Julia Van Der Marel

Julia Van Der Marel

Biography

Julia Van Der Marel is a rising junior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County(UMBC) pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering on the Biotechnology track. She is a member of the UMBC Meyerhoff Scholars Program, the UMBC Honors College, and TauBeta Pi, where she strives to contribute to a diverse and inclusive scientific community. Her background as a type 1 diabetic drives her to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and work as a researcher focusing on disease diagnostics, treatment, and prevention.At her home institution, she is an intern at the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology with Dr. Govind Rao researching cell-free protein synthesis with the aim to develop an alternative to cell-based biomanufacturing that utilizes cell lysate instead of whole cells. Over the summer she is working with Dr. Bryan Bryson of the Bryson Lab to investigate proteomic changes resulting from phagosome damage. Phagosome damage is a key virulence factor for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogenic bacteria responsible for the leading infectious diseaseTuberculosis. Studying phagosomal damage of macrophages using mutated yeast serves as an analog to inform further research into Tuberculosis infection.

Abstract

Investigating of Bacterial Lipid Droplets to Inform Tuberculosis Research

Formation of intracytoplasmic lipid droplets is one mechanism through which bacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria behind the leading infectious disease Tuberculosis, are able to facilitate their own survival when engulfed by macrophages. Previous evidence has shown that these lipid droplets can be used by bacteria as an energy source. The formation of lipid droplets in bacteria is currently poorly understood, and further investigation could yield results with clinical significance for Tuberculosis treatments. A method called proximity labeling was used in which an enzyme performs a reaction that “tags” protein in their nearby vicinity. These “tags” can then be observed to inform what proteins are involved in lipid droplets. Mycobacterium Smegmatis was used as a model bacterial system to contrast control strains to a strain genetically engineered to include a proximity labeling system which localizes to lipid droplets. An analysis of the performance of these strains was done with a Western Blot in order to investigate where the proximity labeling enzyme was located and where the proximity labeling reaction occurred. In the future, a variety of media conditions can be used to investigate what factors promote or inhibit lipid droplet formation.