The study from the lab of Joseph Corbo, assistant professor of pathology and immunology, has determined that the transcription factor CRX is necessary for regulation of hundreds of retina related genes, including the gene FAM161A.

Corbo’s lab and collaborator Thomas Langmann, of the Institute of Human Genetics in Regensburg, Germany, used analysis of DNA regions binding to CRX to isolate the FAM161A gene as a cause of retinitis pigmentosa, a heritable form of blindness. The study found that a German family with previously unexplained onset of blindness expressed a mutated form of FAM161A. The mutation prematurely ended transcription of the gene by insertion of a stop codon, known in biology as a nonsense mutation. While the function of the gene is unknown, the gene must be present in the retina for proper development of the retina.

Affecting over 1 million individuals, retinitis pigmentosa manifests in the second to third decade of life, leading to severe visual impairment by the fifth decade and legal blindness in the sixth decade.

Additionally, the research discovered a different nonsense mutation of FAM161A in three unrelated individuals, suggesting a common founder who allowed for widespread dispersal of the mutation among the German population.

“Knowing which gene has a mutation in a given patient is very important for establishing prognosis and for devising novel therapies to treat their particular form of blindness,” Corbo said. “Not only does this research project lead to significant strides in disease diagnosis and treatment, it also sheds light on the fundamental biology of gene regulation because it identifies previously unknown players in the process.”

The lab group identified FAM161A due to high binding affinity of the transcription factor CRX to a DNA region near the FAM161A gene.

Transcription factors are relatively small proteins that bind to non-coding regions of DNA, leading to transcription or down-regulation of the genes they regulate. CRX promotes transcription of genes critical to the successful differentiation and survival of photoreceptors in the retina.

Photoreceptors are the light-sensitive cells that line the back of the eye. They process visual stimuli in the form of light energy and convert them into electrical impulses, which the brain translates into images.

The mechanism of photoreceptor synthesis functions most of the time. However, mutations in many of the genes involved in the formation and function the photoreceptors can lead to varying degrees of blindness.

“If cell types were cars, photoreceptors would be a high-performance vehicle like a Ferrari or a Maserati,” Corbo said. “They function wonderfully when things are going OK, but they break down easily and are very costly to repair.”

Knowing the importance of CRX, researchers hypothesized that regions of DNA with dense CRX-binding might be important in vision. To isolate such regions, they used a technique called chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) to identify the regions of interest and used massively parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq) to determine the sequence of the bound regions.

A commonly used procedure in biomedical research, ChIP uses DNA binding proteins to cross link DNA regions of interest before shearing the DNA strands by sonication. The small strands then bind to a specific antibody and can be amplified, sequenced, or used in a microarray to assess if the DNA interacts with other DNA, RNA, or proteins.

From microarray and sequencing data on a mouse genome, researchers identified more than 10,000 regions bound by CRX. By using the density of CRX-binding, researchers can prioritize which genes are likely to have more important roles in blindness.

The identification of CRX and FAM161A has shed light on the onset of blindness, but many questions still remain. Many genes that express high affinity for CRX are yet to be understood, and even the exact function of FAM161A remains unclear.

In recent years, the University has had a relatively consistent number of Fulbright scholars, placing 10 students in the program for the ’09-’10 academic year, 14 in ’08-’09, 13 in ’07-’08 and eight in ’06-’07. The marked increase in scholars this year from last year supports the recent trend of growing popularity and success among Fulbright applicants from the University.

Depending on the number of applications received in a given year, the acceptance to the Fulbright Scholar Program has ranged from 26 percent to 45 percent, but it tends to hover around 38 percent, according to Toni Loomis, the University’s contact for the Fulbright program.

“I think our fluctuations reflect national trends to some extent,” wrote Dr. Amy Suelzer, assistant director of international and area studies in the College of Arts & Sciences and the University’s Fulbright program adviser.

