Undergraduate Research Center—Sciences

Dr. Bruno Peault is looking for an undergraduate student to join their research team.

Our laboratory has identified organ resident mesenchymal stem cells, which can differentiate into bone, cartilage, adipose tissue, smooth and skeletal muscle, and developed several projects to uncover the role of those stem cells in 1- tissue turnover and regeneration, and 2- pathologic development: fibrosis (joint, kidney, skeletal muscle) and atherogenesis (atheroma plaque formation in blood vessels).

We are now recruiting undergraduate students to work on the following themes:

– Gene therapy of OA (osteo-arthritis). In OA, irreversible degradation of joint cartilage is accompanied by inflammation and fibrosis, causing pain and severely affecting motion. The project aims to control joint pain, inflammation, and fibrosis by transducing siRNAs (small interfering RNAs) into relevant affected cell types.

– Stem cell dysfunction in lipedema. Lipedema is the dramatic and uncontrolled accumulation, in affected females (around 1/10), of subcutaneous abnormal adipose tissue in lower limbs, and eventually in the upper part of the body (arms, belly). Long misdiagnosed as obesity, lipedema has specific features: pain, fibrosis. The etiology of lipedema is unknown and we have hypothesized that qualitative and/or quantitative defects in mesenchymal stem cells are causing this severe, invalidating disease. The projects consists in the localization and quantification of mesenchymal stem cells in lipedema tissues, followed by their purification, culture, and functional assessment.

Candidates should commit to work at least 20 hours/week at the Orthopaedic Hospital Research Center, UCLA.

Please send resume and cover letter to Bruno Peault at bpeault@mednet.ucla.edu.

The Department of Radiological Sciences is seeking highly dedicated undergraduate students to assist with ongoing research projects involving the correlation between radiological (patient imaging) and pathological features, to help improve image-based detection, diagnosis, and treatment of different abdominal cancers. Responsibilities include:

– Data Entry/ Data Validation: includes medical chart review, data extraction, and image analysis for departmental research projects.
– Administrative tasks such as filing and making copies as instructed by study coordinators.
– Other Duties: Produce reports and contribute to Department surveys. Assemble and organize accurate information to meet deadlines for the School of Medicine. Participate in teams, committees, events and other group activities. Perform special projects and other duties as assigned.

Time Commitment: 5-20 hours per week, Year-round (1 year with the possibility of extension)

Preapproved for: SRP-99 credit

Documents to submit: Resume & transcript. Send as PDF.

Send materials to: nbarroso@mednet.ucla.edu

Qualifications: Students with an interest in gaining research or clinical experience are preferred. Must be detail-oriented, organized, work well with others, and be unafraid to ask questions. Life science majors or students on pre-med, pre-health tracks are preferred, but anyone interested in the opportunities is encouraged to apply.

If interested, please e-mail Alondra Prado at alondraprado@mednet.ucla.edu with your resume/CV.

Archive for category: Open Research Positions

Research Position with Dr. Bruno Peault’s Lab

Correlation of Patient Imaging with Pathology: Correlating Radiological and Pathological Features