Gyalek Chonjor, FCLC 2024

MAJOR: Psychology

BIO: Gyalek Chonjor was born in Tibet where she spent her formative years before moving to New York City in 2011. She is a current Psychology major and Biology minor on track to graduate in May 2024. Beyond undergraduate studies, she plans to pursue a medical degree while also remaining actively involved in scientific research. In her leisure time, Gyalek enjoys taking walks with her pet, Archie, and reading.

PROJECT TITLE: The The Effects of Fetal Bovine Serum Concentration on Cell Senescence in WS1, BJ, IMR-90 & CCD-1070SK Skin and Lung Fibroblasts

MENTOR: Dr. Deborah C. Luckett, Department of Natural Sciences

ABSTRACT: This study investigated the senescence and morphology changes at different passage numbers in WS1, BJ, CCD-1070Sk and IMR-90 skin and lung fibroblast cells. This is valuable information for researchers who are studying fibroblast cells. Each of the control cell lines were cultured in Eagle’s Minimum Essential Medium (EMEM) and supplemented with 10% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS), 1% penicillin-streptomycin, and 1% Non-Essential Amino Acid (NEAA) using T25 and T-75 flasks. The cells were subcultured at 75% confluence with 0.25% trypsin and 0.53mM EDTA. To observe the effects of FBS concentrations, we placed certain passages from WS1, BJ, IMR-90 and CCD-1070Sk in 0%, 2.5%, 5%, and 10% FBS Tissue Culture Medium as our experimental group.

The Senescence-associated β-Galactosidase (SA β-gal) assay was performed at various passage numbers using Lab-Tek 2-well and 4-well chamber slides. Senescent cells were indicated by a blue color in the cytoplasm. The senescence and morphologies of the cell lines were observed at various passages. In both the skin and lung fibroblasts, senescent cells were found in both lower and higher passage numbers in addition to the morphological changes.