Congratulations to Lokesh Akana, Ph.D. who successfully defended his dissertation entitled, “Targeting SETD2 in combination with radiotherapy in rectal cancer”. Dr. Akana was mentored by Dr. Isabelle Racine Miousse and Dr. Adam Wolfe.
CRISPR-mediated Correction of Oncogenic AS-NMD in Splicing Factor Mutant Cancer.
Nagar P, Islam MR, Rahman NA, Heeamoni SA, Hasan MM, Huq S, Bushra FA, Hu M, Ali R, Hossain M, Rahman MA.
Front. Immunol. 2026
Proteomic atlas of T cell exhaustion defines proteostatic collapse.
Shuttleworth SL, Bauer MA, Province DW, Kelliher JL, Scharping NE, Monell A, Rogers LJ, Williams TA, Dawson GT, Wallis KF, Alkam D, Edmondson JL, Fil D, Storey AJ, Bolding AL, Edmondson RD, Byrum SD, Beenken KE, Mackintosh SG, Goldrath AW, Tackett AJ, Koss B.
Cell. 2026
Unwinding Quadruplex Structures with RNA Helicases.
Marecki JC, Gao J, Raney KD.
Methods Mol Biol.
Mapping risk: Spatial analysis of 2,4-D herbicide emissions and colorectal cancer.
Baxter D, Dixon DA, Morris AJ, Zheng T, Zhu Y.
Environ Chall (Amst).
Oct. 27, 2026 | LITTLE ROCK — A research team at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute was recently published in Cell, one of the world’s leading scientific journals, for a promising discovery that may lead to more effective cancer immunotherapies.
Cell is one of the most prestigious scientific journals, recognized for publishing high-impact research across the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology, and cell biology.
Brian Koss, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and co-leader of the Cancer Institute’s Cancer Therapeutics research program, is the senior author of the published manuscript. The study was led by Sydnye Shuttleworth, an M.D./Ph.D. student and Cancer Institute member who is mentored by Koss. Together, Koss and Shuttleworth study how the immune system controls cancer progression, with a particular emphasis on making CAR T-cell therapies more effective in solid tumors.
T cells play a critical role in the immune system, helping our bodies fight infection. CAR T-cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy that genetically modifies a patient’s T cells to enable them to seek and destroy cancer cells. This is an effective treatment for many blood cancers, but in solid tumors, T cells become exhausted and lose their ability to kill cancer cells.
“Dr. Koss and his team are leading work that could impact how the immune system fights cancer and create opportunities to develop more effective immunotherapies,” said Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., UAMS vice chancellor and director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. “Having this research published in Cell reflects the significance of this discovery and the caliber of research taking place at the Cancer Institute.”
The paper titled, “Proteomic Atlas of T-Cell Exhaustion Defines Proteostatic Collapse,” details the team’s efforts to better understand the underlying molecular changes that occur within T cells that lead to exhaustion when fighting solid tumors. Shuttleworth found widespread changes in cellular metabolism, DNA repair, and proteostasis — the biological process that controls protein maintenance and regulation — noting the collapse of proteostasis as a central driver in T-cell exhaustion.
“One of the most exciting aspects of this study is that it provides a new way to understand what happens inside T cells as they become exhausted,” said Shuttleworth. “By looking beyond gene expression to understand how proteins are regulated, we uncovered changes that would otherwise have been missed. We hope this work will provide a foundation for researchers across the field to make new discoveries that ultimately lead to better cancer treatments.”
“This study represents nearly six years of hard work and collaboration among many talented researchers,” said Koss. “I’m incredibly grateful to the members of our team and our close collaboration with the NIH National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics at UAMS. It’s exciting to see our collective efforts result in a resource that can benefit researchers across the field.”
Koss recently received a National Cancer Institute (NCI) NIH award to further research the effectiveness of RNF166, an enzyme identified in this study that showed promise for preventing T-cell exhaustion. Shuttleworth also received a prestigious NCI fellowship from the NIH in support of her training and pursuit of this promising research.
LITTLE ROCK — Two researchers with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute have received National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards to support studies aimed at better understanding cancer and identifying new methods for prevention and treatment.
Brian Koss, Ph.D., received a five-year award for over $2.9 million from the National Cancer Institute, and Joonas Jämsén, Ph.D., received a five-year award for over $2.1 million from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Both Koss and Jämsén were recruited to and are members of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and assistant professors in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.
“The achievements of Drs. Koss and Jämsén represent the innovative science we are working to support at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute,” said Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., UAMS vice chancellor and director of the Cancer Institute. “These highly competitive awards support research with the potential to deepen our understanding of the disease and improve cancer treatment.”
