At 7 a.m., Minhazur Sarker is the first person to arrive in Tory Hagen\u2019s lab on the third floor of the Linus Pauling Science Center. Hagen, a renowned researcher with the Linus Pauling Institute, studies the human healthspan. The research that takes place in his lab is focused toward a lofty goal: promoting healthy, less destructive aging processes. But though the lights are on in the long room lined with rows of countertops, at this early hour no one is hunched over in the chairs, taking notes or observing experiments.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father told me, \u2018To get the most out of research, get there before everyone else and leave after everyone else,\u2019\u201d Sarker says.<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s following that advice, sometimes arriving even earlier than 7 a.m. and working into the evening. The first thing Sarker does when he gets to the lab is check on his cells. In a room off the main lab, he takes a flask of vibrant orange liquid out of a small refrigerator. The liquid, which resembles flat orange soda, contains the cells that Sarker\u2019s project hinges on. By experimenting with human and rodent cells, he\u2019s hoping to help discover a means to slow aging in humans.<\/p>\n
A senior studying microbiology, Sarker arranged his project through the Oregon State University Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). One of the university\u2019s most prestigious research opportunities, the institute facilitates paid research positions for undergraduate students in projects that are usually completed over the summer. While HHMI students work in all areas of the sciences, Sarker\u2019s project draws on Oregon State\u2019s strength in the health sciences and Hagen\u2019s innovative research on healthy aging. When Sarker joined Hagen\u2019s lab at the end of last school year, Hagen asked him to explore a possible avenue to promote healthier aging that began with an unlikely source \u2014 the naked mole rat.<\/p>\n
The only cold-blooded mammal, the naked mole rat has a low metabolic rate and spends its life underground; all characteristics that contrast sharply with human life. But the naked mole rat also has something that humans have pursued for centuries: the key to longevity. These rodents, Sarker says, can live up to 30 years \u2014\u00a010 times the lifespan of other rats. And Hagen has an idea of what the naked mole rats\u2019 secret might be.<\/p>\n
Fewer calories, longer life<\/strong> The quality of those response processes deteriorates over time, allowing degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s, Huntington\u2019s and Parkinson\u2019s to develop because the body\u2019s defenses can\u2019t keep up with the damage being done. But the heat shock protein response, a reaction that involves the refolding of proteins that are disordered by physical stress on the body, has been shown to remain active longer as a result of caloric restriction. A restricted diet like that of the naked mole rat, Hagen says, allows the body\u2019s proteins to remain in balance longer and stimulates the heat shock protein response more often. By this means, Hagen believes, the naked mole rat may be improving its longevity.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only real known paradigm of increasing mean lifetime of species is dietary and caloric restriction,\u201d Hagen says. \u201cWhen you restrict calories but provide vitamins and micronutrients to maintain basic function, the species lives for an inordinately long time.\u201d<\/p>\n Hagen would like to see humans take advantage of a more enduring heat shock protein response, but he\u2019s not expecting people to live on a fraction of the calories in an average diet.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of our work in healthy aging is to try to have that benefit without the burden,\u201d Hagen says. \u201cPart of that is to find mimics that would add nothing to the diet and certainly could increase the health span.\u201d<\/p>\n Cell by cell<\/strong> Performing cell culture requires precision and absolute sterilization, creating a sense of pressure that Sarker believes sometimes wards off students who are interested in research.<\/p>\n \u201cYou learn by doing,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s what research is. I tell new students, you have four years to mess up in college; learn from your mistakes. Do it \u2014 screw up, mess it up \u2014 no one is going to hold it against you.\u201d<\/p>\n The mimic that Hagen asked Sarker to experiment with is geranylgeranylacetone, a compound that has been safely used to treat ulcers and arthritis overseas. Sarker is testing GGA\u2019s potential to induce a particular heat shock protein response, HSP70, by applying it to cells of the four species and then exposing the cells to stressful conditions to activate the response. By analyzing how the cells react to the stress, he hopes to determine whether the compound could be used to enhance the heat shock protein response.<\/p>\n Though Sarker\u2019s project began during the summer and the HHMI program doesn\u2019t require him to work beyond that period, he\u2019s committed to taking the project as far as he can. During his final year at Oregon State, Sarker will continue working in Hagen\u2019s lab.<\/p>\n \u201cI have some preliminary results, but there\u2019s a lot more I can do with it, so I really want to take ownership of it and move forward,\u201d Sarker says. \u201cIt\u2019s more about the process and not just about the completion and getting a result. Having a positive result is a good thing, but if you don\u2019t get there, did you learn from it?\u201d<\/p>\n Research as an undergraduate<\/strong> As comfortable with the campus visitors as he is in the lab, Sarker uses his own experiences to encourage younger students to take advantage of research opportunities in college.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you do research on campus, you\u2019re learning, you\u2019re helping your future and you\u2019re getting paid,\u201d he tells students on his tours. \u201cThat\u2019s a triple positive, and that doesn\u2019t happen very often, so when you find one, take it and run for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Through undergraduate research programs like the HHMI, students can gain skills and experience that aren\u2019t available elsewhere \u2014 and learn from renowned researchers such as Hagen. According to Hagen, involving students in research is a natural priority, both in his lab and at Oregon State University.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have big barriers at Oregon State; faculty and students interact very easily,\u201d Hagen says. \u201cI\u2019ve been here for 14 years and had undergraduate students in our lab pretty much all those years. It\u2019s part of our reason for being here, showing students what a lab experience is like.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarker ends his tours in front of the Linus Pauling Science Center, where he\u2019s able to point out the floor he works on and describe how hands-on work at Oregon State has benefitted his education, before heading back to the lab.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s really the reason to come here, for the experiential learning,\u201d Sarker says. \u201cResearch teaches you maturity, to be respectful, give presentations, interact with people, as well as organization and time management. 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\n\u201cWhen you think aging, you think of the damages that occur in the body, but people forget the other half, the body\u2019s defense mechanisms and the way it fixes things up,\u201d Sarker says. \u201cAging is two things: destructive processes and the responses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nUnder the microscope, the orange liquid becomes a field of bulbous white shapes that resemble burst popcorn kernels. The cells grow in a liquid medium until there are too many for the flask, when Sarker splits them into new containers to be used in testing or to continue growing. By this means, he\u2019s able to keep the cells growing indefinitely.<\/p>\n
\nWhile Sarker continues to explore whether GGA could slow the effects of aging in humans, he maintains a full schedule. In addition to working at the lab, preparing to attend medical school and running his own online business netting lacrosse sticks, he works as a tour guide for the College of Science. After spending a morning piping cell cultures into new plates and running samples, Sarker can be found walking backwards across campus with a group of prospective students and their parents in tow.<\/p>\n