“How large our number of applicants will be depends greatly on a variety of factors, but they are certainly larger than they were five years ago.”

When analyzing the recent success of Wash. U. Fulbright applicants, Suelzer attributed increased acceptance to the growing success of past scholars, which helped later students realize that a Fulbright scholarship was an attainable and rewarding opportunity to be earned.

Furthermore, the growth in the number of English Teaching Assistantships offered by the Fulbright program attracted applications from students looking for short transitional programs abroad after graduation.

Dean Joy Kiefer of Arts & Sciences, notably, has been actively promoting student awareness of competitive scholarships and fellowships, including the Rhodes, Fulbright, Marshall and Truman scholarships.

Informing students of these opportunities early can help them prepare for the rigorous applications ahead and increase success rates.

The Fulbright Scholar Program is a program for the international exchange of students and scholars; it is currently operating in more than 155 countries. Founded by U.S. senator James W. Fulbright in 1946, the program aims to promote peace and understanding through educational exchange among participating nations.

Since its founding, the program has produced more than 300,000 alumni, from areas including science, technology and the humanities. More than 7,000 grants are awarded each year to support more scholars. These grants, which fund students for up to a year in their country of choice, are primarily sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

“The goal of the Fulbright is to promote cultural exchange, which doesn’t necessarily happen best through scholarly articles or inaccessible research,” wrote Emily Levitt, who graduated from Washington University in 2010 and is spending seven months in Croatia researching male identity and masculinity in relation to large-scale institutional changes.

Even though the newly awarded scholars have just begun working in their respective countries, the experience has been meaningful already.

“I am right at the beginning of my Fulbright grant, but it has already taught me how little I know about Mexican culture and the impact it has on America and vice versa,” said Kavya Naini, a graduate student who is currently analyzing the Mexican business culture and the relationship between the U.S. and Mexican economies and businesses.

Recent graduate Adina Appelbaum, who is studying migration and refugee issues in Cairo, also encouraged interested students to apply for the program: “Put forth a succinct application that demonstrates a strong topic focus, an impeccably planned out project and feasibility of implementation…The applicant must also convey their ability to go above and beyond to make the most of their opportunity to live abroad.”

Evan Freedman | Student Life

Information obtained from the Career Center Annual Report 2008-2009

While there is no official database tracking the number of paid versus unpaid internships available, many are beginning to notice trends.

Lance Choy, director of the Career Development Center at Stanford University, noted that employers posted 643 unpaid internships on the Stanford job board this academic year, which is more than triple the 174 postings from two years ago.

These postings span across all industries, from those that are traditionally notorious for not paying interns, such as entertainment, to formerly generous industries such as banking.

The source of this trend? None other than the 15 plus million college students across the United States.

Since college students are strongly encouraged to explore opportunities in their fields of interest, employers have been taking advantage of this opportunity to offer unpaid internships, slashing costs in this precarious economy.

While these exchanges between eager industries and students may benefit both parties, some federal and state officials are convinced that unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act.

According to this federal law, internships can only be unpaid if they primarily benefit the intern and satisfy all of the following criteria: The internship should be similar to the training given in a vocational school or academic institution, the intern must not displace regular paid workers and the employer can “derive no immediate advantage” from the intern’s activities.

No matter how explicitly this act is written, however, it remains difficult to enforce.

“It is very difficult to determine when an employer is offering a legitimate internship that provides experience and training that primarily benefits the intern as opposed to using the internship as a cover for getting free labor for its own benefit,” Washington University law professor Pauline Kim wrote in an e-mail to Student Life.

Not only do unpaid internships potentially violate federal law, they also discriminate against financially disadvantaged students.

“Many students of limited means cannot afford to perform unpaid internships but instead must perform paid work in a low-waged setting to make ends meet,” said Marion Crain, Wiley B. Rutledge Professor of Law at Wash. U.

“The internship experience tends disproportionately to benefit middle and upper class students,” she added.

