Monthly Archives: August 2019

The bacteria living inside us and what they have to say about autism

Trillions of bacterial cells are living within us and they’re controlling your brain activity.

Grace Deitzler is a 2nd year PhD student in microbiology working in Dr. Maude David’s lab on the gut-microbiome and its relation to autism spectrum disorder.

The gut-microbiome is the total population of bacteria living within our digestive tract. These bacteria are critical for digestive health, but also for our immune system and mental health. For example, we harbor bacteria capable of digesting plant fibres we otherwise could not digest. And if you’ve been told that probiotics are good for you, that’s because probiotics can change the gut microbiome in a positive way, allowing for increased bacterial diversity associate with improved health. These bacteria communicate with each other through chemical signaling but also communicate with us. Tryptophan, for example, is an amino acid produced through bacteria metabolism and is a precursor for serotonin, a brain-signaling chemical which causes feelings of happiness.

When the gut communicates with the brain, we call this, the “gut-brain axis”. Grace’s work narrows in on the gut-brain axis and more specifically, how one bacterial species in particular impacts autism spectrum disorder. To further complicate things, the gut-microbiome helps to regulate estrogen levels, and we also know that autism is a disorder found primarily in biological males. Which leads Grace to one of her biggest questions: are the bacteria involved in endocrine system regulation in women, also that responsible for this variation we see. Grace uses a mouse model to elucidate underlying mechanisms at play.

Step one is to feed the mice bacteria that have been found in elevated amounts in people with autism spectrum disorder than in neurotypical peers. These bacteria will colonize in the gut, and mice will go through several behavioral tests to determine if they are exhibiting more behaviors associated with autism. Grace performs three types of tests with the mice: one to test inclination to form repetitive behaviors, one to test anxiety, and one to test social behaviors. One test is a marble-burying test, in which a mouse more inclined to form repetitive behaviors will bury more marbles.

After behavioral testing is complete, the mice are sacrificed and different regions of the gut are taken to look for presence of bacterium. Tissues taken from the mice are used to look for transcriptional markers. The transcriptome is collected for both the mouse and the bacteria present, or the sum total of all genes that are read and converted to RNA. RNA are able to be isolated and sequenced using distinctive markers such as a “poly-A tail”. After this data is collected, Grace can finally move to the computational side of her work which involves combining biological and biochemical data with her behavioral studies.

In addition to her work on autism spectrum disorder, Grace also has a side project working in a honey bee lab, looking at the gut microbiome of honey bees in response to probiotics on the market for beekeepers. But Grace is one very busy bee herself because in addition to her lab work, she’s also involved with an art-science club called “seminarium”. The club is filled with scientists interested in art and artists interested in science. Grace is a painter primarily but is also working on ink illustration. The focus of this group is that art and science are complimentary, not at odds. The group has produced some collaborative projects, including a performance for a lab studying a parasite that effects salmon. The group put together a collage of interpretations of the parasites and had a performance in which one member played piano while someone else drew the parasite live.

Grace moved to Oregon from St. Louis Missouri. She completed her undergraduate degree in biological sciences with minors in chemistry and psychology at a small engineering college, Missouri University of Science and Technology, where she was a radio DJ! Grace first became involved in research during a summer internship in a microbiology lab at Washington University. There she studied the vaginal microbiome and how it effects pregnancy outcomes. Grace went back to this lab for the next couple summers and produced 4 publications! Ultimately, Grace graduated college early after they offered her a full time research position where she worked for a year and a half as a research tech. Through this experience, Grace came to realize that medical school was not her path, canceled her scheduled MCAT and signed up for GRE. Grace looked for schools in the PNW because she knew she wanted to live there, got an interview at OSU, loved it, and here we are!

Join us at 7 pm on Sunday, August 11th, 2019, to hear more about Grace’s research and her journey to OSU. Stream the show live on KBVR Corvallis 88.7FM or check out the episode as a podcast after a few weeks.

Language is a barrier to diversity and inclusion in natural resources research

Language usage in natural resources research

As a 3rd year Master’s student in the Department of Forest Ecosystems & Society, Jasmine Brown is investigating diversity and inclusion in the field of natural resources. Her research has consisted of examining how language usage reinforces barriers to inclusion. For example, the usage of terms such as ‘women or minorities’ fails to capture identities that exist at the intersection of both categories. Efforts to include members of marginalized groups still fall short, as current language usage does not include people whose identities intersect multiple categories. As a Black woman working in forestry, Jasmine’s understanding and lived experience of the forestry profession is acutely different from the typical experience of a White male. Through her research, Jasmine is examining what it means to be a Black woman in forestry. Although the demographics of who is contributing to natural resources research is slowly changing, language usage in the field has remained somewhat static. Conventional language used in natural resources is not connected to the historical trauma associated with forest spaces and requires change moving forward.

Jasmine attending the Society of American Foresters 2018 National Convention in Portland as a part of their Diversity Scholars Program.

