Description
Cardiovascular diseases and cancer are the leading causes of mortality in the United States and across the world [1-3]. Patients with heart diseases have been shown to have neurological deficits [4-6]. While various drug classes reduce mortality and morbidity in cancer patients, many of these treatments present life-threatening adverse effects, particularly cardiotoxicity and/or neurotoxicity.
To uncover novel mechanisms of differentiation of neuronal cells induced by cardiac cells. I hypothesized that cardiac cell-induced neurodifferentiation is mediated by noncanonical metabolic factors. To address this, I sought to identify which molecules are involved in the induction of neurodifferentiation of PC12 cells by H9C2 cells.
To investigate neurotoxicity induced by cardiotoxicity with a panel of FDA-approved anti-cancer therapies. I hypothesized that anti-cancer drug-induced cardiotoxicity drives neurotoxicity. To test this, I examined whether FDA-approved anti-cancer drugs induce neurotoxicity via cardiac cells and investigated the underlying mechanisms. Additionally, I sought out to discover methods for therapeutically targeting or preventing these effects.
Publication Date
4-2026
Thesis Advisor
Viswanathan Rajagopalan
Thesis Committee
Maureen Dolan, Tameka Bailey, Carmen Williams
Degree Name
BS, Biological Sciences
Expected Graduation
2026
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Sloan, Olivia, "Reaching the Heart of the Matter: Uncovering Novel Mechanisms of Cardio-Neuronal Regulation and Therapeutic Implications" (2026). Honors Theses. 4.
https://arch.astate.edu/honors-thesis/4