To address the problem of unpaid internships, experts recommend that the federal government closely scrutinize this area to avoid discrimination and economic exploitations, particularly of the most vulnerable workers.

Without such public scrutiny, individual firms would not have the incentive to self-regulate in this regard, according to Crain.

Regardless of whether or not unpaid internships actually violate the law, this problem troubles many students who seek to intern.

“Interns definitely deserve to be paid since they are doing work for [the firms],” sophomore Joyce Fung said.

Junior Theja Lanka voiced similar financial concerns. “If my living expenses won’t be covered, then what’s the point?” she said.

In the meantime, what can students do? When offered unpaid internships, students may seek alternative venues of compensation, such as receiving academic credits or applying for stipends for housing or living expenses from either the industries or external sources.

For example, the Career Center at Wash. U. offers a limited number of stipends of up to $3,000 for students who have secured unpaid internships, but have already exhausted the six academic credits toward internships that they are allowed to receive.

If students cannot obtain alternative venues of compensation, they may also explore areas outside their primary interests for potentially paid internships.

“We also want to encourage students to take advantage of other strengths or abilities that they have within internships and think more broadly about opportunities that they could be further engaged in,” said Michael Chapin, career development specialist at the Career Center.

Even if financial factors continue to be problematic, the Career Center still highly encourages students to pursue internships because of the valuable experiences they provide.

“The earlier students can [intern] and develop their professional skills, learn about who they are, develop their career and academic interests, the more prepared [they are] for steps after graduation,” Chapin said.

While this image may remind you of modern warfare at the macroscopic scale, scientists have also applied this principle to combat cancer at the molecular level with gold nanocages attacking tumor cells.

The nanocages were recently synthesized and evaluated by Professor of Biomedical Engineering Younan Xia, Professor of Radiology Michael Welch and their colleagues, as described in an article published in the Small journal this past March.

Similar to how real missiles destroy their targets via heat, these novel gold nanocages can absorb a certain wavelength of light and convert it into energy with high efficiency.

“Although you might think that gold is a weird thing to be injecting into people, actually people have been using gold colloid to treat arthritis for almost a hundred years,” Welch said.

By heating up, these nanoparticles can kill the tumor cells around them through a process called local tumor hyperthermia.

To evaluate the therapeutic effect of these irradiated gold nanocages on tumor cells, researchers injected the nanoparticles into animals, irradiated them, and monitored the cellular metabolism using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F- FDG PET).

In addition to evaluating cellular metabolism, researchers also analyzed the anatomy of the cells after radiation via histology.

Overall, these studies revealed that the cellular metabolism decreased and that the tumor cells showed irreversible damage, both supporting the treatment to be effective.

Gold may be particularly advantageous for medicinal purposes because it is inert, preventing it from being cleared from the body, according to Welch.

The revelation comes as a breakthrough in this area.

“Hyperthermia is an area that people have investigated for many years, and people have tended to do it simply by using ultrasound irradiation of the tumor,” Welch said. “By putting particles in and heating tumors, it is much easier to kill tumor cells.”

These promising results have attracted much attention and financial support in the scientific community, including a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health awarded in mid-February to fund further investigations.

Using the grant, researchers plan to continue improving the gold nanocages by enhancing their tumor-targeting ability.

“What we want to do with the grant is to compare nanoparticles that just passively diffuse into tumors with particles that are targeted with specific targeting agents,” Welch said.

Researchers plan to attach small molecules, such as antibodies, that can specifically recognize tumor cells onto the gold nanocages to synthesize “guided” molecular missiles.

The design aims to increase the tumor uptake of the nanoparticles, which would increase therapeutic effects and decrease side effects.

Although much progress has been made to improve the nanoparticles, there are still many challenges ahead.

“The challenge is to be able to put the targeting molecule on the nanoparticle and keep the nanoparticle in the circulation and stop the nanoparticle from being cleared by the liver,” Welch said.

