Students present scientific research
CHADRON – Two Chadron State College students, Emmanuella Tchona and David Johnson, presented their summer research at the IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program conference in August in Nebraska City, Nebraska.
Tchona and Johnson have each spent the past two summers working on research to diagnose and treat cancers, according to their adviser Biological Sciences Professor Dr. Ann Buchmann.
Tchona presented a poster titled, Validation of alpha fold MAP3K1 for Substrate-Guided Design of Inhibitors. Johnson presented a talk titled, DNA-Gold Nanoparticle Quantification of Serum Biomarkers: An Advanced Approach to Diagnosing Pancreatic Cancer.
Buchmann said INBRE is a great program for students who want to pursue a career in research. Students accepted into the program spend the summers after their sophomore and junior years doing research in a lab at UNMC, Creighton, or UNO/UNL. Then, as a follow-up portion of the program, they conduct research projects at CSC during their junior and senior years.
“I am immensely proud of these two students. They did interesting research projects and they presented their research well. They will leave CSC with great research experiences, which will help them in their future careers,” Buchmann said.
Tchona said pancreatic cancer is the fourth most frequent cause of cancer deaths behind lung, breast/prostate, and colorectal cancer.
“With the enzyme IKK2 playing a critical role in cancer development, previous work in our lab established the presence of elevated levels of p-IKK2 in patient-derived tumors. We and others showed that MAP3K1 activates IKK2,” she said. “Based on this information, my work during the summer of 2023 was to develop a computational model that could predict novel compounds as inhibitors of MAP3K1 using a virtual screening method.”
She said her experience in the University of Nebraska Medical Center Natarajan lab was life-changing.
“Dr. Amar Natarajan, the Principal Investigator, was a great mentor and through him I met lifelong friends who gave me a lot of advice concerning life and Ph.D. applications. I came back refreshed and knowing that life as a scientist is what I want and what I am called to do. I recommend the INBRE program to all aspiring scientists. You will gain a lot of research experience and lifelong friends along the way,” Tchona said.
Students interested in becoming an INBRE scholar should contact Buchmann at 308-432-6055, Math Science COIL Room 214, or abuchmann@csc.edu. Applications are due Dec. 1.
Category: Campus News, Physical and Life Sciences