Read more about each student & their work.
Angelina Duriez
I selected this summer experience to broaden my research knowledge. I previously had done Biochemistry research and felt that Cancer research could possibly align with my future interests in the medical field. Along with this internship I participated in shadowing surgical oncology. Both of these opportunities have deeply influenced my future career goals in medicine.
My project was about combination therapy targeting AURKA/HIF1 reduced metastatic burden in triple negative breast cancer.
I discovered the effects of the drugs Alisertib and Chetomin on cell viability, stemness, cell death, and migration. We found that the combination treatment did reduce cell viability, stemness, and increase cell death. Alisertib was found to increase cell size and cause multinucleation. Chetomin decreased cell viability, as well as the combination treatment. These findings overall impact our understanding of the mechanisms between AURKA and HIF1A complex.
This summer I worked with Dr. Pugacheva and Abha Maskey. Both were great instructors and provided me with the skills I needed to fully understand my project.
From this experience I learned the importance of ingenuity. Being able to accept failure and immediately devise a new plan is a major aspect of research. You must be able to think out of the box despite the situation in order to continue to progress.
In the future I plan to apply to WVU medical school with hopes of becoming a surgical oncologist.
This internship has allowed me to fully see how extensive research is. Being able to see each part of experimental planning has benefited my research abilities.
Maya Dixon-Gross
I selected this summer experience because I wanted to begin researching in a more STEM focused lab after my time in a lab in the Linguistics department. I've had an interest in cancer mechanisms and processes since my first college biology course, and being accepted into this program solidified my passion.
I researched the radiosensitizing effect of a long non-coding RNA, named Linc-RAINY (Radiation Induced Y Chromosome linked Long Non-Coding RNA) on mouse lung cancer cells (KLN and 3LL) after the cells were treated with radiation. Although this experiment had already been tested with the Linc-RNAs that made up Linc-RAINY (Linc-SPRY3-2, Linc-SPRY3-3, and Linc-SPRY3-4), and it showed an increase in apoptosis in mouse lung cancer cells containing the Linc-RNAs after radiation, my project was focused on infected cells with the full-length Linc RNA transcript.
This project showed that the full length Linc-RAINY may not be fully functional in mice lung cancer cells because there was no increase in cell death in cells containing Linc-RAINY after radiation. This could be due to genetic differences between mice and humans, or the level of overexpression of Linc-RAINY seen in the cells, but to determine this would need more investigation.
Over the summer, I had the amazing opportunity to work in Dr. Ivan Martinez's lab with his PhD students, Emily Rice, Michael Winters, and Travis Rawson, who have taught me so much, and I am excited to continue research in their lab!
One thing that I learned that will help me with my next step is that the people that surround you make up most of your experience. I was surrounded by wonderful scientists who not only enjoy teaching, but also enjoy learning new things. When something wouldn't work they were the first ones to tell me it's okay and comfort me, and then we'd think of solutions for the next trial, and the interns in this program are not only people I can play pickleball with, but also people help me see from different perspectives.
In the future, I plan to attend medical school with the hope of a career in oncology or pathology. I also plan to continue cancer research.
This internship has changed my perspective on how scientific research is conducted by experiencing first-hand that research isn't a linear process. There will be setbacks and failed experiments, but like all things, good things take time and shouldn't be rushed, whether it's a new experiment, your journey to your dream career, or even that third replicate of a PCR.
I thought that this program was very beneficial, especially for someone who is just beginning STEM-related research. One thing that I think could be improved is the feedback given at the Short and Long talks. I like the questions being asked because I prepared us for the ending presentation, but I would have liked more overall feedback like our general presentation etiquette, whether or not the information on the slides was cohesive and easy to follow, or suggestions on what to add to bring the presentation together more.
Ashton Pollack
I selected this experience to develop my understanding of biochemistry and molecular medicine and the application of knowledge to real-world problems such as cancer treatment. Another reason why I selected this internship was the ability to become familiar with several techniques that are commonly used in biochemistry research and build my expertise as a researcher through mentorship and working with fellow lab members. The opportunity piqued my interest because I have always had a passion for the medical field and cancer research, which the internship would allow me to pursue.
My project was about the regulation of HIF function by KAP1 in breast cancer. HIFs are transcription factors that allow for tumor survival in hypoxic environments by promoting oxygen delivery and switching to a glycolytic pathway. Previous research has suggested that KAP1 binding is essential for the transcription of HIFs, which have several functions such as transcription activation/repression and DNA damage repair. We studied how different mutations of KAP1 at different domains such as the coiled-coil region and others affect induction of HREs in hypoxia using plasmids and luciferase assays/Western blots.
