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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (2 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2021)

This study explored the pedagogical practices of teachers in the AP Capstone program to explore the extent to which teachers use culturally responsive approaches in order to address the AP equity gap for Black, Latinx, Native American, and other groups traditionally underrepresented in AP Classes. Using a mixed methods approach, I surveyed a nationally representative sample of teachers and followed up with qualitative interviews. This study found AP Capstone teachers generally claim to consider students’ personal experiences in planning their curriculum, as well as to consider multiculturalism and cultural diversity. However, teachers choose topics dealing issues such as race and sexism to a much lesser degree, and relatively few select topics specifically situated in their students’ unique cultural contexts. This study also found very few teacher demographics associated with use of CRP. However, teacher perceptions and student demographics do show some associations. Additionally, this study identified several AP Capstone teachers who display many characteristics of a culturally responsive teacher. This study identifies some of the practices those teachers enact. These results suggest implications in practice for AP Capstone teachers, AP Capstone teacher trainers, and school leaders of AP Capstone programs. 

    Cover page: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in the AP Capstone Program
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2023)
    As effective therapies for relapse and refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) remain problematic, novel therapeutic strategies are needed. Artemis is a key endonuclease in V(D)J recombination and nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. Inhibition of Artemis would cause chromosome breaks during maturation of RAG-expressing T- and B-cells. Though this would block generation of new B- and T-cells temporarily, it could be oncologically beneficial for reducing the proliferation of B-ALL and T-ALL cells by causing chromosome breaks in these RAG-expressing tumor cells. Currently, pharmacological inhibition is not available for Artemis. According to gene expression analyses from 207 children with high-risk pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemias high Artemis expression is correlated with poor outcome. Therefore, we evaluated four compounds (827171, 827032, 826941, and 825226), previously generated from a large Artemis targeted drug screen. A biochemical assay using a purified Artemis:DNA-PKcs complex shows that the Artemis inhibitors 827171, 827032, 826941, 825226 have nanomolar IC50 values for Artemis inhibition. We compared these 4 compounds to a DNA-PK inhibitor (AZD7648) in three patient-derived B-ALL cell lines (LAX56, BLQ5 and LAX7R) and in two mature B-cell lines (3301015 and 5680001) as controls. We found that pharmacological Artemis inhibition substantially decreases proliferation of B-ALL cell lines while normal mature B-cell lines are not markedly affected. Inhibition of DNA-PKcs (which regulates Artemis) using the DNA-PK inhibitor AZD7648 had minor effects on these same primary patient-derived ALL lines, indicating that inhibition of V(D)J hairpin opening requires direct inhibition of Artemis, rather than indirect suppression of the kinase that regulates Artemis. Our data provides a basis for further evaluation of pharmacological Artemis inhibition of proliferation of B- and T-ALL.
      Cover page: Artemis inhibition as a therapeutic strategy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia
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