Despite the challenges presented, Welch continues to be optimistic about the future promises of these gold nanocages.

To learn more about these cancer-fighting gold nanocages, please refer to the article “Gold Nanocages as Photothermal Transducers for Cancer Treatment” in the Small journal.

Kim Jones | Student Life

Eric Greitens, PhD, chief executive officer of The Mission Continues, addressed the importance of public service in his lecture, “Inspiring Leadership in Challenging Times” in Brown Hall on Tuesday. It was sponsored by the Assembly Series and the Gephardt Institute for Public Service Service.

Greitens is more than a “social entrepreneur,” however—he is an Angier B. Duke Scholar, a Rhodes Scholar, a Truman Scholar, a U.S. Navy SEAL officer and the award-winning author of “Strength and Compassion” as well as a White House Fellow.

During his lecture, Greitens mostly focused on how his experiences serving as a U.S. Navy SEAL officer have helped him develop his philosophy on leadership and service.

After Greitens returned from Iraq and visited with wounded Marines at Bethesda Naval Hospital, he noticed the need to help disabled veterans who wanted to continue serving the public and express their undying patriotism and loyalty to the country.

Unfortunately, connecting the wounded and disabled veterans to public service is difficult because of the physical and psychological struggles that they cope with.

“The harsh reality of the situation for a lot of the men and women that I was visiting was that they were not going back to their military units right away,” Greitens noted. “The question is: How do they maintain hope?”

To help wounded and disabled veterans regain a sense of purpose, Greitens used his combat pay to found The Mission Continues in 2007. Through this nonprofit organization, he provides wounded veterans with fellowships to use their strengths and serve in their local communities.

Greitens believes that wounded veterans have a tremendous amount to give if they are provided with proper venues.

“[Disabled veterans] needed to know that when they came home, we did not see them as problems, but as assets,” Greitens said. “They wanted to hear that we recognize their strength and want to help them find a way back to serve.”

When observing the veterans’ continued devotion to service, Greitens gained new insight on what courage means, in addition to its common connotation of bravery.

More specifically, he learned that courage is also about perseverance—about waking up day after day and doing the hard things that need to be done. Greitens described courage as a proper balance between bravery and perseverance.

By sharing his experiences, Greitens hopes to inspire the young to challenge themselves and think about how they can serve society.

“What I ask all of us to do is to look at our courage, see where it is uneven and ask ourselves what hard things we need to do to become better public servants,” Greitens advised.

Overall, Greitens served as an inspirational role model for the attendees.

“When we think of public service, you have to think of someone like Eric Greitens,” said Robin Hattori, director of the Gephardt Institute for Public Service, who arranged the lecture. “He really does epitomize the idea that you always have something to give.”

Greitens’ lecture inspired students to evaluate their personal conduct.

“What I find most inspiring about [Greitens] was how he seemed to never be satisfied with where he is,” freshman Francis Wu said. “[Greitens] makes me wonder how much more I could be doing.”

Not only did several students find the lecture inspiring, they also pointed out that The Mission Continues reinforced some principles that they aspire to abide by.

“I love his idea of supporting veterans that are injured and giving them a reason to still continue in life and not give up,” said Brett Simons, a student from Maryville University in St. Louis who participates in Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). “This is what we are about: not giving up, never quit.”

Just after Greitens encouraged students to pursue public service, the night ended with a hands-on opportunity for students to translate their ambition into reality. After the lecture, students packaged non-perishable food items and miscellaneous products to send to soldiers in Iraq.

The Gephardt Institute and the Assembly Series Program made the lecture possible. The Washington University Military Care Package Group sponsored the service project.

Junior Jumpstart is a one-day conference for third-year students to explore their career interests after final exams in May.

Through this program, students can meet with deans and advisers, interact with recent alumni and professionals in different fields, and attend informational sessions on a broad range of topics from creating a résumé to applying to medical school.

