The Gurung Lab studies the role of pattern recognition receptors in different disease settings. Currently, we are investigating the role of several cytoplasmic sensors in modulating immune responses during radiation-induced toxicity and several bacterial and parasitic infections. We are looking for highly motivated undergraduate students to help the lab out to do several important lab chores (that include helping lab members with their experiments) and genotyping. This position is flexible, but we expect students to commit around 15-20 hours per week in the lab.

The project would be to establish a new assay in the laboratory. The trainee will work closely with a research scientist and PI in the lab and be involved in day-to-day lab operations.

We are interested in working with motivated undergraduate students who can spend time in the laboratory to learn intestinal immunology and advance their laboratory skills. Intestinal immune system is associated with regulation of aberrant immune reactions, as seen in graft-versus-host disease after bone marrow or hematopoietic cell transplantation or in inflammatory bowel diseases. Our studies focus on T lymphocytes and gut microorganisms, such as helminths or gut bacteria that can regulate these aberrant and pathological immune responses. Students will purify immune cells from spleen or lymph nodes, characterize them in detail by multicolor flow cytometry, perform in vitro immune cell cultures besides various other experiments. Students will analyze DNA for various reasons.

Join us on Friday, May 31st at 4:30pm in Petersen Lobby for Ice Cream and all the toppings!

The goal of our research is to determine how health and health behaviors effect cognitive and brain aging. This includes examining mechanisms associated with declines in cognitive function associated with aging or age-related neurological disease, and determining how we may intervene for improved performance and quality of life. To study health behaviors, we are interested in how people learn new behaviors or improve cognitive abilities to do so, and the lifestyle factors that effect cognition, behavior change, and brain wellness.