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For the past few weeks, Mattis has been aiding experiments related to a link between obesity and asthma in the laboratory of Stephanie Shore, senior lecturer on physiology in the Department of Environmental Health at HSPH. With the internship nearly complete, Mattis took some time to reflect on her experiences: "I have discovered that, yes, I am interested in conducting research. This summer has changed my path. I am still pre-med, but now I am trying to decide if I will do an MD/PhD program. "Before I began working in the lab of Dr. Stephanie Shore, I did not know that data from epidemiological studies suggested that obese individuals are more likely to develop asthma than their leaner peers. "Asthma, an airway inflammatory disease, affects approximately 10 percent of the American population, while 25 percent of the American population is obese. In addition, the incidences of both conditions are increasing. Longitudinal studies have shown that both lean and obese individuals suffer from asthma, but the risk of developing asthma increases as one’s body mass index increases. ‘The Shore lab members have been studying leptin, a hormone made by fat cells, as a possible link between obesity and asthma. Obese people have more leptin in their bloodstreams than do lean people. The lab members are exploring the working hypothesis that leptin may enhance the effects of inflammatory stimuli, making obese people more susceptible to developing asthma. "The Shore lab has been using animal models to determine how leptin may affect airway inflammation triggered by environmental pollutants such as ozone. My role is to determine the levels of inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines, present in the lungs of mice exposed to leptin and ozone. "When I first came to HSPH, all of the interns listened to presentations about the research going on at different labs. When I listened to Rich Johnston, a post doc in the Shore lab, speak about the lab’s research, I had to interrupt him to say, "I really want to be in your lab." I came to Dr. Shore’s office the next day and asked her to let me be in her lab. "Studying obesity is the element of the research that really drew me. Part of the attraction was knowing that one in four Americans is obese. Part of it was personal: I have family members who are obese, and I am predisposed to obesity, so I run eight to nine miles a day and am very careful about what I eat. I also have family members who have asthma. "I must say that I have enjoyed working in Dr. Shore’s lab and exploring Boston. I’ve learned a lot in and out of the lab, and I’m confident that this experience will enrich further internships and projects." Harvard Public Health NOW is published biweekly by the Office of Communications Harvard School of Public Health 665 Huntington Ave., SPH 1-1312A Boston, Massachusetts 02115 617-432-6052 Editor and Layout: Christina Roache Photos Credits: Richard Chase, Christina Roache, Thermo Electron Corporation Archived Issues || HSPH Home Copyright, 2009, President and Fellows of Harvard College |