Back when dean Sarah Johnson founded this program more than 20 years ago, Junior Jumpstart was exclusively for pre-health students. For the last couple of years, however, this program has expanded to offer sessions and resources for those in engineering and art.

On the new engineering track, sessions will be given by deans, professionals, teachers and current graduate students to provide a full perspective on attending graduate school and getting a job after receiving a B.S. degree.

On the art track, students can attend presentations given by artists and designers; learn about strategies in evaluating and applying to Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs, residencies and fellowships; participate in a discussion with “creative community” professionals; and review portfolios with a professional.

While the additional engineering and art sessions mostly benefit students from those respective schools, they will also enable students interested in multiple disciplines to seek advice in one setting.

“In our day and age, students don’t like to be put in boxes,” said program coordinator Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo, a dean in the College of Arts & Sciences.

“You might be a student in the School of Engineering, but you might want to go and get a Ph.D. in physics. You might be a mathematics student who wants to go to graduate school in engineering,” Diallo said. “Having all the schools there and helping us offer very diverse programs is best for all the students.”

Similarly, Junior Jumpstart’s diverse tracks enables students to combine their interests in one area with those in other fields.

“Because of the diversity of the sessions, art students can structure their own day, which may include a portfolio review, but also, say, a workshop on writing a personal statement or a session on applying to law school,” said Jennifer Meyer, a career adviser to art students at the Career Center.

In addition to adding new tracks, the program coordinators have also expanded the scopes of current tracks. For example, the pre-health track now emphasizes options beyond attending medical school and becoming a doctor for those interested in health care.

To inform students of the various careers in health care, the pre-health track will host a new session in which professionals such as doctors, social workers and genetic counselors collaborate together to interact with patients.

The program coordinators strongly endorse this more flexible and comprehensive philosophy on health care because students should be able to find careers that best suit their interests.

“Our students’ happiness once they get into their desired field and build a career is what we are really reaching for. We are hoping to connect students to their individual passions,” said Liz Drury, a public service coordinator involved in the planning of the pre-health track.

Overall, the program coordinators are very excited about the opportunities that Junior Jumpstart will offer to students.

“I’m really excited to help put on a program that can lift people out of those mid-college blues and get them ready for senior year and whatever comes beyond,” said John Menze, a junior representative from the engineering school who helps to plan Junior Jumpstart.

“It [takes place] the day after finals, so people are usually a bit tired, but people find that they get all the information they need in one day,” Toliver-Diallo said. “It is really a way to jump-start the summer.”

While some students have a clear vision of what career they want to pursue, others still are uncertain about their future directions. In either case, coordinators of Junior Jumpstart strongly encourage all students to attend the program.

“Expand your mind.  Come to Junior Jumpstart to see what else is out there,” Osborn said. “If you are decided on a job after graduation, great; join in to see what info you can get to help make that option a reality. If you are unsure what your path will be, come and get ideas to make your senior year a productive one.”’

Students can register for Junior Jumpstart online. Early registration (before March 31) costs $45, regular registration (April 1 – April 30) costs $65 and walk-in/late registration (on May 13 only) costs $85.

Still have unanswered questions? Contact Dean Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo at juniorjumpstart@wustl.edu.

Junior Nick Yozamp receives the “Jeopardy!” championship trophy from Alex Trebek after winning the $100,000 grand prize. His win brought attention to Wash. U., albeit temporarily. (Courtesy of ‘Jeopardy!’ Productions Inc.)

Tired of blank stares, desperate explanations and awkward silence when you tell others that you go to Washington University in St. Louis? Junior Nick Yozamp may be able to help.

Since Yozamp defeated contestants from across the nation and won the championship of the college tournament on “Jeopardy!” on Feb. 10, he has been busy being interviewed by newspapers and TV shows.

While Yozamp has seen attention primarily from more mainstream media outlets, his triumph has also inspired discussions on blogs and forums online.

