UAB Digital Commons (Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham)
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The Therapeutic Promise of Ketamine in Depression: A Case Report
Get PDF2025 oral presentationhttps://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/uabh-rd-all/1373/thumbnail.jp
From Gut to Brain: A Rare Complication of Acute Diverticulitis
Get PDF2025 oral presentationhttps://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/uabh-rd-all/1379/thumbnail.jp
Impact of COVID-19 on Neurosurgical Operational Efficiency: A Descriptive Study
Get PDF2025 research posterhttps://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/uabh-rd-all/1387/thumbnail.jp
Case Report: Moyamoya Disease in an African American Woman
Get PDFhttps://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/uabh-rd-all/1399/thumbnail.jp
Cellulitis and Possible Osteomyelitis in the Setting of SAPHO Syndrome
Get PDFhttps://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/uabh-rd-all/1403/thumbnail.jp
Exploring Alzheimer’s Disease: Advances in Understanding and Care
Get PDFhttps://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/uabh-rd-all/1439/thumbnail.jp
Vascular Dementia: Protect Your Blood Flow, Preserve Your Memory
Get PDFhttps://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/uabh-rd-all/1442/thumbnail.jp
Food Insecurity Among Graduate Students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
Get PDFCollege food insecurity (FI) has grown steadily as a field of research over the past fifteen years. Existing research primarily has demonstrated that FI is a persistent problem with various risk factors and myriad potential impacts on students, though graduate students are largely understudied in favor of undergraduate and aggregated student populations. Given the unique circumstances graduate students face, as well as expected demographic differences such as age and household characteristics, this is a serious gap in the literature. This dissertation aims to investigate graduate student food insecurity in the United States, and particularly at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), to expand the existing literature base. The first paper presents a scoping review that synthesizes the existing peer-reviewed published and gray literature on graduate student FI as of March 2025. The second paper analyzes data from the Fall 2022 Food Access at UAB survey using methodologies consistent with the existing research, as well as path analysis modeling to demonstrating proof of concept for using structural equation modeling (SEM) in this field. The final paper serves as the first attempt in the literature to quantify the amount of direct financial support needed to curb FI among affected graduate students, including distinguishing between student groups and types of food, by using institutional and administrative data from UAB’s on-campus food pantry. Taken together, the research presented in this dissertation serves as the first truly comprehensive look at graduate student food insecurity in Alabama, as well as one of the first attempts to incorporate the cost of living into research on graduate student FI. The methodologies used in the latter parts of this dissertation can be replicated elsewhere and used to help develop interventions. The road to a graduate degree can be long, and preventing and alleviating FI among graduate students is key to their academic and professional success. College food insecurity (FI) has grown steadily as a field of research over the past fifteen years. Existing research primarily has demonstrated that FI is a persistent problem with various risk factors and myriad potential impacts on students, though graduate students are largely understudied in favor of undergraduate and aggregated student populations. Given the unique circumstances graduate students face, as well as expected demographic differences such as age and household characteristics, this is a serious gap in the literature. This dissertation aims to investigate graduate student food insecurity in the United States, and particularly at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), to expand the existing literature base. The first paper presents a scoping review that synthesizes the existing peer-reviewed published and gray literature on graduate student FI as of March 2025. The second paper analyzes data from the Fall 2022 Food Access at UAB survey using methodologies consistent with the existing research, as well as path analysis modeling to demonstrating proof of concept for using structural equation modeling (SEM) in this field. The final paper serves as the first attempt in the literature to quantify the amount of direct financial support needed to curb FI among affected graduate students, including distinguishing between student groups and types of food, by using institutional and administrative data from UAB’s on-campus food pantry. Taken together, the research presented in this dissertation serves as the first truly comprehensive look at graduate student food insecurity in Alabama, as well as one of the first attempts to incorporate the cost of living into research on graduate student FI. The methodologies used in the latter parts of this dissertation can be replicated elsewhere and used to help develop interventions. The road to a graduate degree can be long, and preventing and alleviating FI among graduate students is key to their academic and professional success
The Role Of Aquaporin-3 Lysine 282 Acetylation In Renal Water Balance
Get PDFAquaporin-3 (AQP3) mediates basolateral water transport in the kidney collecting duct principal cells, contributing to vasopressin-mediated urine concentration. We previously identified a novel post-translational modification of AQP3, the acetylation of lysine 282 (K282), which we hypothesized as a positive regulator of AQP3 water permeability. First, we found that collecting duct K282 acetylated AQP3 increased upon water deprivation, suggesting an involvement in renal water balance. To decipher the functional role of this modification, we utilized AQP3 acetylation (K282Q or Q) and deacetylation (K282R or R) mimetic mutant mice models generated using CRISPR/Cas9 knock-in technology. Both male and female wild-type (WT) and mutant mice were used, and mice were evaluated under basal conditions, hydration or water deprivation, or in response to vasopressin 2 receptor (V2R) activation or inhibition. At baseline, the mutations did not affect the kidney transcriptome, AQP3 abundance, nor subcellular localization. Under dehydration, all mice excreted a concentrated urine; however, the female Q mutants exhibited significantly greater 24 h urine osmolality than WT, suggesting greater water reabsorption. In response to acute V2R activation by the agonist dDAVP, all mice produced a concentrated urine; however, female Q mutants had a more dilute plasma than WT, further suggesting greater water retention. In support of this finding, Q mutant cells exhibited greater water permeability than WT and R cells in vitro. To determine the potential therapeutical role of AQP3 K282 acetylation, we used a mouse model of lithium-induced nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI), a water balance disorder characterized by compromised response to vasopressin. WT, Q, and R mice were fed a lithium-containing diet for 14 days. Unexpectedly, both Q and R mutant mice exhibited more severe NDI phenotype than WT, suggesting that the K282 residue may be involved in regulatory events independent of lysine acetylation that is important for the urine concentration process in lithium-induced NDI. Collectively, we conclude that AQP3 K282 acetylation promotes renal principal cell water reabsorption, and the effect is more prominent in females during antidiuresis (water deprivation or V2R activation), however, it is not essential for urine concentration. Furthermore, K282 may have other roles that is independent of lysine acetylation