how cellular memories are inherited between generations, and what happens to normal development when those memories aren't inherited properly.

鈥淲hat got me into science, and what I'm really interested in, is inspiring undergraduates, bringing authentic research experiences into the lab for them,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his grant will give students the opportunity to do research and be prepared for the next step in their careers.鈥�

Most of the money will go toward funding a group of undergraduate and graduate researchers in his lab, where they use a microscopic nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), that shares half its genes with humans, to study the mechanisms that underlie neurological disorders. Due to the short life span and ease of manipulating nematodes, student researchers can easily execute experiments and generate publishable data, often within a single semester.

鈥淲e can take out a C. elegans gene and put in a human version of that gene and it can rescue that gene, and the worm can function very similarly to the way it did when it had its normal gene,鈥� Carpenter said. 鈥淲e are able to study basic mechanisms in the worm and it鈥檚 directly relevant to what鈥檚 happening in humans.鈥�

He said the overall goal of his research is to study how inappropriate inheritance of epigenetic states affects normal tissue development and function. Because the enzymes that Carpenter studies that regulate epigenetic inheritance are conserved in humans, his work will provide insight into how medical professionals might intervene to treat patients with these disorders.

鈥淏y studying how these cellular memories turn on the wrong way and affect tissues, we can start to understand the mechanisms of how these patients that have mutations in these same enzymes that regulate the cellular memory have the phenotypes they do,鈥� he said.

Carpenter said he hopes to open his laboratory and research to more students, offering similar research experiences to the ones that directed him toward his career as a professor and researcher.

鈥淲hen you can support a student financially so they can show up in your lab and get paid, it helps alleviate other things in life that they're dealing with, and it broadens the net of different types of students with different life situations that can participate in research experiences,鈥� he said.

鈥� By Dave Shelles

Photos by Darnell Wilburn Jr.

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 肉肉传媒 offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. 肉肉传媒 State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. 肉肉传媒 State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.