Research Spotlight: Maral Ganzorig ‘26 Explores How Antibiotics Affect Anxiety
Continuing research she has been involved in since her first year at York College, Maral Ganzorig ‘26 delves into how certain antibiotics can affect the human body and if there are ways to avoid long-lasting side effects.
When Maral Ganzorig ‘26, a Biology major with minors in Neuroscience and Medical Humanities, left her home country of Mongolia to pursue her college education, she found that York College of Pennsylvania offered her a plethora of clubs, organizations, and opportunities for collaboration that allowed her to grow into an individual passionate about science and medicine.
From being a Spartan Ambassador to joining honors societies, becoming President of the PreMed Allied Health Society, to being a member of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Club, Maral has found ample opportunities to grow in experience.
One experience that stands out amongst the others was during her first year of college, when she attended the Clark lecture series, held monthly within the Biology department. There, she met Dr. Cecilia Bove, an Assistant Professor within the Biology Department, and after listening to her presentation, joined her research study on antibiotics. Specifically, focusing on how certain ones can cause long-lasting side effects and if there are ways to treat or avoid them.
Antibiotics and Their Side Effects
For as long as people can remember, antibiotics of varying levels have been used to treat various illnesses.
One of the most commonly prescribed classes of antibiotics is fluoroquinolones. Not only were they lab-made, but they were designed to be incredibly effective and inexpensive to produce, which had increased their popularity since their initial launch in the 1970s.
However, according to a research summary Dr. Bove provided, the antibiotics have been known to carry long-lasting (and sometimes disabling) side effects. The first reports of these severe side effects didn’t prompt a change in policy until 2004, when new guidelines for clinic administration were issued, and research in the field was encouraged to continue.
During her visiting position at Bucknell University, Dr. Bove's scholarly work focused on the long-term side effects of fluoroquinolones. She also shared in her research summary that antibiotics target several brain functions despite not being designed to interact with neurons, affecting their communication abilities. Fluoroquinolones essentially made neurons hyperactive, encouraging them to keep sending rapid messages without any pause between communications.
With that in mind, Dr. Bove decided to better understand how this happens and conducted an experiment using rats.
“My particular interest as a neuroscientist is in understanding how the brain regulates 'background' bodily functions, which are defined as autonomic,” Dr. Bove said. “Specifically, I am interested in the activity of the vagus nerve, which controls our digestive processes (and many other bodily functions that we describe as part of the "rest and digest" system). The accelerator and the brake on the vagus nerve are responsive to fluoroquinolones, but no one has shown that in an animal model before our work was published.”
“We hypothesized that by administering ciprofloxacin, a very commonly prescribed fluoroquinolone, we would observe a shift in the digestive pattern of our rodents.”
The rats were given the antibiotic daily for two weeks at a dose considered “standard” for humans. After two weeks had passed, they tested their digestion, ensuring any possible effects were due to a brain interaction rather than a common side effect of antibiotics (since all antibiotics can cause digestive issues by attacking the good bacteria within the gut).
Ultimately, Dr. Bove observed that ciprofloxacin caused the animals to have accelerated and dysfunctional digestion and to develop anxiety-like behaviors.
Determining Side Effects and Anxiety Behavior
Maral became a part of the research during her first year at York College. She met Dr. Bove while she was presenting about her fluoroquinolone research. After connecting with her, Maral became involved in treating the rats being tested.
“Basically every semester, I would help out with taking care of the rats and making sure we were checking on them, checking they had water, food, and then we did a behavioral test,” Maral said.
To determine whether or not the rats were experiencing anxiety-like behavior, they were exposed to several different tests:
- Marble Burying - The rats would be placed in a container with marbles. After waiting 30 minutes, the number of marbles they buried would be counted, since burying “food resources” would show the rats exhibiting signs that they’re scared or anxious.
- Elevated Maze - The rats would be placed in a maze with two open arms and two dark arms, and the number of times they go into each one would be recorded.
- Open Field Test - The rats would be placed in an empty container, and they would be observed to see if they explore the new habitat (whether it be going and staying in the corners or remaining in the center) or not.
Maral helped conduct experiments while Dr. Bove did most of the writing for the publication of the research. It was published in 2025, and credits Maral in it, which she considers to be one of her biggest accomplishments as an undergraduate.
Maral was grateful for Dr. Bove taking the time to teach her everything she needed to know. She loves that the research focuses on providing accessible information for people, especially those who rely on antibiotics and worry about the long-term side effects. Doctors prescribe antibiotics every day, but people either don’t know about the potential side effects they could experience or are too afraid of them to take their needed medication.
Especially when it comes to vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly, being informed about all potential effects that can come from medication is important, especially in protecting their long-term health. It also allowed Maral to begin building her research experience.
Next Steps: The Root of the Cause
Now, Dr. Bove and Maral are working on the next step in delving into the research; understanding what is causing ciprofloxacin to show these debilitating symptoms and if anything can be done to either negate or lessen the side effects.
