<p>Well, my research was titled the effect of Resveratrol on Adipose Stem Cell Growth, Differentiation, Survival, and Genomic Stability. The first major breakthrough was learning how to derive stem cells from adult body tissue and having almost the same capabilities as embryonic stem cells, but without the ethical issues, of course. Next, I used Resveratrol (which has been the backbone of the French Paradox Theory since it comes from wine) and administered them at different concentrations and conditions to the adipose stem cells. I found that stem cell differentiation and transplantation into various differentiated pathways (I differentiated them into neurogenic, adipogenic, and myogenic cells) was improved and found to be healthier WITH Resveratrol treatment. I also examined survivability which proved to be significantly higher with Resveratrol treatment. Finally, I examined the cell’s DNA under deliberate damage with oxidizers and used staining, etc, to determine if Resveratrol protected against these oxidizers and free radicals in the cells’ nuclei, which I found it did. It was a pretty extensive project but it’s something I’ve spent hours on and that I’m proud of. I also mentioned in my application my current project, which is using drug-loaded nanoparticles to treat prostate cancer. It tied in very well with MIT since it’s using engineering as medical treatments.</p>