Healthcare is delivered in many ways across the world. Most countries use one of the four healthcare models, but the United States uses parts of the four models. This leads to issues for patients as they may not know what their insurance plans cover. Providers also have issues with health insurance in getting coverage for their patients. With both patients and providers having issues with insurances, insurance companies have not taken an action to help alleviate some of the issues that everyone faces. Providers are also faced with issues of burnout as they have a lot to do, and not enough time or energy to complete everything. This effects the quality of healthcare that is delivered to their patients as well as when a person can see a provider as there are not enough doctors and nurses to cover the case load all of the time. All in all, providers, insurance companies, and patients need to work together to help fix some of the issues with healthcare to be able to move towards a better healthcare model for all.

Our current understanding of the mitochondrial genome was revolutionized in 2015 with the discovery of short open reading frames (sORFs) that produced protein products called mitochondrial-derived peptides (MDPs). Interestingly, unlike other proteins produced by the organelle, these MDPs are not directly involved in the electron transport chain but rather serve the role of metabolic regulators. In particular, one of these peptides called MOTS-c has been shown to regulate glucose and fat metabolism in an AMPK-dependent manner. With its capacity to enter the mitochondria and impact gene expression, MOTS-c has also displayed the ability to increase aerobic exercise performance by triggering elevated synthesis of the HO-1 antioxidant. Overall these findings position MOTS-c as a promising treatment for metabolic diseases as well as a potential dietary supplement to boost ATP availability.

Medical recovery time continues to be a drawback for many medical diagnoses and procedures. Prolonged recovery affects all aspects of the population, and targets different avenues of everyday life. Avenues such as providing, attending a job, personal objectives in different ways and even their own well-being. To combat this one area of research that has gained tremendous awareness in recent years is that of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), which has been utilized across a wide variety of medical fields for the regeneration of soft tissues. PRF, or platelet-rich fibrin, is the next generation treatment of platelet concentrate. PRF is a fibrin matrix composed of platelet cytokines, growth factors and cells used to help wound healing and tissue regeneration. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the potential recovery time difference with PRF incorporation for common medical procedures. The experimental group included three individuals who had PRF treatment at any point during any sort of medical operation. The control group included individuals who did not have PRF treatment at any point and also those who had no prior knowledge of this method of treatment. Results were mixed because of the variative behind the medical procedures. Through observation, PRF treatment improved tolerance of pain, well-being of patients and quality of recovery with three different domains of inquiry per patient testimony. This case-analysis of 6 patients is a preliminary study and therefore inconclusive. PRF is a promising approach and this study suggests that it could potentially be a new medical approach to treatment.

While attending UCLA Brain Research Institute, I completed research, studied, and found an interest in Duplication 15q 11.2-13.1 syndrome. I noticed the lack of awareness on both UCLA and ASU campuses and decided to complete my thesis on raising awareness of this syndrome specifically on the downtown Phoenix campus. Multiple surveys including in-person interviews were conducted that totaled around 50 participants. Participants in the surveys included pre-medical students at ASU downtown and an ASU mission team for disabilities and empowerment. Data collected from surveys led to the creation of an online research hub that can give a person access to all things Dup15q with one click. This type of awareness is important as misdiagnosis of rare genetic disorders is a leading cause of infant mortality.

The integrative model for developmental competencies in minority youth and the stress-buffering model posit that ethnic minority youth have unique experiences (e.g., stressors) that can inhibit their developmental pathways, but that supportive relationships can play a buffering role for individuals when in the presence of stressors. The current study examines the associations between parent-child conflict, sleep, and depressive symptoms among 207 Latinx youth (M = 12.39, SD = 1.15; 53% females) while exploring the moderating role of the opposite parent’s warmth. Results revealed positive links between mother-child conflict, sleep, and depressive symptoms and between father-child conflict and depressive symptoms. No evidence was found for the moderating role of parental warmth. This study’s findings contribute to the knowledge on Latinx youth by creating a starting point for potential intervention targets in familial processes.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure involving placement of an electrode in the form of a DBS lead into a deep brain nucleus to treat a variety of neurologic conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremor. DBS lead placement requires a head-mounted stereotactic device that utilizes a three-dimensional coordinate system to locate a surgical target. Traditional stereotactic systems are designed for a wide variety of procedures and therefore can be large and cumbersome, causing patient discomfort. To address this, NaviNetics, Inc. has recently developed the FDA 510(k)-cleared D1 Stereotactic system. This system replaces the conventional base frame to a 44.45 mm X 44.45 mm skull-anchored platform called the Key. The Key serves as the interface to which other components of the D1 Stereotactic system, including imaging localizers and the D1 Frame, easily attach and detach from the patient’s head without disrupting stereotactic spatial reference. We have now advanced the system to an aluminum design that has demonstrated a mechanical accuracy of ≤ 0.9mm. This manuscript outlines a step-by-step protocol for using the D1 Stereotactic system to aid in DBS surgery. Link to video.