Pair of undergraduate researchers study stress management in the lab

Ankit Shah and Muhammad Shahid, two Rutgers seniors headed to medical school next year, have more in common than their cell biology and neuroscience major.

Both have been conducting research at the Center of Alcohol Studies for the past three years on osteocalcin, a protein synthesized in bone, and its relationship to the body’s response to stress. With Assistant Research Professor Patricia Buckendahl, the two have worked with “knockout” mice, lab specimens in which the gene that regulates the production of osteocalcin has been deleted. Their projects were funded in part by the Aresty Research Center for Undergraduates.

View the rest of the Aresty

undergraduate researchers

Jersey City native Shah injected the knockout mice and a control group with alcohol. “The reason we injected mice with ethanol prior to stressing them was to see if the alcohol could relieve some of the symptoms of stress typically seen in humans and animals. Particularly, we wanted to see if the interaction of alcohol and the absence of osteocalcin could further relieve the symptom of stress,” Ankit said.

He then subjected both groups to stress by restraining them for two hours. The knockout mice showed changes that would lead to lower production of epinephrine and norepinephrine, two hormones that help the body cope with stress. Shah concluded that “apparently, the absence of osteocalcin protein affects the ability to respond to stress.” Since the protein is made in bone, it is possible that “leading a stressful life can lead to brittle bones.”

Shahid, a Plainsboro resident who said he came to Rutgers because of the extensive research opportunities available, also administered stress to mice that were missing osteocalcin and found decreased levels of stress-coping hormones. He then injected the same mice with osteocalcin and discovered that replacing the protein reversed the changes observed by Shah, supporting Shah’s finding that osteocalcin is tied to the stress response.

Buckendahl, the principal investigator on both projects, has seven undergraduates working in her lab, all doing related work on alcohol consumption and osteocalcin. “I don’t have any graduate students, I don’t have any lab technicians. It’s just me and these outstanding undergraduates,” Buckendahl said. “Somebody took the time to head me in the direction of research, and now it’s payback time. I’m very dedicated to the concept of undergraduates in research.”