{"id":19649,"date":"2025-03-18T20:02:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T20:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/?page_id=19649"},"modified":"2025-06-27T17:18:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T17:18:39","slug":"geraldine-m-ortiz-sosa-2024-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/geraldine-m-ortiz-sosa-2024-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Geraldine M. Ortiz Sosa (2024-2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedin<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Short Bio<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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My name is Geraldine Ortiz Sosa. <\/strong>I am originally from <\/span>Cayey<\/span>, Puerto Rico and earned my degree in Natural Sciences with a minor in Neuroscience from the University of Puerto Rico at <\/span>Cayey<\/span>. Currently, I am exploring gut-microbiome interactions, specifically investigating the effects of probiotic administration on Drosophila behavior. <\/span>My goal after completing the program is to pursue a Ph.D. to expand my understanding of the complex relationship between the microbiome and neurological diseases.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A fun fact or hobby: <\/b><\/em>My hobbies include coffee shop hopping, reading about cosmology, and discovering <\/span>new music<\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Research<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Mentor:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Imilce<\/span> Rodr\u00edguez Fern\u00e1ndez<\/span>, PhD<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Co-mentor:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Andrew Seeds<\/span><\/span>, PhD<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Project Title:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Exploring the Behavioral Effects of the Probiotic <\/em><\/span>Lactiplantibacillus<\/span> plantarum in Drosophila and the Role of the Intestinal Alpha-4 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor<\/span><\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Project Description:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The gut-microbiota-brain axis is a complex communication network that links the gut, its microbiota, and the brain, influencing both gastrointestinal homeostasis and behavior. This project explores the role of acetylcholine (<\/span>ACh<\/span>) signaling in the Drosophila gut, focusing on <\/span>Lactiplantibacillus<\/span> plantarum (L. plantarum), a probiotic known to produce <\/span>ACh<\/span>. Using transgenic flies with gut-specific knockdown of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha 4 (nAChRa4), we assessed the impact of L. plantarum (strain <\/span>LpWF<\/span>) on locomotor behavior. Our findings <\/span>indicate<\/span> that L. plantarum administration alters motor function in young adult flies in an AChR\u02514-dependent manner, suggesting a role for gut-specific <\/span>ACh<\/span> signaling. Additionally, we developed a novel protocol to detect neurotransmitter production in bacterial biofilms, with preliminary results <\/span>indicating<\/span> ACh<\/span> presence in L. plantarum and E. coli biofilms. Future work will investigate the effects of L. plantarum on <\/span>additional<\/span> behaviors and further characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying <\/span>ACh<\/span>-mediated gut-brain communication.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linkedin Short Bio My name is Geraldine Ortiz Sosa. I am originally from Cayey, Puerto Rico and earned my degree in Natural Sciences with a minor in Neuroscience from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey. Currently, I am exploring … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19649","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19649"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20075,"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19649\/revisions\/20075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}