News

SUMOylation Protects Endothelial Cell-Expressed Leukocyte-Specific Protein 1 from Ubiquitination-Mediated Proteasomal Degradation and Facilitates Its Nuclear Export.
Hossain M, Huang J, Su Y, Islam MR, Rahman MA, Cayabyab FS, Liu L.
Int J Mol Sci. 2026

Targeting EZH2 Oncogenic Splicing: Decoding the Regulatory Network and Antisense Correction.
Islam MR, Nagar P, McNaughton N, Heeamoni SA, Hasan MM, Kandel S, Tsakiroglou P, Dalton WB, Abdel-Wahab O, Krainer AR, Rahman MA.
bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026

DNA-PKcs controls the cytotoxic T cell response to cancer and transplant allograft through regulating LAT-dependent signaling.
Rainwater RR, Azevedo-Pouly AC, Waldrip ZJ, Hicks BH, Callais NA, Koss B, Storey AJ, Burdine L, Burdine MS.
Cell Rep. 2026

Response to the commentary by Melidis et al. on “Untargeted CUT&Tag reads are enriched at accessible chromatin and restrict identification of potential G4-forming sequences in G4-targeted CUT&Tag experiments”.
Byrd AK, Thompson MD.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2025

Long multiply marked DNA repair template reveals lengths and fidelity of genome editing tracts in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
Protacio RU, Ali NA, Chevireddy A, Wahls WP.
MicroPubl Biol. 2025

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Evaluation of the Activity of Monensin and Its Analogs for Modulation of Stem-like Cell Functionality in 2D and 3D Breast Cancer Models.
Urbaniak A, Heflin B, Siegel ER, Seale D, Reed MR, Nix JS, Yee EU, Jędrzejczyk M, Klejborowska G, Stępczyńska N, Huczyński A, Nagalo BM, Chambers TC, Post SR, Eoff RL, MacNicol MC, Tiwari AK, Kelly T, Tackett AJ, MacNicol AM.
ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci. 2025

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Template switching by coronavirus polymerase requires helicase activity and is stimulated by remdesivir and molnupiravir.
Rakib A, Das A, Bera SC, America PPB, Klein M, Anderson TK, Marecki JC, Wang B, Bogers E, Feng JY, Bilello JP, Papini FS, Smitskamp Q, Arnold JJ, Artsimovitch I, Kirchdoerfer RN, Cameron CE, Raney KD, Dulin D.
bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025

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Desloratadine Induces TP53-Dependent Apoptosis in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.
Kabir SR, Abdullah T, Azam G, Molla TH, Ali H, Miah M, Alam MT, Miah S.
Cells. 2025

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Global Mapping of Combinatorial Chromatin Regulatory Events Using Hi-Plex CUT&Tag.
Liao Y, Zhou W, Jiang MZ, Yu K, Wang ZJ, Drummond T, Ding M, Zhao Y, Pino I, Taverna SD, Ji H, Zhu H.
bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025

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Anthrax toxins exacerbate sepsis-induced coagulopathy and endothelial dysfunction in a baboon model of anthrax.
Keshari RS, Silasi R, Byrum SD, Popescu NI, Regmi G, Abe T, Lupu C, Georgescu C, Taylor VE, Province D, Edmondson RD, Mackintosh SG, Avaritt NL, Kovats S, Farris AD, Simmons JH, McCarty OJT, Tackett AJ, Lupu F.
J Thromb Haemost. 2025

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Post-transcriptional regulation by HuR in colorectal cancer: impacts on tumor progression and therapeutic strategies.
Shi Y, Zhou Z, Liu C, Liu J, Xie M, Chen X, Dixon DA, Wu X, Yang L.
Front Immunol. 2025

Congratulations to 2025 SURF students Naomi McNaughton and Anna Bolding on their excellent presentations of their research at the Arkansas INBRE Research Conference. Naomi won second place in the biology division for her presentation of the research she performed in lab of Mohammad Rahman, Ph.D. and Anna received honorable mention for her presentation of the research she performed in the lab or Brian Koss, Ph.D.

Congratulations to Pulaski Academy high school students Nyera Ali and Akshara Chevireddy and their University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences mentor, Dr. Reine Protacio.  The results of their project on precise genome editing were presented (and won several awards) in 2025 at the 43rd annual Central Arkansas Regional Science and Engineering Fair, the 71st annual Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair, and the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.  The discoveries have now been published in a peer-reviewed scientific paper entitled “Long multiply marked DNA repair template reveals lengths and fidelity of genome editing tracts in Schizosaccharomyces pombe” in the journal microPublication Biology.

Akshara and Nyera conducted their award-winning research in the laboratory of Professor Wayne Wahls in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UAMS.  This research and training opportunity was supported in part by a research project grant to Dr. Wahls from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health (grant number NIH R01 GM145834).