We found out that knockdown of HIF1a, HIF1b or KAP1 in MDA231 cells decreased tumor growth and HIF1a and HIF2a proteins were robustly induced by hypoxia irrespective of KAP1 status. The more HREs are present in the promoter, the stronger its induction by hypoxia. We did not observe a drastic difference in hypoxia induction of HRE driven promoters in WT vs knockdown or mutant KAP1 cells. We also did not observe a drastic difference in the induction of Gal4 reporter by GAL4-HIF1A C-terminus in WT vs knockdown or mutant KAP1 cells.
Throughout the summer, I worked with two fellow lab members Justin and Mason who helped me with the project. My mentor for the summer was Dr. Ivanov. There were also times throughout the summer when I worked with Dr. Pugacheva’s lab.
One thing I learned is the importance of reproducibility and the slow process of research. Before I became involved in research I always imagined research happening in huge strides, but most work is done in small steps. There are also several skills that I learned throughout the summer in areas of critical thinking and problem-solving within the lab that are extremely valuable in research or the field of science in general.
6: My plans for the future include attending WVU medical school to obtain an MD degree. After an internal medicine residency, I want to specialize in hematology/oncology and continue the fight against cancer through primary care at a major hospital.
Over the summer, I learned how rigorous biochemistry research is, and the importance of tracking/recording everything. One of the most important things I learned about research is that conclusions aren’t simply drawn from one good data set, but several replications of an experiment, and that every little detail matters. Another way my perspective of research was changed was the philosophy of always questioning results and conclusions and not taking information at face value.
I was very happy with the experience within the Cancer Institute internship over the summer. The only way I could think to improve the experience is establishing more concrete work schedules, although I understand that in the field of biochemistry research, there is only so much that can be controlled.
Ankit Daga
I chose this experience looking for a hands-on research experience at a University to expand and build upon my research abilities.
My project was about possible treatment using IL-15 and Pioglitazone for muscle fatigue arising in breast cancer patients.
While results suggested a trend that aligned with what we hypothesized, nothing statistically significant was observed.
I worked with Dr. Pistilli, Alan Mizener, Lauren Rentz, Stuart Clayton, Marcella Whetsell.
I learned the ability to tackle and design experiments, troubleshooting and designing protocols, reflecting on the results and making improvements. I intend to use these lessons and use them during my future research endeavors and projects.
I am pursuing a career in Bioinformatics and for that I am looking to do a PhD in the field. However, I am looking for lab experience as a lab technician or research assistant to build a better foundation of my research skills.
The internship has helped me to trust my judgement better, take action without being told to and continuously thinking about the next step for any projects I work on in a more in-depth manner.
I would recommend connecting students or exposing them to faculty or branches that may be looking for a PhD student or technician, depending on the students interests.
Madison Sigler
I chose this summer experience because it gave me the opportunity to be a full-time member of my research lab and learn procedures that I would not have been able to learn during the semester. I am completing the Honors Excel program and Biology Honors Investigation & Thesis and having these skills will help me drive my project forward.
We are looking into genes involved in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, which is the most fatal type of head and neck cancer and also most prevalent in the Appalachian region due to high tobacco usage and groundwater contaminants. Our laboratory has previously discovered a smoking-associated expression signature predominantly involving 12 genes mapping to chromosome 11q13 cytobands. Amplification in this chromosome region is the most common across all types of HPV- head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and is associated with more aggressive disease behavior, resistance to therapeutic treatments, and poorer prognosis. Six genes in this region have previously been identified as key drivers of HNC- progression, but the remaining six, MTL5, MRPL21, TPCN2, SHANK2, DHCR7 and RNF121, have unclear roles in this cancer and most other cancer types. Identification of specific tumor-promoting roles for novel smoking associated expression signature genes paves the way for development of additional therapeutic interventions to treat this devastating disease that disproportionately affects Appalachia.
Using literature that characterized UPCI:SCC cell lines, we identified and cultured cell lines with and without 11q13 amplification. We then generated HNSCC lines with SAES overexpression and analyzed them using western blotting. We discovered that MTL5 consistently gave the highest expression after transfection, suggesting that ectopic overexpression is well-tolerated and thus a good candidate for further study. We will soon evaluate these manipulated cells for changes in oncogenic properties such as invasion, subcellular protein localization, and apoptosis.
I worked in Dr. Scott Weed’s lab alongside our lab manager, Sarah Parks, and Cancer Cell Biology graduate student, Breanna Haught. I was also able to meet and get to know the other summer interns.
What is one thing you learned that will help you with your next step in your studies or this research?
I learned how to get better at finding and reading through scientific journal articles. This is an invaluable skill not only for lab, but for my classes too.
I hope to attend medical school at WVU and become a pediatrician.
How has this summer internship changed your perspective on how scientific research is conducted?
I’ve learned that research is not just as simple as conducting experiments and analyzing data, but instead much more complex when navigating uncertainties and adapting to unexpected results.
It was great! However, I recommend ending the program before July 31st because leases end at the end of the month. I know Ankit spent the night at a lab member’s apartment and I had to get a hotel for 2 nights.