How Jasmine gathered the data

At the beginning of her project, Jasmine found that language used in natural resources research is ambiguous. She explains how in medical science, “a kneecap refers to a specific body part, and leaves no room for interpretation. However, in natural resources, the term ‘diversity,’ for example, might have multiple meanings depending on the context. It might refer to habitat diversity, biodiversity, and wildlife diversity in addition to diversity of social identities such as race, ethnicity, and gender”. Despite being excited to learn about how diversity and inclusion is discussed in natural resources, Jasmine struggled to find a comprehensive body of text to base her work on. So she ended up having to compile the sources on her own. While conducting a systematic review, she was able to develop targeted search terms to evaluate existing research about diversity and inclusion of researchers in natural resources. A systematic review is comparable to a literature review, and is a method typically used in medical and social science to collect and evaluate published research using specific criteria. The advantage of a systematic review is that it provides a method to systematically and methodically identify relevant literature.

Jasmine talking about her research while dressed in her forestry uniform at a Science Communication Event

To compile a body of literature for her systematic review, Jasmine looked for signifiers, or markers, of diversity in natural resources, such as ‘underrepresented, women, females, minorities.’ Researchers told Jasmine she would have difficulty locating articles on diversity in natural resources, but Jasmine found over 260 articles! The literature she found is a combination of published sources, including scientific journals, and unpublished sources, including magazines, presentations, conference papers, theses, and technical reports. 

By evaluating the body of literature, she has identified which research methods are most popular for investigating diversity and inclusion in natural resources. Jasmine unearthed program evaluations by practitioners in the field, consisting of a summary of their successful implementation of diversity and inclusion programs. Methods used by practitioners in the field tended to be different than methods employed by scientific researchers. She observed that the scientific methods used by natural resources researchers have changed considerably over time. She also indicated that editorials about diversity and inclusion are abundant. Although authors may be highly educated researchers, the methods used to derive conclusions in editorial pieces are casual and less rigorous than in other standardized science disciplines. 

Jasmine further investigated the institutions where authors were working, and found that the top two categories were government and academia. Then, she investigated what titles were held by the authors. Over time, position titles have become more difficult to classify. Early in the field of forestry, a researcher might be known as, ‘forester.’ Today, however, position titles are more complex and reflect hierarchical changes to the academic system. An academic title might consist of multiple categories, such as, ‘assistant professor of forestry in the department of agriculture.’ 

While authors are adept at identifying barriers to diversification, the application of ideas to increase diversity and inclusion is lagging behind. Much more work is required to improve implementation of ideas that will increase diversity and inclusion in natural resources. 

A plan for action

Jasmine is looking forward to presenting her body of work to the larger community. She intends to present her work at the 35th Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) Conference. She also intends to publish at least 1 of 2 articles from her thesis. Her dataset of more than 260 articles will be made public after her graduation. Her hope is that other researchers trying to locate published articles about diversity and inclusion in natural resources will be able to access the information she has compiled and won’t need to spend over eight months searching for it themselves. She has recognized that the interest and need for writing about diversity and inclusion is increasing, and hopes to move the field, and the language it is built upon, forward. 

Why did Jasmine want to study this topic?

As a senior undergraduate student studying forestry, Jasmine stepped out of her comfort zone and took several sociology classes about sustainability. These courses served as an illuminating accompaniment to her forestry degree, where she was introduced to forests as living ecosystems. Previously, from a forestry perspective, she was accustomed to thinking about trees in terms of their quantitative measurements and economic benefit to society. It was during this time that she became curious about how language is wielded in the forestry discipline. 

Jasmine has been working with the U.S. Forest Service for close to four years. In this environment, she recognized the importance of having difficult conversations, and it is these conversations that pushed her towards grad school for a Master’s degree. Jasmine chose OSU’s Forestry & Ecosystem because of the flexibility of the program and its relevance to her specific interests concerning the ‘human dimension’ of natural resources. She hoped to pursue research at the intersection of race, gender, and ethnicity, in part, because her identity is a part of everything she does. With this in mind, her Ethnic Studies graduate minor was a perfect fit. Jasmine has assembled an interdisciplinary team with faculty from forestry, wildlife, ethnic studies and a research librarian. She has two advisors: Brenda McComb from Forestry and Dana Sanchez from Fisheries and Wildlife. She pitched her research idea about the use of language in natural resources to her advisors, and they expressed excitement about its novelty and potential for impact. 

Jasmine in front of the Student Experience Center after participating in the 4th Social Justice Tour of Corvallis

Future direction

Jasmine’s realization that her identity as a Black woman has been a barrier does make her feel more invested in and passionate about her research. The feedback and pushback she has received during her Master’s research has informed her desire to continue in academia. Now, she identifies as both a forester and a social scientist. After completing her degree, Jasmine will pursue a PhD in a related discipline, where she will continue to drive change surrounding language usage in natural resources research. Jasmine hopes to continue inspiring youth of color to become natural resource professionals. 

Jasmine’s research has made her realize how important is it to consider previous scientific texts as data. Considering how many articles she’s been able to find, she places value on looking at the big picture. While it may not be easy to try evaluating criteria that have surely changed over time, Jasmine gladly accepts the challenge. As a budding researcher, her Master’s degree has taught her that there is much to be learned from previous trends when it comes to scientific standards and language use regarding diversity and inclusion in natural resources. 

Join us at 7 pm on Sunday, August 4th, 2019, to hear more about Jasmine’s research and her experience as a Master’s student at OSU. Stream the show live on KBVR Corvallis 88.7FM or check out the episode as a podcast after a few weeks.