Hey there! I’m Isabella Irby, a junior at the University of Arizona majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology. At the Sutphin Lab, under the mentorship of Bradford Hull and Dr. George Sutphin, I am investigating the complex role of copper in biological systems.
This research is particularly relevant to Arizona, where 1 in 4 adults is 65 or older. To promote healthy aging and reduce the risk of age-related diseases, our work aims to extend healthy human lifespan. We use Caenorhabditis elegans to study how exposure to copper, an environmental stressor commonly found in Arizona, can protect against the harmful effects of other stressors. Our previous findings suggest that copper acts through a non- canonical mechanism, and we are now integrating multi-omics data with computational analytics to identify transcription factors involved in this unique copper stress response pathway. By uncovering these mechanisms, we hope to develop new strategies for addressing age-related diseases linked to copper exposure. Outside the lab, I love anything that keeps my hands busy, crocheting, sewing, painting, and pretty much any creative project I can get my hands on. I also have a passion for exploring new places, whether it’s hunting for hidden coffee shops, discovering local art, or finding the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants!
Transcript:
0:03: From KXCI in Tucson, this is Research Matters.
0:06: My name is Bridgitte Thum, and I have the honor of welcoming a junior from the University of Arizona who’s majoring in molecular and cellular biology.
0:15: Welcome, Bella Irby.
0:17: Hi, thank you for having me.
0:19: Hi, Bella, tell me about your lab.
0:21: Yeah, so I work at Suffin Labs, and so basically we’re looking at unraveling the mysteries.
0:27: aging and so we’re looking at the mechanisms of it under the mentorship of Bradford Hall.
0:32: I’m looking at how does copper influence aging and what role does it play?
0:37: Copper, that’s novel, especially in Arizona.
0:40: Like copper is one of our five Cs, so it’s really prevalent.
0:43: Is copper making a comeback?
0:44: We’re sure as heck talking about it at Suffin Labs.
0:47: So what are you looking at with copper?
0:49: Our primary model Organism is Caenorhabditis elegans, so you can basically think about them as small little worms.
0:56: We’re exposing them to copper via liquid, and we’re seeing how long do they survive.
1:02: So it’s like a tincture, kind of, yeah.
1:04: We’re trying to understand the curious case of copper because it’s not operating according to how the literature says it should be.
1:10: It was previously defined as an oxidative stressor.
1:14: That’s not what we’re seeing actually.
1:17: If we start off with a computational model and we basically used it to predict what genes were affected by the copper stress response, and the computer spit out a bunch of genes that it thinks are affected in this pathway.
1:31: We’re validating those genes.
1:34: We’re exposing the worms to a bacteria that basically is able to silence that gene.
1:40: And that’s what we call a knockout, and then we expose it to copper and we want to see, does having the knockout of that gene extend lifespan or does it cause them to get really super sick and die faster than our control?
1:51: Because if it’s not really doing anything that deviates from the control, we know maybe it isn’t really involved in this pathway, and so we should try prioritizing looking at other.
2:00: Genes.
2:01: So the livelihood of the worms is pretty much our indicator.
2:04: Yeah, they are in some cases extending lifespan, but in other cases it’s causing it to die super quickly, so it’s on both fronts.
2:12: What does that tell you?
2:14: We’re going to see, OK, what is this gene responsible for, and we’re going to try and knock out all the surrounding genes and see can we.
2:20: Magnify the effect that we’re seeing.
2:23: So it’s almost like you need to exaggerate it a little more to see which way it tips.
2:27: Yeah, because some genes have a regulatory effect as well.
2:30: You might get overexpression of a gene or you might get down regulation, which means it’s not being expressed.
2:35: We’re saying, OK, which genes are doing what and how can we manipulate it.
2:41: You’re knocking out the jeans and then you’re introducing the copper to see how it can like shield or embrace.
2:48: Yeah, exactly that.
2:50: Copper is almost like a protector stressor, if you will, where if you pair copper up with another stressor, you would think if the copper does 20% damage against the worm, and let’s say a high salt solution does another 20% of damage.
3:03: You would think together they would have an additive effect.
3:06: Well.
3:06: Happening is the copper is still doing the 20% damage.
3:09: It’s like, yeah, I’m still affecting you, but it’s almost protecting the worm against any harm that’s coming from the high salt solution, and it’s novel.
3:17: It’s happening in a way that we didn’t anticipate.
3:19: And so it’s really like, OK, what’s what’s really going on here?
3:23: You’ve been listening to Research Matters.
3:25: Our guest today has been Bella Irby from the University of Arizona.
3:29: Thank you so much for joining us today.
3:31: Thank you for having me.
3:32: I appreciate it.
3:34: Research Matters is produced in Tucson, Arizona at KXCI Community Radio, which is a listener-supported radio station.
3:41: To hear more episodes, visit KXCI.org.
3:45: Thank you.