Brian Koss, Ph.D.
Koss will serve as principal investigator for this new R01 award, studying a potential strategy for making adoptive T-cell therapy — a type of cellular immunotherapy — more effective for patients with solid tumors. T-cell therapy is an effective treatment for blood cancers, but in solid tumors the T cells become “exhausted” and lose their ability to kill cancer cells. This work will build on previous successful research for Koss and his lab.
As Arkansas’ first recipient of the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, Koss joined the UAMS faculty in 2021 and used the funding for research that produced the preliminary data behind this current award.
Sydnye Shuttleworth, a graduate student in the UAMS College of Medicine and a full member of the Cancer Institute, received the highly competitive Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award in 2025 to study T-cell exhaustion under Koss’ mentorship.
Together, their work identified an enzyme called RNF166 that may prevent T-cell exhaustion. This study is designed to determine how RNF166 prevents T-cell exhaustion and whether the enzyme can increase the ability of CAR T-cells (specially engineered T cells) to kill solid tumor cells and avoid exhaustion.
“This research could help more patients benefit from cellular immunotherapies by engineering therapeutic T cells that stay active and effective for longer, bringing us closer to treatment that works against difficult-to-treat solid tumors,” Koss said.
This is Koss’ second active NIH award, reflecting the continued achievement of his lab.
This study is supported by the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health award 1R01CA315781-01.
Joonas Jämsén, Ph.D.
Jämsén’s research focuses on uncovering how cellular repair mechanisms for the most serious form of DNA damage — a double-strand break — work and why the repair process sometimes fails, causing mutations and structural changes in chromosomes that lead to cancer.
In 2023, Jamsen and colleagues discovered a distinct repair pathway that reconnects broken DNA strands in cancer. Their research suggests that this mechanism may help some tumors survive when other repair pathways are impaired, potentially affecting treatment responses.
Jämsén received a NIH Pathway to Independence Award as a postdoctoral fellow supporting his research on DNA repair and was recruited to the UAMS Cancer Institute in 2022 from the National Institutes of Health.
Jämsén and his team will combine advanced imaging techniques, biochemical experiments, single molecule approaches, computer modeling, and molecular biology to understand DNA repair in exceptional detail.
“This research will advance our understanding of DNA repair in cancer and accelerate development of novel strategies for prevention and treatment of cancers and diseases caused by defective DNA repair.”
This study is supported by the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health award 1R35GM165917-01.
5th year of my PhD in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department
Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Master’s in Biology
Acharya N. G Ranga Agricultural University, Bachelor’s in Agricultural Sciences
My research focuses on improving existing treatment strategies for rectal cancer. Specifically, I study a protein called SETD2 and whether inhibiting it in combination with radiation can make rectal cancer cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. So far, our results suggest that SETD2 inhibition can enhance radiosensitivity, particularly in more radioresistant rectal cancer models. These findings indicate that SETD2 may be a promising therapeutic target for improving the effectiveness of radiation treatment.
One of my most memorable experiences was preparing for the Three-Minute Thesis competition at UAMS Research Day. Initially, I did not plan to participate because I was terrified of presenting and competing alongside so many talented students. I decided to do it mainly to challenge myself and overcome that fear, and using a Harry Potter analogy to explain my research made the experience much more enjoyable and helped me connect with the audience. I never expected to win, so receiving first place made the experience even more meaningful and memorable for me.
Growing up, medicine has always been my dream, but I was not able to pursue medical school at that time. Even though my path led me into graduate education and research, my interest in medicine never went away. In fact, my Ph.D. research and my volunteer experiences in different clinical settings helped strengthen that commitment. Hopefully, I will get into medical school next year.
I really enjoy performing Western blots. I have done so many of them over the years that the process now feels almost automatic, as if my hands know exactly what to do. Interestingly, Western blotting was one of the most difficult techniques for me to learn when I first started research, which makes it especially rewarding to see how comfortable and confident I have become with it.
This past summer, I started playing volleyball with HotMess Sports Club, even though I had never played before. At first, I could barely hit the ball correctly, but I kept practicing with my teammates whenever I had time and treated every practice like I was preparing for nationals. By the end of the season, I was nominated for Most Improved Player. Now, volleyball is something I genuinely enjoy and try to play whenever I can.
