Students and postdocs from across campus participated in the 2019 Student Research Day poster presentations on March 12th.  Numerous award winners are affiliated with the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology department.  The Bhuvan Award is given to the project which makes the best use of biochemistry.  Andrea Edwards (Raney lab), Duah Alkam (Ussery and Smeltzer labs) and Joseph Rom (Smeltzer lab) were the winners.  Zach Waldrip (Burdine lab) and Alicja Urbaniak (Chambers lab) earned the top two prizes in the post-doctoral category and Zach also won the best poster overall.  Congratulations to all!

Andrea Edwards, 1st place Bhuvan Award

Duah Alkam, 2nd place Bhuvan Award

Joseph Rom, 3rd place Bhuvan Award

Dr. Zach Waldrip, 1st place postdoctoral category and 1st place overall

Dr. Alicja Urbaniak, 2nd place post-doctoral category

Proteomic Characterization of the Arsenic Response Locus in S. cerevisiae.

The melanocortin pathway and control of appetite-progress and therapeutic implications.

Congratulations to Lauren Davis who successfully defended her dissertation entitled “Histone Posttranslational Modifications as Diagnostic Markers for Melanoma” on February 20th.  Lauren is a student in Alan Tackett’s lab.

Oleg Karaduta was selected to receive a Young Investigator Educational Grant to study clinical application of mass spectrometry during the MSACL 11^th Annual Conference.

Curriculum includes short courses, practical training sessions and a variety of workshops.  Congratulations Dr. Karaduta!

Feb. 5, 2019 | Researchers at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute received a funding boost thanks to the efforts of two volunteer groups.

One small grant award of $50,000 and three pilot awards of $15,000 each were presented to UAMS cancer researchers at a reception and research poster showcase hosted by the Envoys volunteer advocacy group Jan. 31.

Volunteers from the Hot Springs Village Walk for Cancer Research present funds for the Seeds of Science small grant award to Samantha Kendrick, Ph.D. (second from right). Also pictured (from left) are Cancer Institute Interim Director Laura Hutchins, M.D.; Christy Etheridge; Donna Aylward; Bob Hebert; Lynne Border; and Melanie Pederson. Kendrick’s co-investigator Brendan Frett, Ph.D., is not pictured.

The small grant award was funded by proceeds from the 17^th annual Village Walk for Cancer Research, held Sept. 29, 2018 in Hot Springs Village. Organized by volunteers, the walk unites the community, which is located one hour southwest of Little Rock, in support of cancer research.

“Knowing the money we raise is used to advance cancer research right here in Arkansas is very satisfying for those of us who organize the walk and participate in it,” said Melanie Pederson, event chair. Donna Aylward serves as co-chair.

Since 2002, the Village Walk for Cancer Research has raised about $500,000 for research programs at the UAMS Cancer Institute. The 2019 walk is scheduled for Sept. 28 at Balboa Pavilion in Hot Springs Village.

A team of two researchers received the small grant award for their work addressing drug resistance to aggressive lymphoma.

Brendan Frett, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the UAMS College of Pharmacy, and Samantha Kendrick, Ph.D., assistant professor of Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the UAMS College of Medicine, are collaborators on the project. They are exploring using a proteolysis targeting chimera molecule along with targeted therapies to break down the cancer-promoting protein Nek2

found in aggressive lymphoma. This dual treatment approach has the potential to reduce drug resistance and lead to better patient outcomes.

Jenny Long, president of the UAMS Cancer Institute Foundation Envoys, and Laura Hutchins, M.D., Cancer Institute interim director, were on hand to congratulate the Seeds of Science award recipients.

Three $15,000 pilot awards were presented to researchers for their work in a variety of areas. Funding for the awards was made possible by RockStar Lounge, an annual fundraising event hosted by the Envoys.

This year’s RockStar Lounge is set for April 5 at Cajun’s Wharf in Little Rock and will feature a performance by Memphis-based band Doctor Zarr’s Amazing Funk Monster. One-hundred percent of the net proceeds from RockStar Lounge is used to fund cancer research projects at UAMS.

“We are always excited and pleased to present grants to our very worthy scientists for their innovative projects,” said Jenny Long, Envoys president.

