Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program
The UROP is a program at Indiana University, Indianapolis that allows qualified students interested in research to match with existing or new mentors to pitch a yearlong project and come up with a research proposal.
Below is a documentation of my 2025-2026 internship and research showcase with Dr. Schlecht and lists all my progress and learning experiences as part of this program.
About My Internship Site
I received the opportunity to work with Dr. Stephen Schlecht in the Orthopedic Surgery Department at IU Indianapolis. My internship site researches sex differences specifically females’ susceptibility to ACL injuries compared to males using in vivo mice models. We use mice in our research to look at the responses to loading and injury on the ACL in terms of submaximal loading on the ligament.
We compare the results in the male and female mice and look at sex hormones, fibrotic responses, anabolic and catabolic responses, age differences and even osteoarthritis post ACL tear. Studies ranged from arthrofibrosis differences, role of gene expression, diet, synovial studies, cadaver studies, and more.
We are also engaged in ongoing collaborations with Michigan State University, Penn State, and the University of Alabama. At Michigan State University, researchers focus on human cadaveric models to better understand ACL structure and injury mechanisms. Penn State conducts work similar to our lab, investigating sex-based differences in ACL injuries, but uses in vitro ACL cell cultures, while our lab conducts in vivo studies. Meanwhile, the University of Alabama examines ACL injuries from a chemical perspective, identifying the molecular processes involved.
IU INSPIRE Showcase for UROP 2025-2026
My Project & Abstract
NCAA Conference and Event Center
Protocol Development for Mapping the Three-dimensional Neurovascular Plexus Supplying the ACL
Recently we reported sex-based differences in the physiological response to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) overuse in mice. Females demonstrated a muted tissue remodeling response following injury compared to a robust anabolic response in males. Additionally, many neurovascular (NV) pathways in females were downregulated, but upregulated in males. One working hypothesis is that the ACL NV plexus is disrupted with overuse and that female ACLs, which are weaker and laxer than those of males, are more susceptible to NV damage.
The goal of my project was to help develop an antibody staining and tissue-clearing protocol to map the three-dimensional NV plexus feeding the ACL using light sheet microscopy. This has entailed developing immunohistochemistry protocols for vascular and neural protein antibodies by first optimizing them on paraffin-embedded tissue sections of paired mouse knees (ipsilateral = overuse, contralateral = control) and then translating these protocols to whole mouse knees. Antibodies optimized include 1) Lycopersicon esculentum lectin to map vascular endothelial cells comprising the vascular tree, 2) calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) to map sensory nerve fibers, 3) choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) to map cholinergic neurons and their processes. We have also optimized the tissue clearing protocol and are currently fine-tuning the antibodies for whole tissue incubation.