Enhancing Rectal Cancer Radiosensitivity and Gut Protection through Methionine RestrictionIsabelle R Miousse, Oscar Zuniga, Sarita Garg, Lokesh Akana, Henrique Rodrigues, Saaimatul Huq, Kimberley J Krager, David Church, Tatiana Wolfe, Nükhet Aykin-Burns, Alan Tackett, Adam R Wolfe
CAP1 (Cyclase-Associated Protein 1) mediates the cyclic AMP signals that activate Rap1 in stimulating matrix adhesion of colon cancer cells. Auburn Ramsey, Lokesh Akana, Erina Miyajima, Joshua Gray, Alyssa Rowland, Krishna Sharma,Jianfeng Xu, Jennifer Y. Xie & Guo-Lei Zhou
Outstanding graduate student poster award (2nd place) at UAMS research retreat (2026)
First place in UAMS Bioventure pitch competition for CADET program (2026)
First place in the 3 Minute Thesis competition at UAMS Research Day (2025)
Heart and Hustle Award by Graduate Student Association at UAMS (2025)
Exemplary Volunteer Award by Graduate Student Association at UAMS (2024)
CTRE travel grant award (1500$) through the WPRCI Cancer Research Training & Education Core, UAMS (2023 & 2024)
IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics internship award at UAMS (2024)
The nucleoside analog CMX521 inhibits coronavirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase via a two-pronged mechanism.
Rakib A, Gordon CJ, Anderson TK, Marecki JC, Smitskamp Q, Moorman NJ, Heise MT, Colton HM, Selleseth D, Lanier R, Raney KD, Kirchdoerfer RN, Götte M, Dulin D.
J Biol Chem. 2026
T cell-dependent modulation of pain behaviors in a rat model of recurring paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy.
Bakare AO, Austin PJ, Curatolo M, Stephens KE, Sivanesan E.
Brain Behav Immun Health. 2026
Dr. Miller has accepted a joint position as a Research Principal Investigator in the Department of Research at the Central Arkansas Veterans Health System. He was also awarded a four-year VA Merit Award for his project, “Drug-Drug Interaction Risks for Veterans with Substance Use Disorders.” The award, totaling $1,148,377, spans August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2030.
Dr. Miller was also honored as the 2026 Innovation Champion of the Year by BioVentures in recognition of his outreach efforts and contributions through his service on the Copyright and Patent Committee. Continuing his involvement in advancing research and innovation, he was selected to serve as a Research Innovation Ambassador, joining approximately 20 researchers from across campus in supporting BioVentures’ efforts.
Congratulations to Dr. Miller on these well-deserved accomplishments and his continued contributions to research and innovation!
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Graduate School’s research induction ceremony represents a significant milestone for students in their pursuit of a doctoral degree.
Students were presented white coats at the Sept. 10 event at the Fred W. Smith Auditorium on the 12th floor of the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute. These candidates have passed the Ph.D. qualifying exam and will now begin work on their dissertation.
“This is a wonderful occasion,” said Sean Taverna, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School. “Receiving a white coat from their mentor symbolizes a student’s achievement in becoming an official Ph.D. candidate.”
“Students prepare intensely for their qualifying exams, which cover the first two years of graduate coursework, and passing it is a major accomplishment,” he continued.
Educators from the College of Health Professions, College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy and the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health comprise the faculty of the UAMS Graduate School.
Latrina Prince, Ed.D., Graduate School associate dean for academic affairs, introduced program directors, track directors, mentors, and students in the ceremonial donning of the white coats.
The ceremony concluded with students and faculty reciting the Affirmation of Scientists, an acknowledgement of the acceptance of the expected standards of honor and integrity.
Doctoral candidates expressed excitement about the road ahead.
“It’s a big step in the career of a scientist,” said Joseph Beard, a candidate in the Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences Biochemistry and Molecular Biology track. “Instead of going to classes every day, I get to focus solely on research.”
For M.D./Ph.D. program candidate Mattie Nester, the ceremony represents a continued progression towards her goal.
“I’m officially halfway through the eight-year program, and I’m happy to get into the lab and do more research,” she said.
Taverna noted the role that mentors play in the success of a student.
“Choosing a mentor is the single most important decision a graduate student will make,” he said. “The mentor is a critical part of a student’s career, and the mentor-mentee relationship can often last a lifetime.”