Multimodal reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment by MMR and dual checkpoint blockade in hepatocellular carcinoma models.
Tesfay MZ, Cios A, Ferdous KU, Shelton RS, Mustafa B, Simoes CC, Gokden M, Miousse IR, Krager KJ, Boerma M, Urbaniak A, Kunthur A, Obulareddy S, Eichhorn JM, Post SR, Chamcheu JC, Moaven O, Chabu CY, Duda DG, Conti M, Nardo B, Govindarajan R, Fernandez-Zapico ME, Roberts LR, Borad MJ, Cannon MJ, Basnakian AG, Nagalo BM.
Front Immunol. 2025

Bromodomain proteins IBD1 and IBD2 link histone acetylation to SWR1- and INO80-mediated H2A.Z regulation in Tetrahymena.
Garg J, Saettone A, Nabeel-Shah S, Dang S, Khalid AH, Loehr J, Petrova A, Burns JD, Karabatsos P, Shibin S, Wahab S, Taverna SD, Greenblatt JF, Lambert JP, Fillingham J.
Epigenetics Chromatin. 2025

Isabelle R. Miousse, Ph.D., received an award from the National Institutes of Health.

Title: Methionine metabolism in the acute response to radiation in the gut

Period: 08/25/2025 – 07/31/2027

Total: $153,000 (Year 1)

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Grover Miller, Ph.D., received an award from the National Institutes of Health.

Title: Novel metabolic pathway for halogenated drugs of abuse

Period: 09/01/2025 – 08/31/2027

Total: $76,500 (Year 1)

By Marty Trieschmann

Aug. 27, 2025 | Reham Sewilam, a Ph.D. student in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Graduate School and a trainee of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, has become the first graduate student in Arkansas to receive the highly competitive National Cancer Institute (NCI) Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award.

The six-year fellowship, totaling $500,776, provides two years of support to complete Sewilam’s doctoral research and four years of funding for postdoctoral training. Fewer than 25 of the awards are given nationwide each year, and each institution may nominate only one applicant.

“This fellowship is truly a game-changer for me,” said Sewilam, a fourth-year doctoral student in the UAMS Graduate Program for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences. “It not only makes me highly competitive for postdoctoral positions in leading research labs but also gives me the freedom to pursue high-impact, high-risk cancer research. Because it is one of the few NCI awards open to international students, it is especially meaningful to me.”

Sewilam’s research focuses on understanding how certain aggressive cancers, such as glioblastoma and pancreatic cancer, survive therapy-induced stress and develop resistance to treatment. Her research investigates replication gap suppression, a process cancer cells use to maintain DNA integrity despite damage from tumor-associated processes, as well as treatments, such as radiation or chemotherapy.

“Reham shows remarkable potential as a cancer researcher in tackling some of the toughest questions in cancer biology,” said Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and a UAMS vice chancellor. “This award underscores the strength of the Cancer Institute’s mission to support and train the next generation of scientific leaders.”

In glioblastoma, Sewilam has identified new roles for the enzyme, polymerase kappa, in filling dangerous single-stranded DNA gaps and altering replication speed, activities that appear to protect the tumor. Inhibiting this enzyme could make existing treatments more effective and improve survival for patients facing cancers where prognosis is poor and has not improved in decades.

“This fellowship is unique in how it helps outstanding graduate students transition into promising postdoctoral training while strengthening the nation’s cancer research workforce,” said Alan Tackett, Ph.D., deputy director of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and executive associate dean for basic research in the UAMS College of Medicine. “Reham’s research has the potential to transform how we design new therapies for patients facing some of the most difficult to treat cancers.”

“Reham not only excelled in an incredibly competitive national pool, she also designed both phases of the research plan with a vision and precision that sets her up for long-term success,” said Robert Eoff, Ph.D., professor and vice-chair of the UAMS Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Eoff is Sewilam’s doctoral mentor and a Cancer Institute research member.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), Eoff’s laboratory has studied DNA replication and how it impacts cancer for over a decade. Eoff leads the UAMS Center for Molecular Interactions in Cancer, which will provide training, resources and equipment to support Sewilam’s research.

“Reham’s achievement is historic for Arkansas and a point of pride for UAMS,” said Sean Taverna, Ph.D., dean of the UAMS Graduate School and a Cancer Institute research member. “Earning such a nationally competitive award speaks to her extraordinary talent, as well as to the world-class education and training our faculty provide.”

“Reham’s success reflects the caliber of students we attract and the supportive, collaborative research environment at UAMS,” said Kevin Raney, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a Cancer Institute member. “We are proud of her achievement and excited to see the impact of her research in the years ahead.”

Originally from Egypt, Sewilam earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cairo University before moving to the United States to pursue her Ph.D. In addition to her research, Sewilam served as president of the UAMS Graduate Student Association, where she created the first workshops at UAMS focused on preparing competitive fellowship applications. She also became the UAMS Graduate School’s first representative to the UAMS Student Government Association. Her leadership has been recognized with the UAMS Visionary Leadership Award and the Change Maker Award.

The NCI F99/K00 Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award supports outstanding Ph.D. and other research doctoral candidates complete their dissertation research training (F99 phase) and transition in a timely manner to mentored, cancer-focused postdoctoral career development research positions (K00 phase). The award covers stipend, tuition, research expenses, travel and professional development.

Emory is a rising fourth year Ph.D. student in Professor Wayne Wahls’ laboratory in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UAMS.  She recently made her first presentation to a major scientific conference, the 12^th International Fission Yeast Meeting, which was held in Boston, Massachusetts from August 3^rd to 8^th, 2025.  This symposium is convened every two years and rotates between venues in Europe, Asia, and America.  It is the flagship conference for over 1,000 experts from approximately 200 laboratories world-wide who use the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a model organism.  Emory presented her first-author study about histone methyltransferases and was co-author, with Reine Protacio, Mari Davidson and Wayne Wahls, on two additional presentations about regulatory DNA sites and chromatin remodeling.