Download Three Pharmaceutical Sciences students presented their senior

Three Pharmaceutical Sciences students presented their senior research projects at DUCURS (Drake
University Conference on Undergraduate Research in the Sciences) on April 16, 2009.
Brady Wolfe gave a talk on the “Effects of
Genistein on Maternal and Reproductive Behavior in Long Evans Rats”, a project he conducted under
the guidance of Dr. Craige Wrenn. Genestein is the primary isoflavone in soy ; many isoflavones have
been shown to interact with estrogen receptors and to cause effects similar to those caused by the
hormone estrogen.
Greg Walker presented a poster
about his research project, carried out in the lab of Dr. Pramod Mahajan. The goal of the project was to
study genotoxic effects of genistein in rats as an animal model using Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP)
as a marker of DNA damage. His poster was entitled “Molecular Analysis of Isoflavonoid Genotoxicity”.
Sarah Moritz, with the guidance of Dr. Geoff
Wall, evaluated use of the sedative drug dexmedetomidine in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at
Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. She conducted a retrospective chart review of mechanically
ventilated infants and children in the PICU who received dexmedetomidine, and assessed the drug’s
safety and efficacy in the pediatric population.