ryan keating

Keating At Jackson Labs

This past summer Ryan Keating participated in the Summer Student Program at the Jackson Laboratory, located in scenic Bar Harbor, ME. Ryan worked with other students from around the country during the nine week internship doing research in computational biology. His project involved locating genes in the mouse genome that affect chronic kidney disease. To do this, he used a relatively new statistical approach, called quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis, which identifies genomic regions where the change in the genotype has a significant effect on the phenotype. In his project, the phenotypes were kidney weight and body weight.
    “I spent a lot of time in front of the computer analyzing the data. Once I finally had results, it was really amazing to see how they were consistent with one another,” says Ryan. “It is fascinating to think that my project this summer will eventually be used to help prevent and treat people who have chronic kidney disease.” His research identified novel regions that can be mapped to the human genome. Ryan also liked watching his peers participate in a program called Student Night Interactive Practice Presentation (SNIPP), where every Tuesday and Thursday students would present their on-going project. “I learned so much about biology and laboratory research just from listening to what the other kids were involved with at the lab.”
    On top of working with top scientists and pioneers of QTL analysis, such as Gary Churchill and Karl Broman, Ryan had fun outside the lab as well. The program planned weekend outings; they went sea kayaking, white water rafting, and even hiking at Mt. Katahdin and around Mount Desert Island. Ryan loved the awesome views of the coast, and perhaps his favorite part was the top notch food provided by the chiefs where Ryan stayed. Given the chance Ryan would love to spend another summer at Jackson Labs, but the program only allows a student to intern for one summer. Ryan is hopeful that he will have first authorship on a published paper in Mammalian Genome within the next year of his work from this past summer.