Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Ryan Wang

Evolution of horizontally transferred anti-parasitoid toxins

Drosophila species are excellent models for the animal immune system. This summer, I will finish my current work investigating the evolution of the innate immunity Prophenoloxidase gene family. Then, I will build on previous work in our lab with a new project: building new DNA constructs to identify essential regulatory elements of D. ananassae’s horizontally transferred fusionB toxin, a recently discovered component of the fly innate immune system. These experiments will help illuminate how horizontally transferred genes are incorporated into existing animal gene regulation networks and, more broadly, better our understanding of how innate immunity tackles animal parasites, a large gap in the field.

Message To Sponsor

I wanted to thank the donors for their generosity in supporting the program. My summer research has proven invaluable to grow me as a researcher and has definitively influenced my future path, inclining me to research as my primary interest. The funding made things flexible for my summer stay in Berkeley. Thank you very much!