January 15, 2017

The Bio-X Undergraduate Summer Research Program (Bio-X USRP) provides Stanford undergraduates an opportunity to participate in in-depth hands-on interdisciplinary research as well as network with Bio-X faculty. Bio-X funds each student to perform full-time research for 10 weeks during the summer. In addition, Bio-X provides additional invaluable learning opportunities for its undergraduate cohort through weekly Undergraduate Research Talks and a poster session at the conclusion of the program.

Scarlett will be continuing her work on the Fragile X project. Fragile X syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a mutation in the FMR1 gene. The disorder is characterized by dysmorphic features and sensitivity to stimuli as well as intellectual, emotional, and behavioral disabilities. Through a competitive binding evaluations and combined PET and MRI imaging on an established fragile X syndrome mouse model (FMR1 knockout mice), Scarlett aims to explore a non-invasive imaging method potentially transferrable to human imaging to investigate the developmental physiology of the GABAergic system at a critical stage of neurodevelopment and fragile X syndrome onset.