STEM, taught by Dr. Crowthers, is a project-based class containing two major projects throughout the year – STEM I and STEM II. During the first half of the year, we get to work on a 5-month independent research project in which we get to work on any project of our choice on a STEM-related subject, like engineering, mathematics, or even biology. Our final projects are then presented at a school-wide fair in the middle of February, where judges get to choose 12 students to then progress to the regional STEM fair. Scroll down to learn more about my project!
My project aimed to investigate the effects of lithium chloride and basic fibroblast growth factors on modulating the canonical Wnt signalling pathway to induce regeneration. Developing this treatment could help address issues such as dental pulp necrosis, the process in which cavities reach the center of the tooth that contains all the blood vessels and nutrients necessary to keep the tooth alive.
Research Question: How does the canonical Wnt-signalling pathway, as modulated by lithium chloride and basic fibroblast growth factors, influence the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells to enhance dental pulp regeneration?
Hypothesis: It was hypothesized that the modulation of canonical Wnt-signalling can increase the rate of proliferation and odontoblast differentiation, particularly when modulated by the combination of basic fibroblast growth factors (bFGF) and lithium chloride (LiCl) in a Schmidtea mediterranea model.
