With the long days of summer well behind us, and crunchy leaves and cool temperatures beckoning us forward, we all have to prepare for winter in our own ways. For most, hopefully, that includes getting a flu vaccine! The vaccine is an important tool in our arsenal against influenza, but unfortunately, it is not sufficient(...)
Perspectives in Research
Uncovering a Food Preference Signal in an Overlooked Brain Region
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchThis October marks the publication of my first lead author scientific article, the culmination of my thesis work thus far. Simply put, I found a previously unknown brain signal in the ventral pallidum that reports how good a food outcome was relative to the other available options. What does this signal mean, and why might(...)
Hope for Treating Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchThink back to when you were a kindergarten-age kid. Your teachers seemed like giants, and you likely had limitless energy to run around, jump, and play tag with your classmates. Now, imagine that every time you tried to run after your friends at the playground, you waddled everywhere and fell frequently. Imagine that whenever you(...)
From Crisis to Consensus: Guidelines Aim to Reduce Over-Prescribing of Abused Drugs
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchEvery day, 115 Americans are killed by opioid overdose. That this number is so strikingly high underlines the language of ‘“epidemics” and “emergencies” in politicians’ speeches and newspaper headlines. Thousands of articles and millions of research dollars have become components of a concerted effort to understand, quantify and alleviate the opioid epidemic in the United(...)
Solving the CAR-T Conundrum
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchThe development and commercialization of cancer immunotherapies, a class of treatments that fights cancer by fortifying the immune system, has advanced at a rapid pace. Prior to 2017, most cancer immunotherapies were composed of antibodies that selectively flag cancer cells for destruction by other cells in the immune system. In mid-2017, the FDA approved Kymriah(...)
The Puppets of Parasites
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchWe’ve all experienced illnesses where parasites or small infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses are the culprits. But what happens when those pathogens start to influence the behavior of their hosts? Here I’ll discuss three different parasites that manipulate host behavior, delineate some potential mechanisms for their influence and outline some of the theory(...)
The Colorful World of Cancer Drug Discovery
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchMelanoma cells stained with PTRF (in red), RPA194 (in green) and nucleus stained in blue. RPA194 is the main subunit of the RNA polymerase I (POL 1) enzyme. Our lab discovered a first-in-class small molecule that inhibits POL 1 enzyme and causes the destruction of RPA194 protein. Here, we are investigating how these proteins are(...)
The Link Between Metabolism and Anti-Tumor Immunity: Implications for Glioma Therapy
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchAs a callow biochemistry student, I often grappled with the onerous task of memorizing metabolic pathways. Gradually, however, I came to appreciate the underlying simplicity: Complex macromolecules are broken down to the same simple molecule. Metabolism is the workhorse of the cell — efficiently mining nutrients for energy, shunting surplus nutrients to build cellular structures,(...)
Understanding the Epidemics of Today to Prevent Those of Tomorrow
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchThough it may seem distant now, 2014 was a tumultuous year for the global health community. One of the worst Ebola epidemics in history was ravishing communities in West Africa, spreading to health care workers, sparking superstitions among locals and demonstrating how devastating a single virus can be on the world stage. Many likely remember(...)
A New Animal Model for Bad Decisions
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchHumans are constantly making decisions about how to spend time, yet we are pretty terrible at doing so effectively. We sit through boring movies, stay in line at a crowded restaurant and continue to pursue low-return projects, because we simply cannot bear to see the time we have already invested in these activities go to(...)