Dua
Dua
North Quincy High School
Quincy, MA
Mentor:
Joanna Lumanas
Cardiovascular Disease Initiative
Dua spent her summer investigating how a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease may influence the way heart muscle cells handle fat. Her project centered on APOE4, a variant of the APOE gene associated with altered lipid transport and increased cardiovascular risk, and asked how APOE4 cardiomyocytes respond when their metabolism is challenged.
Working with Jaime, Dua used cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells and developed an imaging-based approach to visualize lipid droplets, small cellular structures in which cells store fats. A major early goal was optimizing BODIPY, a fluorescent dye that makes these lipid droplets visible under a microscope. The team determined that 20,000 cells per well and 5 µg/mL BODIPY produced the strongest imaging conditions for their experiments.
Dua then helped examine how the cells responded to palmitate, a saturated fatty acid; etomoxir, which interferes with fatty acid oxidation; and glucose starvation. Cells were imaged using the Opera Phenix high content imaging system, and CellProfiler was used to quantify features including cell number and lipid droplet fluorescence.
The experiments revealed that etomoxir increased lipid droplet accumulation under non-starved conditions. Glucose starvation reduced cell numbers but increased measures of lipid droplet intensity and area, demonstrating how changes in nutrient availability and fatty acid metabolism can dramatically alter cellular lipid storage.
Dua learned how cell density, staining conditions, metabolic treatments, high-content imaging, and quantitative image analysis all influence the conclusions researchers can draw from a cell-based experiment.
Her work established an imaging workflow that can now be used to ask a larger genetic question: whether these metabolic responses are specifically enhanced in APOE4 cells compared with APOE2 or APOE3 cardiomyocytes. Her project connects genetics, metabolism, microscopy, and cardiovascular biology while laying groundwork for understanding how disease-associated genetic variants affect heart-cell physiology.
Dua came away with a broader view of what makes research move forward. She reflected that science is driven not only by curiosity, but by “collaboration, persistence, and the willingness to keep asking questions.” She further emphasized that the experience strengthened her confidence as a researcher and inspired her to continue pursuing a future in science.
