Biology research takes Creighton undergrad to Madison Square Garden

Lauren Barbush’s investigation of the therapeutic impact of the Indian long pepper on noise-induced hearing loss will be the subject of her presentation March 12 to a panel of judges during the inaugural BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium.

Scheduled to run concurrently with the BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the symposium will feature undergraduate students from BIG EAST schools presenting their research projects.

Barbush, a biology major at Creighton, says there are currently no FDA-approved drugs that protect the inner ear against noise-induced hearing loss.

“My research evaluates piperlongumine –  an extract from the Indian long pepper – as a potential therapy for NIHL,” she says. “Our lab created over 30 derivatives of piperlongumine and found five that significantly protect the inner ear.