Student Presenter(s): Mansi Patel
Faculty Mentor: Yingtao Zhao
Department: Biomedical Sciences
School/College: College of Osteopathic Medicine, Long Island

Animal models are an important approach to studying human diseases and developing therapies. When using animal models, it is essential to distinguish the diseased animals and wild-type animals. Genotyping is a widely used technique to identify the genetic background of different animals. This is an important process during experiments because it allows scientists to determine what types of genetic traits are coded for by the genome. In this project, we are using two mouse models to study two human brain disorders: intellectual disability and Alzheimer's disease. Mutations in Heparan Sulfate 6-O-Sulfotransferase 2 (HS6ST2) cause intellectual disability in human patients. We have generated mouse models to disrupt HS6ST2 in mice to study HS6ST2-associated intellectual disability. We also have the 5xFAD mice, which are a widely used mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. By performing genotyping for the two animal models, we can determine if the organisms are wild-type, heterozygous, or homozygous for the mutation. Overall, this process allows us to categorize mice into different groups. By doing so, we can perform experiments that can increase our understanding of these neural disabilities. Increased knowledge of these disorders will potentially lead to the development of new therapeutics that can help millions of people in the future.