Chidinma Esielem ('27), a student in the College of Arts and Sciences, investigated possible links between sleep disturbances and brain pathologies indicative of Alzheimer’s disease with mentorship from Dr. Shinjae Chung (Department of Neuroscience). This research was supported by the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program.
This summer I used a mouse model to study the accumulation of amyloid beta plaques, a key pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, in specific areas of the brain. In particular, I investigated connections between those brain regions and their role in sleep function by exploring possible links between amyloid beta deposition and observed sleep disturbances.
Since coming to Penn, I have started to really appreciate my brain. By the time I finished organic chemistry, I was astounded by my brain's ability to process information. I was fortunate to work in Dr. Chung’s lab and explore my fascination with the brain. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would have the opportunity to be a part of research to find a cure for something like Alzheimer's disease. My experience over the summer gave me the greatest blessing—to learn about the things that I love and contribute to changing the world for the better.
Throughout my ten weeks in the lab, I picked up a myriad of technical skills. I learned how to section mouse brains, stain slides, and score behavioral tests conducted on mice. Having finished analyzing my data, I now realize how important every step of the research process is. Any skill I thought was insignificant turned out to have a large impact on my results.
Initially, the biggest challenge for me was adjusting to the 9-to-5 lifestyle as I had never had a “real” job before. However, I realized that waking up early and working for 8 hours wasn’t especially difficult, because I already did these things for school. What truly was daunting was coming to the lab everyday with an expectation that I would need to pivot. Sometimes our results were too ambiguous to accurately interpret, or they were the complete opposite of what we initially expected. These outcomes were difficult for my brain to accept. The research process is so much different from my classroom experiences where I attend a lecture, learn a concept, and then take an exam to demonstrate my understanding. Sometimes, conducting research can make you feel foolish. The process of studying the unknown, tackling a subject such as the brain, is riddled with failure. However, I learned that failure is normal, even encouraged, and that when it happens, you just need to try another approach. These challenges have shown me that research tests how much you really care. As it turns out, I care a lot.
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