Module 1

Lecturer: Bevin Engelward
Instructors: Noreen Lyell, Leslie McClain and Maxine Jonas

TA:
Lab manager: Hsinhwa Lee

Overview

In this module you will measure DNA repair using two assays: the comet chip and immuno-fluorescence. Your first task is to critically think through the development of the comet chip assay and determine which conditions provide the best results. To this end, you will consider variables that effect cell loading into the microwells of the comet chip and variables that effect the readout of the results. The data you collect will be used to propose a high-throughput comet chip assay for commercial use.

Next, you will use the comet chip assay to assess the effect of chemicals and ultraviolet-irradiation on DNA repair. Specifically, you will study the base excision repair (BER) pathway and the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. Last, you will examine the effect of gamma-irradiation on double strand breaks using an immuno-fluorescence approach.