NOTE TO JOURNALISTS:
Photo of the winners is available on the Web at http://www.uh.edu/admin/media/nr/2004/06jun/60104rcomp.html.
A high-resolution version is available by contacting Lisa Merkl.
BEWARE CANCER, INSOMNIA AND LIVER DISEASE – UH STUDENTS ARE
TAKING AIM
Three Biology and Biochemistry Students Win Awards at National Competition
HOUSTON, June 1, 2004 – Targeting a range of diseases and
disorders, three University of Houston students won awards at a
recent symposium for research in liver disease, cancer and insomnia.
The Intercultural Cancer Council (ICC) recently hosted its 9th
Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Undeserved and Cancer
in Washington, D.C. The ICC promotes policies, programs, partnerships
and research to eliminate the unequal burden of cancer among racial
and ethnic minorities and medically undeserved populations in the
U.S. and its associated territories.
Among the 1,500 who attended this ICC symposium, UH students accounted
for 18 of the 300 students from across the nation who participated.
Three UH students from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
(NSM) swept the undergraduate research competition, taking home
half of the six awards handed out in that category. Each received
a medal to recognize their achievements and a cash award of $500.
“We are extremely proud of all our students who represented
the University of Houston,” said John Bear, dean of UH’s
College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “And we’re
particularly pleased with the acknowledgement received by our three
outstanding students who presented award-winning work, as well as
commend the faculty members for engaging undergraduates in the research
process.”
Jose Figueroa, a senior biology major in NSM’s Biology and
Biochemistry department at UH, won his poster award for research
in biological clocks. Also known as circadian rhythms, biological
clocks are the mechanisms that control sleep/wake cycles in living
organisms. Working in the Neurobiology Laboratory with Michael Rea,
UH professor of biology and biochemistry, Figueroa assists with
the lab’s focus on understanding the biological clock so that
it may eventually lead to therapeutic agents that can treat sleeping/waking
disorders, such as advanced sleep phase syndrome, jet lag and insomnia.
The results of Figueroa’s research show that pupillary light
response studies could provide a useful system for high throughput
screening of drugs that regulate mammalian circadian rhythms. This
would be a more cost-effective approach to the more traditional
phase shift experiments that are time-consuming and costly to perform.
“My research could ultimately provide a test that may be
able to identify drugs to attenuate light-induced phase shifts by
simply running them through pupillary light experiments,”
Figueroa said. “It’s a simple and relatively inexpensive
way of determining the effectiveness of the drugs, and I hope it
will save researchers time and money.”
Also out of NSM’s Biology and Biochemistry department, Adham
Bear, a senior biochemistry major, works with Susan Martinis, associate
professor of biology and biochemistry at UH. Winning an award for
his poster presentation, Bear’s research is mainly concerned
with protein-tRNA interactions during the process of protein synthesis,
specifically those that take place during the process of aminoacylation,
the binding of the amino acid to the tRNA molecule. This understanding
of the mechanisms involving protein synthesis can be used to further
the understanding of gene expression, which could have an impact
on diseases such as cancer, as well as in the creation of new antibiotics.
“Gene expression is how DNA is expressed,” Bear said.
“It’s basically what cancer is all about. Cancer is
caused when a gene is overly and uncontrollably expressed, so if
we could develop a way to control gene expression in abnormal cells,
then we would be able to control the growth of tumors. To reach
that point, we need to have a strong basic understanding of the
process of gene expression.”
A third student and winner from NSM’s Biology and Biochemistry
department, Marisa Rodriguez, graduated from UH this May with her
bachelor’s degree in biology. With research she performed
in the Pediatric Oncology Program at St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital last summer, Rodriguez won an award for her oral presentation
on liver development.
“The focus of my project was to identify genes whose activity
is regulated by the Prox1 transcription factor that can turn the
activity of other genes on or off,” Rodriguez said. “The
alpha-1 protease inhibitor 5 gene displayed continuous expression,
allowing us to propose that it is involved in embryonic liver development.
By understanding how Prox1 is involved in this, we can better understand
how the liver develops normally, and by knowing that, we can pinpoint
where developmental problems due to disease occur compared to the
normal development of the liver.”
All three students are members of the Houston Louis Stokes Alliance
for Minority Participation (HLSAMP). Led by Program Director Christopher
Miller, a UH graduate student and staff member, HLSAMP is a scholar
enrichment program dedicated to increasing the number of minority
students earning bachelor’s degrees in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics fields, while preparing them for entry
to graduate programs. The ultimate goal of HLSAMP is to increase
the number of doctoral graduates and professors from underrepresented
groups. Established in 1999, HLSAMP is funded by a five-year NSF
grant.
“It’s so rewarding to take part in mentoring these
students and witness their enthusiasm and dedication,” Miller
said. “At the ICC symposium, it was noticed many times that
UH consistently had the best representation at the workshop sessions
and was the only group of students at each session with all members
of the group present. This is truly indicative of the dedication
our students possess.”
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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