Nanoparticles have begun to see wide adoption in commercial application particularly in fields relating to medicine and electrical engineering. While their small size provides unique properties furthering advancements in these field, their effect on human health are still relatively unknown. As their use increases, their potential to cause health effects will need to be considered. This is especially true for workers who manufacture engineered nanomaterials (ENM) and who use them in commercial products. Quantum dots (QD) are an emerging application of nanoparticles using their semiconductor properties for optical imaging. To determine the effects of QD to human neural development, an in-vitro model was established using an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework. This methodology provided observations of QD on their ability to alter cellular morphology and developmental endpoints. H9 human neural progenitor cells were cultured and maintained in vitro for up to 21 days in 96 well plates. Normal morphology and biochemistry was characterized under both proliferating and differentiating conditions. H9 cells were then treated with two different QD, Qtracker non-targeted QD and Qdot ITK carboxyl QD, under the concentrations of 0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40 nM at culture day in vitro (DIV) 1, 6, 13, and 20. After 24 hours of exposures, cell viability was evaluated for dose-response relationships using LDH and MTT assays. H9 cultures undergoing proliferation saw resistance towards Qtracker non-targeted QDs, however cell viability declines with increasing concentrations of ITK carboxyl QDs. H9 with differentiation media under DIV 1 and 6 saw declining cell viability towards accumulative exposure to Qtracker non-targered QDs. Nonetheless, H9 cells with differentiation media showed resistance towards ITK carboxyl QDs. In the future, we will investigate the resistance of our cells to various Q dots by assessing dosimetry of QD uptake under our test conditions.

Forefront Cares is one of services provided by Forefront Suicide Prevention, a center at the University of Washington School of Social Work. Suicide loss survivors receive care packages and have the opportunity to be connected to mentors, who are also suicide loss survivors and are specially trained to provide support to new loss survivors. The goals of Forefront Cares are to offer support to suicide loss survivors and to help them find resources that are appropriate for their individual needs. The purpose of this study was to examine participants’ perceptions of Forefront Cares, including what is helpful and what could be improved, through an online satisfaction survey which I created. I then sent e-mails to individuals who received a Forefront Cares package between January 2013 and December 2017, inviting them to participate in the study. Those who participated completed a brief anonymous online survey, which involved rating experiences with Forefront Cares. Questions addressed how helpful they found the package they received and what they found most or least helpful. Participants who had a Forefront Cares mentor were asked to rate how helpful that experience was. The data collection ended in mid-April, and I analyzed data with assistance from my mentor. Results will help determine what participants found more and less useful, as well as the acceptability of the Forefront Cares package and mentor process. It is expected that findings will indicate the importance of community support in the grief journey of newly bereaved suicide loss survivors. The creation of the satisfaction survey was intended to be a starting point in establishing ongoing analysis of Forefront Cares, as Forefront currently lacks permanent evaluation tool to assess their services. Information obtained will help improve the Forefront Cares process for future participants.

As demand for accurate evaluation of chemicals and their potential to cause effects on humans increases, we have designed in vitro methods to facilitate such assessments. However, models of in vitro cell cultures are limited in their approach typically using a monoculture of limited cell types. Using a 3 dimensional organotypic approach to culture multiple cell types more reflective of a functioning organ can provide a framework for evaluating systematic interactions minimizing the need for in vivo assessment. We utilized a novel organotypic, in vitro model of testicular development that mirrors the development shown by in vivo studies. Our baseline study isolated testes that were harvested from C57BL/6 male mice on post-natal day 9. Testicular co-cultures were maintained for up to 16 days in 24 well plates with data collections occurring at days in vitro (DIV) 3, 7, and 16. Plates were stained with antibodies providing markers that correspond to morphological features of specific cell type markers. Five different primary antibodies were used as markers to visualize the change in cell populations. Markers for Sertoli cells corresponded to Vimentin, Leydig cells with 3b-HSD, Germ cells to DAZL and c-kit, and proliferation with PCNA. For each well, we used an immunofluorescence dual staining technique with Scanning Laser Image Cytometery (iCys) to observe the percentage of cell types and to determine change in phenotypic distribution of the cell population. From our preliminary observations, we were able to observe changes in Sertoli cells, Leydig cells and Germ cells throughout testicular development. Future studies would further develop and confirm the population and morphological changes observed with the testicular cell cultures. With a baseline model created, this in vitro model can be used to test the lethality of chemicals without the need of in vivo alternatives.