Feature

The researcher and the roaches

Case Western undergrad will present his work at #DiscoverBMB
Renae   Crossing
March 25, 2023

“Cockroaches are more advantageous than you would think.”

So said Jingwei Li, an undergraduate student at Case Western Reserve University, who has been studying cockroaches to learn about Parkinson’s disease.

Case Western Reserve University undergraduate researcher Jingwei Li has measured how cockroaches with genetically induced Parkinson’s disease walk. He is scheduled to present his research at Discover BMB.
Courtesy of Jingwei Li
Case Western Reserve University undergraduate researcher Jingwei Li has measured how cockroaches with genetically induced Parkinson’s disease walk. He is scheduled to present his research (Poster No. 128) at Discover BMB, the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, March 27, at the Seattle Convention Center.

“So many of my friends were in labs that use mice,” he said. After plenty of pipetting in his past lab rotations, a hands-on project with the American cockroach, or Periplaneta americana, sounded appealing. “Sure, I’ll try,” he said.

Roaches have a few genes in the brain that are similar to humans’, including genes for Parkin and D2-like dopamine receptors. And because they have a longer lifespan than fruit flies — staples of scientific study — scientists can study longitudinal changes more easily.

With fruit flies, you only have 40 days. With cockroaches, you can have a year or two.

Model student, model organism

Ryan Arvidson, Li’s supervisor and an assistant professor of biochemistry at Case Western, said Li began with only “some pilot data and a few replicates,” and yet, “he seemed to succeed almost immediately.” (That never happens.)

“He wasn’t there to check a box,” Arvidson said of his student.

Li was tenacious, documenting the molecular shopping list of a huge bunch of nerves called the cephalic ganglia. This shopping list is called a transcriptome, and it will give insight into a roach’s brain on Parkinson’s.

Li’s research also involved measuring how cockroaches with genetically induced Parkinson’s disease walked. “Cockroach locomotion,” it’s called.

The cockroaches with Parkinson’s moved spontaneously: Instead of making laps around a container’s perimeter, their movement was jerky and unpredictable — think Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” They also had less grip strength. To determine this, Li tied one end of a string around a cockroach’s thorax. He lifted the cockroach slowly and noted how high the tension gauge reading got before the cockroach let go.

And the cockroaches’ movements became smaller and fewer over time. “Hypokinesia,” it’s called, and it’s from diminished dopamine, not diminished muscle. The body begins to move with less oomph.

From pest to Parkinson’s

Cockroaches have played a role in scientific research for over a century, including for what robotics researchers describe as the “elegant” transition they can make from horizontal walking to vertical climbing, but neuroscience tools rarely have been applied to them until now.

One day, scientists hope to use the lifespan of cockroaches, and new genetic tools, to test FDA-approved drugs and the impact of diet on Parkinson’s symptoms.

After a long day of studying cockroach locomotion, Li likes to impair his own with the environmental stimuli of a good gym session. “To destroy my muscles,” he said.

In Arvidson’s lab, Li said, “I felt like a bigger part of the picture. I wasn’t just there to grow some cells and that was it.”

Li will graduate this semester and, heading for medical school, hopes to keep returning to research.

And the cockroaches? The cockroaches were lifted from their status as pests. Li said they became a lot more like pets.

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
Renae   Crossing

Renae Crossing is a writer and former teacher. She holds a first-class master’s degree in life science from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a first-class master’s in teaching from the University of Melbourne.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in People

People highlights or most popular articles

Meet Lan Huang
Interview

Meet Lan Huang

May 19, 2025

Molecular & Cellular Proteomics associate editor uses crosslinking mass spec to study protein–protein interactions to find novel therapeutics.

Meet Shannon Reilly
Profile

Meet Shannon Reilly

May 12, 2025

The JLR junior associate editor discusses the role of adipocytes in obesity at Weill Cornell Medical School.

Meet Donita Brady
Interview

Meet Donita Brady

May 8, 2025

Donita Brady is an associate professor of cancer biology and an associate editor of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, who studies metalloallostery in cancer.

Glyco get-together exploring health and disease
Interview

Glyco get-together exploring health and disease

May 7, 2025

Meet the co-chairs of the 2025 ASBMB meeting on O-GlcNAcylation to be held July 10–13, 2025, in Durham, North Carolina. Learn about the latest in the field and meet families affected by diseases associated with this pathway.

ASBMB recognizes 2025 outstanding student chapter
Student Chapters

ASBMB recognizes 2025 outstanding student chapter

May 6, 2025

The Purdue group, led by Orla Hart, developed STEM outreach initiatives for low-income and minority students in Lafayette, Indiana.

ASBMB inducts 2025 honor society members
Student Chapters

ASBMB inducts 2025 honor society members

May 5, 2025

Chi Omega Lambda, which recognizes exceptional juniors and seniors pursuing degrees in the molecular life sciences, has 16 new inductees in 2025.