MARIN ACADEMY RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE​
STUDENT BLOGS
50 years of
Investigating the effects of steviol glycosides on Lactobacillus reuteri growth
Charlotte Hee '20
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What is my project about?
My project is focused on artificial sweeteners and their effects on the human microbiome. Although there is much research proving the negative effects of artificial sweeteners altering bacteria in the microbiome, little is known about the effects of stevia. I plan on studying the effect of stevia glycosides, the sweet components that are isolated from stevia leaves, on Lactobacillus reuteri growth. Lactobacillus reuteri is a significant probiotic in the gastrointestinal tract.
Who am I?
Hello! My name is Charlotte and I am a student of the Marin Academy Research Collaborative.
I joined this program because I wanted to follow my interest in science that I have gained over the years and expand my horizons by pursuing an independent project. Through my time in the program, I hope to discover more about the complex process involved in designing and carrying out your own research project that I would not be able to learn in a traditional science class.
My curiosity surrounding artificial sweeteners stems from my general interest in health and nutrition. As an active ballet dancer, it is important for me to know how what I eat will affect my body. I hope that my project will give people a better understanding of how consuming stevia affects their bodies.
Week of March 10
This week I began to plan what my project will be for science symposium. I talked with Stori to get a better grounding of what was feasible and she also helped explain to me some research papers that I had found. She told me, “You could test a couple of different Lactobacillus spp. and add steviol in different concentrations to the phenol red broth. This would show if acid or gas is produced and you can determine growth using the spectrophotometer to measure the optical density (OD)”. I plan on doing something either exactly the same as this or very similar.
Week of March 3
This week I made my SMART goals for the month. I had 3 of them. My first goal was to continue to research alternate variables to test (like different artificial sweeteners and bacteria) and narrow down what specifically I would want to test for my science symposium. My second goal was to apply to or contact someone for shadowing. Finally, my third goal was to research more about using a model organism for my study; I am specifically interested in possibly using C. elegans as a model for the microbiome.
Week of February 17
This week I presented my experimental design project. I started out by asking the class what foods they eat regularly have artificial sweeteners in them. Then, I defined artificial sweeteners and stevia by showing the first video I linked in my last post. Then, I talked about what Lact. reuteri was and its functions. Then, I showed a crash course video on the microbiome and talked about the relevance of my study. I also had a worksheet for my classmates
Week of 2/10/19
This week I finished up preparing for my experimental design project. I made a powerpoint with videos on stevia and the microbiome embedded and also made worksheets for my classmates to work on during my presentation. Most of my class time was spent on engaging in my classmate's lessons so I didn’t accomplish as much on my personal project. My next steps are to read more journal articles and contact more mentors.
The videos I will use for my presentation are linked below.
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Week of 2/10/19
This week I finished up preparing for my experimental design project. I made a powerpoint with videos on stevia and the microbiome embedded and also made worksheets for my classmates to work on during my presentation. Most of my class time was spent on engaging in my classmate's lessons so I didn’t accomplish as much on my personal project. My next steps are to read more journal articles and contact more mentors.
The videos I will use for my presentation are linked below.
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Week of 2/3/19
This week I continued to work on my experimental design project to prepare for my presentation next week. I began to search for videos that would help me explain the basics of my project, mostly ones that focused on artificial sweeteners and the microbiome. I also expanded my literature search by reading articles that Stori had sent me. These articles were mostly on stevia’s influence on bacteria other than Lact. reuteri. She also suggested that I look into researching the effects of stevia on C. elegans as a model organism.
Week of 1/20/19
This week I finally reached out to two potential mentors about questions I have. Yay! I also began thinking about my plans for the summer. We are supposed to work a little on our project directly or indirectly through an internship or summer program. I plan on shadowing a scientist for a couple of days to gain insights about what it is like working in a lab and connect their studies to my own research. In addition, I plan on applying the Buck Institute Summer Internship. It would be an amazing opportunity for me to explore aging-related diseases.
Week of 1/13/19
This week I began to make edits on my proposal and research mentors. I incorporated feedback from Stori and Shawn in order to strengthen the first draft of my proposal. Most of the edits were more technical, for example, properly italicizing and abbreviating names of bacteria. I also added more citations and reorganized a couple of things. I began researching mentors through the people that Stori suggested to me and also by searching up local researchers that are studying similar topics to me.
Week of 1/27/19
This week I started to work on my experimental design project. This is a project where we get to design a two-class lesson to our classmates in the MARC program and test out an aspect of our methodology. I began this process by reviewing a paper and asking for help from Stori and Tania. They both are in the process of helping me understand the methodology from the study that I want to redo.