Recipients of the pilot awards were:

• Alicia Byrd, Ph.D., and Stephanie Byrum, Ph.D., assistant professors in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the UAMS College of Medicine

Byrd and Byrum’s project aims to identify new targets for cancer therapy by investigating the regulation of the DNA damage response pathway in cancerous and normal cells.

• Robert Eoff, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the UAMS College of Medicine

Eoff’s project attempts to determine if a regulatory pathway normally associated with immune suppression in brain tumors also plays a role in resistance to the anti-cancer drug Temodar. Results of this study could increase understanding of how the elements involved in treatment resistance are regulated in malignant brain tumors.

• Zhiqiang Qin, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pathology in the UAMS College of Medicine

The subtype of lung cancer known as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer death in Arkansas. Qin’s project examines the use of the gene EIF4G1 as a therapeutic target for NSCLC and could provide the framework for the development of a clinical trial evaluating EIF4G1-targeted therapy.

Congratulations to Dr. Isabelle Racine-Miousse who received a pilot grant from the Barton Foundation for her studies of methionine and autophagy in metastatic melanoma.

Scientific discovery could be accelerated with more open access to genomic data, says an article in the latest journal Science by a group of research leaders from across the globe that includes David W. Ussery, Ph.D., at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

“We argue that the publicly available data should be treated as open data, a shared resource with unrestricted use for analysis, interpretation and publication,” the article states in the journal’s Policy Forum titled, “Toward unrestricted use of public genomic data.”

The article, with 51 authors, challenges long-standing customs and guidelines that have allowed the producers of genomics data to keep it for analysis and publication before outside researchers can study it.

As a specialist in bacterial genomics, Ussery, a professor in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Biomedical Informatics, said a better understanding of genome sequences will help scientists more easily determine where outbreaks originate and how they can be treated.

“In my field, it is critical to have unrestricted access to this kind of genomic data,” said Ussery, a member of the international Genomics Standards Consortium. “Some of our biggest scientific advances are likely to come from genomics research, and we need to remove barriers that could delay discoveries.”

The article calls for revising the landmark 2003 Fort Lauderdale Agreement, which is a public declaration by scientists supporting free and unrestricted use of genome sequencing data. The agreement, the authors say, is “self-contradictory” because it also recommends a hands-off approach to publicly available data so that those who produced the data have a chance to analyze and publish it.

A key factor in the article’s push is the growing wave of raw data from faster, inexpensive third-generation genome sequencing devices, said Ussery, who holds the Helen Adams & Arkansas Research Alliance Endowed Chair in Bioinformatics.

“By 2025, the amount of data from third-generation sequencing will dwarf other big data generators like Youtube and Twitter,” Ussery said. “Youtube is expected to reach 2 exabytes, but third-generation sequencing will produce about 20 zettabytes of data.” A zettabyte is 1,000 times larger than an exabyte.

In a recent presentation, Ussery cited the 20 zettabyte projection for genetic sequencing data, noting that the estimated cost to store that much data is $2 trillion.

In fact, with the advent of large global data analysis studies, the article says, the amount of publicly available data is at the scale of yottabytes (1,000 times larger than a zettabyte).

Scientific analysis of so much data requires costly computing resources and advanced analytical capabilities, and some scientists who produce genomic data don’t have those advanced capabilities. In those cases, outside researchers should be allowed free access to the data without restriction.

“For example,” the article states, “the outsider team may have better analytical capabilities and/or overarching protocols for analyzing more comprehensive sets of data, pre- or post-publication. Also, sequence datasets can be interrogated by means of numerous value-added platforms and tools from multiple groups.”

The article cites three guiding principles for their recommendations:

• Public genomics data that have ethics approval for release should be open data – available for unrestricted use, together with associated metadata – with the exception of sensitive human data to which additional ethics restrictions may apply
• Science advances through open competition with clear-cut, transparent rules, not through posing restrictions and limitations
• Credit should be given appropriately to resource producers (those who produce the data) and should be transparent.

“These recommendations should not impede protection of sensitive human data,” the article states. “We acknowledge that for existing sensitive human data, some restrictions may be appropriate.”

The article is available here: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6425/350.