FINAL TALLY:
Project A: 18 votes
Project B: 71.5 votes
![]()
Who We Are
We are a group of high school students from Ann Arbor, Michigan interested in impacting the world of medicine through our club, GIDAS: Genes in Diseases and Symptoms. We focus primarily on genetics, which is a growing field in medicine and research. Though genes are the most basic element in all of us, we all have different gene expressions; therefore, we all respond to treatment differently. Personalized medicine can be significantly improved with advancements through genetic research.
How to vote for one of the two research projects:
- Use the perks: select perks designated to each project.
- Other amount: write a comment saying which project to vote for.
- Missed the chance while contributing? You can write a comment any time by clicking one of the tabs at the top.
Consider $10 as one vote. $3 will then be a 0.3 vote. We tally all donated amounts and calculate them as votes.
Our Cause
For our fundraising project this year, we thought that it would be a great idea to raise money directly for the people who provide us with the answers: researchers. We have received applications from many research groups who are looking for a microgrant, and have selected 2 projects that we think are the best. Which one gets the money raised is up to you all, the contributors! Of the two, only one project will receive the microgrants.
Why Support Breast Cancer Research
Breast cancer is the 2nd largest cause of death in women in the U.S. Although there is a lot of research happening, it is hard for the general public to get involved. Many breast cancer organizations do not directly fund research for treating breast cancer, making it even harder for scientists to get money to fund their research.That’s where we come in. Our goal is to connect the gap between scientists and the public. This fundraiser is one of our ways of achieving this. We hope you can support our cause.
How our perks work
The two projects below are competing against each other. That is, you get to decide which one we should fund. Although both of them are very good projects, we want you to have a part in the decision process. To vote, donate by clicking on one of the perks. Each $10 increment you donate counts as 1 vote. The project which receives the most votes will get funded.
Possible Microgrants:
Summaries were sent in to us by the individual research group applicants, and modified by our group for the public’s understanding
Project A: Discovering the Role of Splicing Modulators in Breast Cancer
-
This group is researching whether signaling cues in normal cells regulate a family of proteins known as splicing modulators, which are connected to breast cancer.
-
We now know that many mutations can occur during cell replication, in which a small mistake in the DNA or RNA can result in a large change (possibly cancer). This group focuses on a molecular process called “splicing.”
-
RNA splicing is a key process in how a gene is expressed, and the process can become unregulated in the case of cancer.
-
Genes have the instructions to make proteins. In the cell genes are transcribed into an RNA molecule (a middle copy). Splicing is the critical step in gene expression in which RNA molecules are cut and pasted together to form the template for producing proteins.
-
Deregulation of RNA splicing in breast tumors often leads to the production of abnormal or non-functional proteins.
-
This lab has shown that there are higher levels of certain splicing modulators in human breast tumors, suggesting that they are involved in the development of breast cancer.
-
Recently, they used molecular biology techniques to artificially increase the levels of specific splicing modulators, and showed that this caused normal breast cells to display characteristics of cancer cells.
Impact of Research: Their research will determine how splicing modulators are regulated in normal cells versus how they are lost in breast tumors. Identifying splicing modulators involved in the cancer will contribute to developing new cancer therapies.
Budget: $7,500
Project B: Effect of 2-Hydroxycinnamaldehyde on mRNA and miRNA expression pattern in aggressive breast cancer cell lines
- This group believes that the compound, 2-Hydroxycinnamaldehyde (HCA), which is naturally derived from the stem bark of a cinnamon tree, will affect RNA expression.
- They are looking to prevent recurrence of cancer by exploring the potential of this compound HCA, and would like to see it being used in a clinical setting.
-
They will be treating aggressive cancer cells such as MDA-MB-231 and SUM159HCA for 24 hours, and using microarray analysis to understand how HCA affects these cancer cells.
-
They are doing this project not only to look for a possible combatant to recurring cancer, but also to share results with the scientific community in hopes that scientists can benefit from their research
Impact of research: Recurrence rate among patients who did not receive hormonal therapy was nearly 50% for node-positive and 32.4% in node-negative in the 10 years after diagnosis. Breast cancer can recur as long as 20 years after the diagnosis, though the risk decreases over time. This research of HCA function may help minimize such recurrence.
Budget: $8,000
What Your Contribution Will Do
You will help researchers answer questions that will add to our knowledge of breast cancer, treatment, and cause. Cancer will not be cured through one massive project, but through collective research and little pieces of the puzzle known as cancer are answered through projects like these. We would love to help researchers who are working to contribute to this puzzle and we know you would too. And you would be directly contributing to labs that provide us with answers.
More Information on the Microgrants can be found here: http://www.mircore.org/page/microgrants
Questions? Contact us: pioneergidas@gmail.com
Other ways to help
Share this link and it would be great if you could contribute what you can.
Thank you!
Pioneer High School GIDAS club members
=======================================
Don’t forget to check out the fundraisers by the other Ann Arbor high school GIDAS!:
Community for Type 1 Diabetes:http://igg.me/at/making-a-dent
Huron for Autism: http://igg.me/at/finding-the-missing-piece
