Mingu Kim
Undergraduate Student, Bellevue College
1 active project
Autism Team
Scientific Questions Being Studied
Autism spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) severely impair cognitive, communication, and social skills of an individual. According to the CDC report, 1 in 36 (~2.8%) children has been identified with ASD, and 26.7% of them meet the criteria for profound autism, requiring extensive life-long supports. In addition to their autism, a significantly large portion of people with ASD also display a range of co-occurring mental health and behavioral disorders that resemble those in major depressive disorder, psychosis, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, to name a few.
Several independent research labs have proposed a role for viruses in the development of ASD. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are implicated in many neurological disorders. ASD shares many common gene markers and clinical symptoms with these neurological disorders. Our hypothesis is that HERVs play roles in the development of profound autism.
Project Purpose(s)
- Ancestry
Scientific Approaches
Our research objective is to investigate and compare the presence and modifications of HERVs in the genome of individuals with ASD and the none-ASD individuals. We will be using different computer software programs including such as BLAST from NIH and RepeatMasker from ISB.
Anticipated Findings
Based on our approach, we can anticipate the followings: 1) An increase in the number of copies of the full-length HERV DNA sequences in profound autism genomes, 2) An increase in the truncated forms of the HERV DNA sequences in profound autism genomes, 3) Presence of specific mutant forms of HERV DNA sequences in profound autism genomes. The potential benefit of this research is that if a link between the endogenous viruses and ASD/IDD is established, future efforts can be concentrated on the use of antiviral therapy as a strategy for the ASD/IDD treatment.
Demographic Categories of Interest
- Age
- Disability Status
Data Set Used
Controlled TierResearch Team
Owner:
- Reza Forough - Project Personnel, Bellevue College
- Mingu Kim - Undergraduate Student, Bellevue College
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