When people ask Dr. Karen Litwa what she does for a living, her response is unique. “I say that I’m a brain builder,” she says through a smile. Litwa, an assistant professor of anatomy and cell biology at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine, studies the mechanisms by which the brain cells form connections with one another to share information with each other. In order to do that, her team grows mini brains in culture dishes. “We can take a sample from a tissue bank, usually connective tissue from a skin biopsy, and make it into a pluripotent state, which just means it has the capacity to become any type of cell,” Litwa explained. “Then using different growth factors, we make these into little spheres that contain the neurons that we’re interested in studying.”

[ecu_video title_x="label-left" title_y="top" title_background_color="ecu-purple" url="https://youtu.be/NCpauDK80vg" /]

The mini brains that Litwa grows lack blood vessels and are only about two millimeters in diameter, but they are able to replicate the stages of human fetal brain development, specifically the outer cortex of the brain. [caption id="attachment_45157" align="alignleft" width="480"]

Dr. Karen Litwa, an assistant professor of anatomy and cell biology, studies tissue samples in a research lab at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine.[/caption] “We see a lot of the brain ventricles, which are the parts where the neurons are born, and we can also see the neuronal layers where the neurons form synapses with one another that allows them to exchange information with each other,” Litwa said. “That will eventually become the basis for learning, memory formation and other cognitive events, such as socialization.” The mini brains recently grown by Litwa’s team originated with tissue samples from individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders, so the team could explore how their brains develop differently from people who don’t have autism. “If we know how the brain develops differently in autism spectrum disorders, we can eventually develop therapies for autism spectrum disorders,” she said. Litwa’s lab was able to observe differences in neuronal communication in autism patient samples. They are also one of the first labs to apply three-dimensional super-resolution STORM imaging to mini brains, allowing them to visualize synapses in a three-dimensional space. “It’s very exciting to me that we were able to capture the emergence of these neurodevelopmental abnormalities that we haven’t been able to view before. It’s astounding that we can see this occurring in a culture dish and see this on the microscope,” Litwa said. “It’s really amazing when we start to know what’s actually orchestrating these changes. … Because it gives us information to the basic biology that then can hopefully be translated to the patient population.” [caption id="attachment_45150" align="aligncenter" width="1920"]

Dr. Karen Litwa, an assistant professor of anatomy and cell biology, studies tissue samples in a research lab at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine.[/caption]

‘A FANTASTIC START’

Alums fund ECU program supporting students with disabilities

Published May 21, 2014 by

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East Carolina University’s Project STEPP program, which supports students with learning disabilities who aspire to achieve a college education, has received a nearly $950,000 donation from Walter and Marie Williams of Greenville.

The ECU Board of Trustees acknowledged the gift at its meeting on April 25 and voted to rename the program the Walter and Marie Williams STEPP Program. The Williamses were early supporters of this innovative program, which began full-time operation in 2007.

Their total personal and extended support for the STEPP Program (including family and company gifts) now is at $1,124,943, according to Board of Trustees documents.

Sarah Williams, Project STEPP director, said the gift is “a fantastic start” toward building a $4 million endowment to ensure the program is sustainable.

STEPP administrators offer academic, social and life skills support to a select number of students with ADHD or learning disabilities in reading, writing or math. By partnering with these students, their families, and a variety of educational communities, Project STEPP fosters a network of opportunities and resources to empower and support students from admission to graduation.

“So many of the students in our program had been told they would never go to college and now many of them are excelling,” said Sarah Williams.

“Educators still have much to do in the way of helping bridge the transition for students with learning disabilities to the college setting,” she continued. “The STEPP program is unique in the nation. While there are programs available to support students who have learning disabilities on some other campuses, many are very expensive. Walter and Marie Williams made it possible for students in our program to have access to college as well as the support they need to be successful without additional costs to the student.”

Walter Williams, president of the Trade-Wilco chain of convenience stores, received a bachelor’s degree in 1951 and a master’s degree in 1955, both from East Carolina. Marie Williams graduated from East Carolina in 1953.

Project STEPP also receives support from the Oak Foundation of Geneva, Switzerland, and from the Harold H. Bate Foundation and the Peter J. Frenkel Foundation.

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