Doctoral programs, program directors, track directors, Ph.D. candidates, and mentors follow:
Biomedical Informatics
Program Director: Horacio Gomez-Acevedo, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Medicine Department of Biomedical Informatics
Environmental Health Sciences
Program Director: Gunnar Boysen, Ph.D., professor in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Epidemiology
Program Director: Mohammed Orloff, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Public Health Department of Epidemiology
Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences (GPIBS)
Program Director: Karl Boehme, Ph.D., professor in the College of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Track Director: Mari Davidson, Ph.D., professor in the College of Medicine Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Cancer Biology
Track Director: Samantha Kendrick, Ph.D., professor in the College of Medicine Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Cell Biology & Physiology
Track Director: Melda Onal, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Cell Biology & Physiology
Microbiology and Immunology
Track Director: Mark Manzano, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Neuroscience
Track Director: Angela Odle, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Neuroscience
Pharmacology, Toxicology & Experimental Therapeutics
Track Director: Abdel Fouda, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Health Promotion & Prevention Research
Program Director: George Pro, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Public Health Department of Health Behavior and Health Education
Health Systems & Services Research
Program Director: Jure Baloh, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management
M.D./Ph.D. Program
Program Directors Sara Shalin, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the College of Medicine Department of Dermatology; Jesús Delgado-Calle, Ph.D.
Nursing Science
Program Director: Martha Rojo, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Nursing
Pharmaceutical Evaluation & Policy
Program Director: Laura Gressler, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Evaluation & Policy
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Program Director: Nukhet Aykin-Burns, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
A safety pin against BAX.
Moldoveanu T.
Nat Chem Biol. 2026
Making zombies to kill cancer.
Moldoveanu T.
Cell Chem Biol. 2026
CRISPR-mediated Correction of Oncogenic AS-NMD in Splicing Factor Mutant Cancer.
Nagar P, Islam MR, Rahman NA, Heeamoni SA, Hasan MM, Huq S, Ali R, Hossain M, Rahman MA.
bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026
Targeting EZH2 oncogenic splicing: decoding the regulatory network and antisense correction.
Islam MR, Nagar P, McNaughton N, Heeamoni SA, Hasan MM, Kandel S, Mukta IJ, Tsakiroglou P, Dalton WB, Abdel-Wahab O, Krainer AR, Rahman MA.
Genes Dev. 2026
HuR degradation reveals dependencies in BRAF-driven cancers.
Siordia IR, Brody JR, Dixon DA.
Trends Cancer. 2026
Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine and Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute made a breakthrough while studying a new therapeutic strategy for blood cancer that may lead to better future treatment options.
The successful study was published in Genes & Development, one of the top 10 research journals in the field of molecular biology and genetics.
This research was led by Mohammad Rahman, Ph.D., in collaboration with leading scholars in the field Omar-Abdel-Wahab, M.D., at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Adrian Krainer, Ph.D., at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and William Dalton, M.D., Ph.D., at Johns Hopkins University. The lead authors of this study are two postdoctoral trainees in Rahman’s lab, Rafikul Islam, Ph.D., and Preeti Nagar, Ph.D.
The paper entitled, “Targeting EZH2 Oncogenic Splicing: Decoding the Regulatory Network and Antisense Correction,” focuses on the team’s efforts to use a treatment called antisense (ASO) pharmacology to correct mutations that can lead to blood cancer.
“This study exemplifies the innovative, high-impact research the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute is committed to,” said Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor of UAMS and director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. “Breakthroughs like this bring us closer to developing more effective treatment options for certain cancers.”
Research in recent decades has established that repeated mutations in proteins called splicing factors can cause several types of blood cancer and a variety of other tumors. Splicing factors play a critical role in human cells by helping our cells read and use genetic information. When these functions do not work correctly, cells can become unhealthy. Rahman’s team previously published research studying the impact of recurrent mutations in SRSF2. This current work builds on that discovery.
“We extended our focus to develop a therapeutic strategy to correct splicing that leads to cancer and conceived this study,” said Rahman.
When mutations occur in SRSF2, the tumor suppressing gene known as EZH2 is altered, ultimately weakening one of our body’s natural defenses against cancer. For this study, EZH2 was chosen as the target for therapy. The research team successfully demonstrated that using an ASO can repair the damage to EZH2 and partially restore the body’s ability to produce new blood cells.
Ultimately, this is an important step toward developing new treatment options for blood cancers that are difficult to treat. The team plans to continue testing this treatment strategy, expanding their focus to include additional genes.
“Our future research will develop ASOs targeting multiple genes and test the efficacy of a combined treatment,” said Rahman. A provisional patent application has been filed for the lead ASO developed in this study, with Rahman, Islam and Nagar listed as the inventors.
Rahman, assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and member of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, centers his research on alternative splicing (AS) and nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) two cellular processes that control genes as needed. Tumor cells often use AS and/or NMD, this work aims to detail how this happens with the goal of developing new effective cancer therapies.
This study was supported by the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health awards R35GM154991 and P20GM152281, and Edward P. Evans Foundation.