One of the notable forums that has caught the Yozamp frenzy is www.collegeconfidential.com, a Web site on which students, parents and educators exchange questions, answers and experiences regarding anything related to college, from college applications to college life.

As of mid-March, a quick Google search on “Yozamp Jeopardy WUSTL” yielded more than 1,800 hits.

In response to this sudden rush of fame, Yozamp has his reservations.

“I’m kind of a quiet guy, so the publicity I’ve been getting is not my cup of tea,” Yozamp said. “It has been flattering, though…I’m just glad that the initial rush of publicity has quieted down.”

While the number of phone calls and requests for interviews may have died down, how the fame and glory that he has attracted in the media affect the University’s publicity remains an interesting question that is being investigated.

The Office of Public Affairs was one of the first to probe into this question.

“We did a Google news search on this [win] after the show aired,” said Neil Schoenherr, associate editor of The Record in the Office of Public Affairs. “The story got a few dozen hits here in St. Louis and in Minnesota, where Nick is from.”

When the same search was repeated in mid-March, however, only one hit appeared because more time has passed since the show.

To account for this phenomenon, some point out that while there are numerous reports on Yozamp’s success, a one-time event does not necessarily leave lasting impacts on the University’s national visibility.

Steve Givens, associate vice chancellor and executive director of public affairs, found that publicity surrounding major events affecting the University is often short lived.

“Even when we host presidential debates, the visibility and publicity that we garner from such an effort is rather fleeting,” he said.

What truly affects the University’s long-term publicity, Givens added, is the intellectual capital of the institution—the research, knowledge and expertise that the faculty, researchers and students of the Danforth Campus and the Medical Campus embody.

The question of publicity is especially sensitive and pertinent to the many students who feel that the University lacks the name recognition of other institutions of similar academic caliber.

“I think Wash. U. could do more to increase the public perception of Wash. U. because many people have never heard of the school before,” freshman Adam Tsao said. “For those who are more academically inclined, they think Wash. U. is a great school, but for those who aren’t so involved in their academics, they have no clue.”

Despite the reservations about how a one-time event can affect an institution’s reputation as a whole, Yozamp remains optimistic and hopes that his story will introduce Washington University to some prospective students and families for the first time.

“It is well-documented that colleges that have won the national basketball title or national football title see an uptick in applications in the following admissions cycle,” Yozamp said. “Who knows? maybe Wash. U. will see an uptick in applications thanks to its ‘Jeopardy!’ title.”

Freshman Bennett Rosenblatt (center), Campus Kitchen Public Relations Officer, grabs some food during the Campus Kitchen kick-off reception. Wash. U.'s newly founded chapter of Campus Kitchen, an student-run operation, cooks salvaged food from Bon Appétit and delivers it to shelters in the St. Louis area. (Johann Qua Hiansen | Student Life)

Bam! After baking eggplant Parmesan, boiling greens and dicing melon, a group of Washington University students delivered food to The Shalom House—a special needs women’s shelter—and spent an afternoon eating and playing Jenga with the residents last Saturday.

This event was not a one-day volunteering endeavor. On the contrary, the event marked the inauguration of the University’s newly founded chapter of Campus Kitchen.

Beginning this semester, Wash. U. students can continue the service by volunteering to cook salvaged food, delivering it to shelters in St. Louis and eating with the clients they serve.

Instead of buying ingredients, Campus Kitchen only uses excess food salvaged from Bon Appétit and partner organizations such as Operation Food Search.

From the select ingredients procured, shift captains unleash their creativity and devise recipes, leading a group of 10 to 12 students to prepare a meal for about 40 people.

While the chapter founders originally had difficulty finding a place to cook on campus, they partnered with First Congregational Church, which has agreed to let Campus Kitchen use its industrial-sized kitchen.

