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)
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 12th International Fission Yeast Meeting, which was held in Boston, Massachusetts from August 3rd to 8th, 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.
By Tamara Robinson
Aug. 1, 2025 | Sydnye Shuttleworth, a student in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine and an affiliate trainee member of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, has been awarded a prestigious fellowship award for aspiring physician-scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Shuttleworth, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in the UAMS Graduate School in addition to a medical degree, is the first M.D./Ph.D. student at UAMS to receive the highly competitive Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) from the NCI. She joins an elite group across the country and a small group from UAMS who have received NRSA awards from one of the NIH institutes.
The $189,128 award, referred to as an F30 NRSA fellowship, provides four years of funding for Shuttleworth’s tuition, a stipend and an institutional allowance to support her research training.
“Ms. Shuttleworth’s NRSA fellowship is focused on the rapidly expanding field of engineering immune cells to be more effective and efficient at eliminating cancer cells, particularly those in solid tumors,” 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. “This specific area of research has the potential to transform how we utilize immunotherapies to treat patients with cancer.”
“Sydnye is one of those trainees who just doesn’t let up — in the best way,” said Shuttleworth’s mentor, Brian Koss, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. “She is driven, deeply committed, and always thinking about how her work can make a real impact. That kind of focus is exactly what you want in a future physician-scientist, and it’s no surprise she has already earned competitive funding to support her research. She raises the bar for everyone around her, including me.”
Untargeted CUT&Tag reads are enriched at accessible chromatin and restrict identification of potential G4-forming sequences in G4-targeted CUT&Tag experiments.
Thompson MD, Byrd AK.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2025
G-quadruplex and i-motif DNA structures form in the promoter of the key innate immune adaptor MYD88.
Brown S, Swafford K, McCrury M, Nasrin F, Gragg CQ, Chavan A, Roy Choudhury S, Dickerhoff J, Yang D, Kendrick S.
Cell Rep Phys Sci. 2025
Monensin and Its Analogs Exhibit Activity Against Breast Cancer Stem-Like Cells in an Organoid Model.
Urbaniak A, Heflin B, Siegel E, Reed MR, Nix JS, Yee EU, Jędrzejczyk M, Klejborowska G, Stępczyńska N, Huczyński A, Nagalo MB, Chambers TC, Post S, Eoff RL, MacNicol MC, Tiwari AK, Kelly T, Tackett AJ, MacNicol AM.
bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025
The XPO1 Inhibitor Eltanexor Modulates the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway to Reduce Colorectal Cancer Tumorigenesis.
Evans AE, Afroz S, Magstadt A, Kasi A, Dixon DA.
Cancer Res Commun. 2025
EZH2 loss during metabolic stress drives restoration of MHC class I machinery in melanoma.
Edmondson JL, Reed MR, Fil D, Heflin B, McKinnon A, Bauer MA, Morehead LC, Avaritt NL, Phillips M, Taverna SD, Tackett AJ, Koss B.
iScience. 2025
Congratulations to Matthew Thompson, Ph.D., on his successful defense of his dissertation entitled, “DNA Helicase B (HELB) and DNA secondary structures at the DNA replication fork.” Dr. Thompson was mentored by Alicia Byrd, Ph.D. He will be an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Lyon College this fall.
We’re excited to share highlights from the recent Graduate Student Association (GSA) Closing Ceremony, where several outstanding graduate students and staff members were honored for their leadership and dedication:
Mrs. Kathy Carlson, Education Coordinator, received the Legacy of Service Award in recognition of her long-standing commitment and unwavering support of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) .
Reham Sewilam, fourth-year Ph.D. student and GSA President, received both the Visionary Leadership Award and the Change Maker Award for her pioneering efforts and exceptional leadership in creating new initiatives to support graduate students at UAMS in both educational and non-educational levels.
Lokesh Akana, third-year Ph.D. student and GSA Treasurer, was honored with the Heart and Hustle Award for his enthusiastic contributions and dedication to the GSA mission.
Sanjay Adhikary, second-year Ph.D. student and GSA Secretary, received the Exemplary Service Award for his growing contributions and active involvement in the GSA mission.
Congratulations to all awardees for their incredible work and commitment to the graduate student community!
