Michelle Kordov, FCLC 2027

Major: Integrative Neuroscience

Bio: Michelle Kordov is a junior at FCLC majoring in Integrative Neuroscience on the Cell and Molecular Track and minoring in Psychology. She is primarily interested in neurobiology research. After graduation from Fordham, Michelle plans to pursue higher education in New York City with hopes of building an industry career and contributing to translational medicine. Beyond academics, she enjoys spending time with friends, seeing stand-up comedy, and creative writing.

Title of Research: Cell Senescence and Morphological Changes in Human Skin Cells

Mentor: Dr. Deborah C. Luckett, Natural Sciences

Research Partner: Carolina Gallani Pontes

Abstract: This study investigated the senescence and morphology changes at different passage numbers in BJ and Detroit 551 skin fibroblast cells. Each cell line was cultured in Eagle’s Minimum Essential Medium (EMEM) with Hank’s Salts and supplemented with 10% Fetal Bovine Serum, 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.
 
The Senescence-associated β-Galactosidase (SAβ-gal) assay was performed using Lab-Tek 2-well and 4-well chamber slides. Senescent cells were indicated by a blue color in the cytoplasm. We also looked at the morphological changes in these cell lines using Phalloidin and DAPI Stains. The actin filaments appeared red, and the nuclei were blue. The actin filaments were observed and photographed using the Leica Fluorescent Imaging Microscope. Senescence and morphological changes were found in both lower and higher passage numbers.