Not only does First Congregational Church offer the necessary space and facilities, it is located right behind Hitzeman Hall and is a short walk from the South 40.

In addition to delivering the food to The Shalom House, student volunteers also deliver to Our Lady’s Inn, a shelter for pregnant women or women who have recently given birth. Both of these shelters are within 10 miles of the University.

Although Campus Kitchen launched its operation only last weekend, it has already received warm support from students.

Bennett Rosenblatt, a freshman who was attracted to the organization’s mission and now serves as a public relations officer, shared why he enjoyed Campus Kitchen at the kick-off reception.

“Cooking is a pretty popular thing­—a lot of people like to cook—so [people] can fuse their interest in cooking with actually helping people directly,” Rosenblatt said. “Why not just cook and help people out?”

Sophia Cinel, one of the shift captains for the kick-off delivery, also shared where she finds enjoyment in her involvement. “Not only can you cook the food for them, you get to go there and eat with the clients and interact with the clients and meet up with them, so you get really see what you get involved with and who you are helping,” Cinel said.

As of now, Campus Kitchen hosts two cooking shifts per week—one from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and one from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays—and two delivery shifts—one from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays and another from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

In the coming semesters, however, the leadership core is interested in adding an additional shift to accommodate the many students who have expressed an interest in volunteering for Campus Kitchen.

One of the most notable aspects of Campus Kitchen is that passionate students run the entire operation.

“Our entire operation is student-run,” said sophomore Catherine D’Antonio, president of Campus Kitchen. “Our students run our shifts, our students plan the shifts, our students deliver the food, our students cook the food. I love the empowerment that Campus Kitchen offers to students at Wash. U.”

D’Antonio spoke of her passion for the program: “I fell in love with Campus Kitchen probably in our training—during the first meal that we cooked. It was just the most fun thing.”

Stephanie Kurtzman, director of the Community Service Office, applauds the students’ initiative and places high hopes on this new organization.

“I am incredibly proud that they finally got to this place,” Kurtzman said. “I believe this is going to grow over time and become a staple and tradition at Wash. U. and become something that we can all be really proud of.”

To study the effects of HIV on the brain, Beau Ances, assistant professor of neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine, led a team of researchers measuring the rate of blood flow to the brain in 26 HIV-positive and 25 HIV-negative subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques.

According to Ances, researchers are interested in measuring the rate of blood flow because it is an indicator of one’s biological age.

Since blood carries and distributes necessities to fueling cellular processes such as oxygen and ions to different parts of the body, a faster rate of blood flow correlates with a higher metabolic rate and an enhanced ability to perform tasks and respond to environmental demands.

Blood flow decreases predictably with age, so researchers determined that that the rate of blood flow of HIV-positive subjects was equivalent to that of healthy individuals who were 15 to 20 years older.

This finding, however, does not necessarily indicate that those infected with HIV will have a shorter lifespan compared to their healthy counterparts.

“This [study] is only looking at one time point,” Ances said. “In order to get to really get to the heart of the matter, we need to follow people out for a number of years, and see if, yes, do their brains shrink a lot or change a lot, which then [would lead] to an increased chance of having bad things occur to them.”

While many studies on HIV have been conducted since the discovery of the virus in 1981, this study is unique because it analyzes the effects of the virus on the brain.

The brain, according to Ances, is also a logical area of investigation, because after the virus infects the host, it quickly travels to that organ and stays there for the rest of the host’s life, leaving footprints that are little known to the scientific realm.

“The issue is that we really don’t evaluate that many HIV-positive people by what is happening with their brains,” Ances said.

While the results are only preliminary thus far, researchers hope to ultimately use fMRI to evaluate the efficacy of various therapeutic options for HIV.

Currently, the conventional techniques used to diagnose HIV include analyzing a subject’s white blood cell count—the number of CD4 T cells, to be specific—performing a lumbar puncture and asking the subject to do a pencil-and-paper neuropsychological test.

