Browsing by Subject "Urogenital System"
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Item Balancing Renewal and Differentiation of Progenitor Cells in the Developing Kidney(2017-11-30) Ramalingam, Harini; Marciano, Denise; Carroll, Thomas J.; Cleaver, Ondine; Olson, Eric N.Mammalian kidneys perform the important function of blood filtration. All the filtered wastes are concentrated into urine and excreted from the body. The kidney performs these functions through individual functional units called nephrons. While nephron number may decrease during one's lifetime (due to various kidney injuries or hypoxic events), new nephrons do not form in adults. This is most likely due to the absence of nephron precursor cells. If nephron number falls below a certain threshold, the kidneys stop functioning properly pre-disposing individuals to a myriad of medical conditions including renal failure. While dialysis is a treatment option, the survival rate of a dialysis patients is poor. Currently, kidney transplantation is the only long-term treatment possible, but sufficient numbers of transplantable kidneys are not available. Various stem cell therapies and kidney re-engineering are actively being pursued as viable treatment paths. For successful progress in those approaches, we need access to lots of progenitors. To obtain this a thorough understanding of kidney development and the various signals that play important roles in nephron endowment is imperative. Despite many decades of work invested in this field, there are still many unknowns. Regulation of renewal and differentiation of the progenitors during the process of nephron formation is the focus of my dissertation.Item Beta-Catenin and Development of the Urogenital System(2009-09-04) Merkel, Calli E.; Carroll, Thomas J.The urogenital system is composed of the kidneys, gonads, urinary and reproductive tracts. Components of the urogenital system play many important roles in the body; kidneys function by regulating the body's fluid volume, acidity and mineral composition, while the reproductive tract is necessary for propagation of our species. Therefore, the study of urogenital system development is important in the understanding of disorders associated with both the kidneys and the reproductive tract and their treatment. Urogenital system development begins with the formation of an epithelial tube, called the Wolffian duct. From the Wolffian duct forms a ureteric bud, which, along with the metanephric mesenchyme, will undergo a series of morphogenetic changes, eventually giving rise to the adult kidney. The Wolffian or M��rian ducts, along with the bipotential gonads, will develop into the male or female reproductive tracts,respectively. Although many signals are involved in development of the urogenital system, canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is known to play a significant role. To better understand the role Wnt signaling plays in reproductive tract development, we conditionally removed beta-catenin from the Wolffian duct using a HoxB7cre line of mice. We determined that beta-catenin is necessary for M��rian duct formation. Additionally, removal of beta-catenin from the Wolffian duct leads to premature differentiation, preventing degradation of the Wolffian duct in females and inhibiting proper formation of the Wolffian duct into components of the male reproductive tract. In addition to our mouse model, we validated the efficacy of small molecule inhibitors of Wnt signaling in embryonic kidney culture. Functional small molecule Wnt inhibitors will provide an important tool for the continued study of urogenital system development along with the potential treatment of diseases associated defective Wnt signaling.Item Utilizing Learning Theories in Development of Pelvic and Urological Anatomy Curriculum for Clerkship Students(2019-04-01) Gaitonde, Shivani; Zimmern, Philippe E.; Winkler, Alisa; Sendelbach, DorothyINTRODUCTION: In an effort to bridge the gap between medical students and faculty educators, utilizing learning theories and interactive elements as a basis for new curriculum development may improve student engagement and knowledge acquisition. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to apply these learning theories to create a pelvic and urologic anatomy review lecture during the Surgery clerkship, and permanently integrate this new curriculum into medical student education. METHODS: A specific curricular problem was identified and objectives from the AUA Medical Student Curriculum were selected as the basis of a new pelvic and urologic anatomy curriculum. Interactive educational strategies were utilized to create curricular content, including 3D models, laparoscopic videos, and cases. Finally, the curriculum was implemented in pre-pilot, pilot and full-scale teaching sessions. Quality of curriculum was evaluated with a short pre- and post-test and a qualitative Likert-scaled survey, as well as optional free-response comments. RESULTS: For n = 124 students, there was a significant improvement between pre- and post-test scores, p < 0.01 with a large Cohen's effect size, d = 2. On qualitative survey, students positively reported that they enjoyed and recommended this session to future students. Learner feedback was used to improve curricular content throughout the course of this project. CONCLUSION: Utilizing learning theories and interactive educational strategies enables curriculum to be both efficacious and enjoyable for learners.