“Some studies Maral reviewed showed that ciprofloxacin can completely change the composition of the gut flora in human patients,” Dr. Bove said. “The gut flora is crucial for our ability to digest food, combat infections from 'bad' bacteria, and even regulate our mood.”
While most antibiotics cause digestive issues when taken, the body recovers and is back to normal once treatment is completed. However, ciprofloxacin appears to affect the gastrointestinal tract permanently, to the point of causing long-lasting detrimental effects to the individual taking the medicine. Maral wanted to find out if the shift in the gut flora composition was causing the accelerated digestion and anxiety observed initially.
“I’m looking at the microorganisms in the gut,” Maral said, “because there are so many [research] papers about how ciprofloxacin can decrease the amount of microorganisms, and it takes one year to revert back to the original [state]. I want to see which ones are actually getting infected, and then can they be rescued with the fecal matter transplant.”
She will test this by “swapping” the rodent's microbiome. This is accomplished by doing a “fecal microbiome transplant,” which has been used in medicine for centuries to treat gastrointestinal problems.
“Essentially, she will give 'good bacteria', harvested from control animals, to animals that will receive ciprofloxacin; at the same time, she will give 'bad bacteria', harvested from ciprofloxacin-treated animals, to animals that will not receive the antibiotic,” Dr. Bove said. “If it is true that the alterations in the gut flora are the cause of the accelerated transit and anxiety, we should see anxiety and digestive issues in animals that did not receive the antibiotic, but received the bad bacteria, and we should also see the lack of these symptoms in animals that received the antibiotic and the good bacteria.”
“This could potentially open up avenues to allow fluoroquinolone use with more safety by complementing the antibiotic therapy with a probiotic regimen, for example.”
Other Research Assistants
Maral isn’t the only one delving into a research topic related to fluoroquinolone. As her research has progressed, Dr. Bove recruited other students not only to assist with her experiments but also to conduct their own research based on the data she has observed and recovered.
For example, Liam Turska ‘26, a Biology major hoping to pursue pre-veterinary studies, joined Dr. Bove’s student team last year after hearing positive feedback from another student about her. He expressed interest in working in a lab setting with animals while preparing to enter veterinary school after graduation.
Liam will be focusing on how exposing the gut to ciprofloxacin can influence social recognition and behavior.
“My part of the research will be looking at if ciprofloxacin (CPX) has an effect on social interactions in rats, particularly during interactions of unfamiliar individuals,” Liam said. “In addition, this study will be doing a variation of the resident-invader paradigm that reverses the roles after the initial interaction. This is to see how CPX influences social recognition and response to non-residents.”
Working with other students has also had a positive impact on Maral as she grows in her research capabilities, especially in skills such as teamwork and seeking support with tasks. Having the opportunity not only to learn from those in the grade above her but also to teach those new to the research so they can continue the work after she graduates has been a rewarding experience for her.
“Since I’m graduating this semester, I know there are going to be many more students who’re going to pick up this project and continue it using the previous data, so I think that’s fun to be in something that big - it’s like a chain of effect,” Maral said.
Impact of Learning to Do Research
Being a part of the research has meant a lot to Maral. Back in Mongolia, she didn’t have many opportunities to pursue studies of this level. Now, she is discovering many new opportunities that are allowing her to delve deeper into her passions.
“I have been working with her since the Spring Semester of her first year at YCP, and it's been a pleasure to see her blossom from a hard-working, international student into an independent, high-achieving, and passionate scientist,” Dr. Bove said. “There isn't a single goal Maral set for herself that she did not achieve, and no obstacle is ever too challenging for her. She truly is an inspiration and role model in the community.”
Maral's current goal is to pursue a career in medicine. In the summer of her junior year, she worked as a patient safety at WellSpan Health, an experience that allowed her to take a closer look at the relationship she can have with her patients as an aspiring physician and the care that goes into it. It allowed her to feel a real connection with her patients and feel as though the work she is doing is important.
This semester, she was accepted into a pipeline program where she’ll mentor a few high school students interested in pursuing careers in the medical field. She also volunteers at a nursing home by video calling with a senior every week.
To her, Maral feels as though all of her experiences, especially those related to medicine and helping others, have been helping her to shape her character as a human being.
“I think that York College’s motto, “To Serve is To Live,” that’s my motive for life, to serve is to live,” she said.
Maral is hoping to go into primary care as a physician, citing that she loves being able to interact with patients and hopes to have a closer relationship with them and be closely involved in their care. After shadowing a WellSpan physician, she learned that she can also continue to do independent research and know more about the families she works with.
She cites having the confidence to reach out to Dr. Bove as having impacted her to lead her to where she is now. If she never did, she never would have had the amazing opportunity she has now. The professors are there to support the students, and if a student is ready to pursue their idea, then they can reach out for help and mentorship to make their research a reality.
