Cancer is a global problem where incidence approximates mortality in certain cancer types.   My interest in the study of cancer stems from several members of my family succumbing to the disease, specifically breast and stomach cancer.  Although many advancements have been made in treatment and diagnosis, there is still a lot more research and better treatments needed to either improve prognosis or eradicate the disease. 

 

I successfully defended my dissertation on December 18, 2014 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in the laboratory of Dr. Anna Radominska-Pandya in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.  My research focused on Altered UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase regulation and expression:  Implications for cancer cell proliferation and drug treatment.  In her laboratory, I identified UDP-glucuronosyltransferases as potential tumor suppressors and lipid controllers in cancer cells, particularly breast and pancreatic cancer cells (manuscript submitted December 2014).  In addition to those studies, I also investigated substrates of UGTs and cannabinoid receptors as a part of a collaborative effort and revealed that UGT substrates were also ligands for cannabinoid receptors (Prather et al. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 2013).  These novel findings not only further our understanding of the role of UGTs, but have broader implications in cancer because these discoveries provide additional targets that may be important in the development of treatment for cancer and is of fundamental interest.

 

Before joining Dr. Radominska’s lab, I rotated in the departments of Pathology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Physiology and Biophysics at UAMS.  My research involvement ranged from identifying proteases expressed in various pancreatic cancer cell lines and understanding their involvement in tumor invasion and metastasis to evaluating the ability of phase I and II drug metabolizing enzymes to suppress and promote carcinogenesis via endobiotics and xenobiotic molecules.  In the Physiology and Biophysics department, I was given the opportunity to study the molecular mechanisms of intracellular membrane trafficking.  Each of these rotations gave further insight into the many different facets of research and helped me realize how essential bench work is in improving the health of our country. 

 

Summer 2009, I traveled to San Francisco, CA where I worked in DeRisi’s Malaria Lab.  During my ten weeks in his lab, I learned to culture malaria in a matter of one week and received the opportunity to attend weekly lab meetings and sub group meeting to get hands on experience of graduate school and cutting edge research.  I desired to participate in those programs to gain more research experience and knowledge about the graduate programs in my field to further my education.

 

Summer 2006, I was given the opportunity to be a United Negro College Fund Special Services Research Intern.  I was stationed at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, MD and I worked in the Integrated Toxicology division under the supervision of Dr. Virginia Roxas.  This intern afforded me the opportunity to take part in an ongoing research project, “Identification of Botulinum Neurotoxin Gene Cluster Components”.  Working in the laboratory that summer increased my interest in the research field as well as in understanding the many different aspects of toxins, diseases, and medicine.

 

Now, I am currently seeking to apply my training and experience in cell and molecular biology in a different role and to an exciting field that will provide me with more knowledge and an advanced skill set to address problems in cancer.  Furthermore, I would like to go into academia at a teaching and research based institution to mentor and teach the next generation of scientists.