These techniques may be able to detect the presence of HIV, but they are often time-consuming and invasive.

“If you had a test that was non-invasive, or took a couple of minutes to do—or even less—most people would love to do that [over] any of the other tasks,” Ances said. “The ultimate goal is to eventually have easier ways to access people with common techniques that are available at most MRI scanners.”

In addition to pioneering the forefronts of HIV research, Ances also strongly encourages interested undergraduate students to participate in this type of research, especially in projects that let them see the clinical, human part of the disease.

“If you are doing cell work, it is hard to put a face to the disease when it is multiple steps away,” Ances said. “It is easier to see it when you see a patient who has the disease and you take a picture of their brain.”

Last Thursday, Yozamp appeared on “Jeopardy! College Championship” on NBC, beating out representatives from other universities in the quarterfinal round.

Although he was second going into Final Jeopardy!, he correctly answered the question of who appeared on the cover of the 1946 Time magazine with the caption “All Matter is Speed and Flame.”

Nick Yozamp

When looking back at the competition, Yozamp remembered the intensity of the game.

“The quarterfinal episode that I competed in was very competitive,” he said. “We were all pretty evenly matched. It was a really good game on all fronts.”

Having won the quarterfinal game, Yozamp is guaranteed winnings of $5,000, and will move onto the semifinal round to compete for the $100,000 prize guaranteed for the winner of the tournament.

Three semifinal games will be broadcast from Monday to Wednesday on NBC at 3:30 Central time; the game that Yozamp plays in will be aired on Monday. The final rounds will be broadcast Thursday and Friday.

Yozamp’s passion for “Jeopardy!” began when he started watching the show at around the age of 6 at his grandparents’ house. He was so captivated by the game that he asked for a “Jeopardy!” computer game for Christmas when he was 8.

Although correct answers were few and far between when he first began practicing the game, he continued playing, regularly watching the show and participating in Knowledge Bowl throughout middle and high school.

Gradually, he built up that encyclopedic knowledge and quiz-game acumen that would later carry him onto the very show itself.

Last August, Yozamp took a 50-question online diagnostic test offered by “Jeopardy!” and began his journey to the podium. After that performance, Yozamp was invited to an audition in Chicago in October.

After taking another 50-question test, playing a mock “Jeopardy!” game and being interviewed by the contestant coordinators, he was notified in December that he qualified to compete in the quarterfinal game.

Saying that Yozamp was excited would be an understatement.

“Since late high school or early college, it has been my ultimate goal in life to be on ‘Jeopardy!’—that was the main thing I wanted to do,” Yozamp said. “I’m just surprised that it happened so quickly.”

Yozamp said he enjoys every part of the game.

“I like the trivia aspect of it, learning knowledge in a lot of different fields,” he said. “What really appeals to me is just the breadth of the information on the show…The competitive aspect is also really fun. Everything about it is just really cool.”

Unsurprisingly, Yozamp’s family and friends are very proud of his accomplishment and are supportive in his trivia-related strives.

“I think that winning his quarterfinal game was an amazing feat,” said junior Alyssa Moller, Yozamp’s friend. “I am very excited to tune in on Monday for his semifinal game and see if he advances to the finals. Go Nick!”

While Yozamp is proud of his accomplishment, he also believes that others can do it as well. His advice to other “Jeopardy!” aspirants: “Keep at it—take the online tests when they are offered. Who knows, maybe you will do well enough, make it to the auditions and make it on ‘Jeopardy!’ If I can do it, other people can do it too.”

The next online “Jeopardy!” test for college students will be offered at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Interested students can go to www.jeopardy.com, make an account and register for the test.

In addition to Yozamp, three other students have also represented Washington University in prior competitions on “Jeopardy!”: quarterfinalist Ericka Hayes in 1993, semifinalist Arianna Haut in 2002, and second runner-up Jayanth Iyengar in 2006.