Congratulations to Wayne P. Wahls, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Wahls was awarded the 2023 Chancellor’s Award of Excellence for Scholarship. In presenting this award, UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson highlighted sustained contributions to laboratory research, educational research and interdisciplinary team science. Dr. Wahls’ research on meiotic chromosome dynamics has established several new paradigms for a fundamental biological process that is used by almost all eukaryotes, including humans. His discoveries have provided important insight into genome dynamics, causes of congenital birth defects, and the evolution of species. Dr. Wahls’ research on science funding policy has revealed causes and consequences of vast disparities in allocations of NIH grant funding among institutions and states. “Credit for this award should be given to the talented students, trainees, technicians and colleagues who have contributed to my research program,” said Dr. Wahls. “Their insight has guided my thinking and their research efforts have fueled each of our new discoveries.”
Department News
4th place finish for Eoff lab student at the International Science and Engineering Fair
Congratulations to Mr. Shreyam Tripathi on his fourth place finish at the 2023 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Dallas, sponsored by Regeneron! Sheyam is a student at the Arkansas School for Math, Science and Arts (ASMSA) who worked on this project with Dr. Amit Ketkar, in Dr. Robert Eoff‘s lab.
Jessica Kelliher wins WPRCI student poster competition
Congratulations to Jessica Kelliher who won the award for the best student poster at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute retreat for her poster entitled, “Induction of an intrinsic DNA damage response during T cell exhaustion.” Jessica is a student in the lab of Brian Koss, Ph.D.
Students present at Midwest DNA Repair Symposium
Reham Sewilam, second year student in the lab of Robert Eoff, Ph.D. presented a poster entitled “The Role of DNA Polymerase Kappa (pol κ) as a Sensor of Redox Imbalance in Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM)”.
Matthew Thompson, a third year student in the lab of Alicia Byrd, Ph.D., presented a poster entitled “HELB Maintains Genomic Stability in Response to Replication Stress”.
Dr. Diekman Wins Golden Apple Award
Every year, students in each of the four medical classes vote for the faculty member they consider to be their best teacher of the year. Congratulations to Alan Diekman, Ph.D., for winning his 11th Golden Apple from freshmen medical students who rave about his teaching and support as Course Director for the Molecules to Cells module. He also is Course Director for the M2 Endocrine/Reproduction course.
Clai Morehead defends dissertation
Congratulations to Lauren “Clai” Morehead who successfully defended her dissertation entitled “Dietary restriction increases susceptibility of melanoma to immune attack.” Clai is an M.D./Ph.D. student in the labs of Isabelle Miousse, Ph.D., and Alan Tackett, Ph.D. She will be returning to medical school to complete the final two years of her medical training.
March 2023 Publications
CRISPR/dCas9-KRAB-Mediated Suppression of S100b Restores p53-Mediated Apoptosis in Melanoma Cells.
Roy Choudhury S, Heflin B, Taylor E, Koss B, Avaritt NL, Tackett AJ.
Cells. 2023
Final survival analysis of topotecan and paclitaxel for first-line treatment of advanced cervical cancer: An NRG oncology randomized study.
Tewari KS, Sill MW, Birrer MJ, Penson RT, Huang H, Moore DH, Ramondetta LM, Landrum LM, Oaknin A, Reid TJ, Leitao MM, Michael HE, Monk BJ.
Gynecol Oncol. 2023
Mason McCrury awarded NSF-GRFP
Congratulations to Mason McCrury, a Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Samantha Kendrick, for receiving a NSF-GRFP. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program supports outstanding graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to be high achieving scientists and engineers. Mason’s project is entitled “Investigating DNA Secondary Structure Formation and Mutagenesis.”
National Proteomics Symposium
By Marty Trieschmann
Feb. 17, 2023 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute welcomed proteomics directors and staff from across the country Feb. 8 and 9 for a continuing education symposium.
Sponsored by the IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics located within the Cancer Institute, the symposium facilitated two days of collaboration and best practice sharing among proteomics experts from 11 different states.
Proteomics is the high throughput study of the abundance and activity of proteins. Most diseases, including cancer, are manifested at the level of protein activity.
The IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics at UAMS is the only one of its kind to be designated as a national resource by the National Institutes of Health. Alan Tackett, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, serves as director.
“We were thrilled to convene proteomics experts from across the country at our Cancer Institute, as our group serves as an NIH hub for disseminating training and education in this discipline of biomedical research,” said Tackett, who also serves as deputy director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and is the Scharlau Family Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at UAMS.
The symposium included poster sessions and a keynote address by John Koomen, Ph.D., scientific director of the Proteomics and Metabolomics Core at Moffitt Cancer Center. His talk was titled “Evolving a Proteomics and Metabolomics Core to Support Cancer Research.”
Breakout sessions covered topics such as quality control, sample preparation and workflows, bioinformatics and administration.
“Prior to this symposium, very little was known about other proteomic cores in IDeA states, including staff and capabilities,” said David Quilici, Ph,D., director of the Nevada Proteomics Center who has been attending the symposium for seven years.
The IDeA program works to build research capacity in states with historically lower levels of NIH funding. The program is open to 23 states, including Arkansas, and Puerto Rico.
“The UAMS staff and attending proteomic directors have provided insights which have allowed our core to enhance our services to our researchers,” said Quilici. “I have established relationships and contacts across the country ensuring that researchers are able to achieve their desired proteomic goals, whether it be by our current enhanced services or by directing them to a core that can address their needs.”
Directors from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, LSU Health, Tulane, the University of Rhode Island and Puerto Rico attended the event.
Proteomics has identified proteins that offer promise as diagnostic or prognostic markers, or as therapeutic targets in a range of illnesses, including cancer. The IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute provides these resources to not only investigators at UAMS, but also has enabled research for hundreds of investigators covering every state in the United States.
Student Research Day Winners 2023
Congratulations to these Biochemistry trainees for their excellent performance at UAMS Student Research Day.
- Jessica Kelliher is a 3rd year graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology track mentored by Dr. Brian Koss and Dr. Justin Leung. She won 1st Place for Bhuvan Award for Excellence in Biochemistry Research for a poster entitled “H2AX Linker Region Mediates 53BP1 Recruitment to Chromatin”.
- Matthew Thompson is a 3rd year graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology track mentored by Dr. Alicia Byrd. He won 3rd place for Bhuvan Award for Excellence in Biochemistry Research and was a Runner-up for Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Award for Outstanding Cancer Research in the graduate student division for his poster entitled “DNA Helicase B (HELB) safeguards genomic integrity in response to DNA replication stress”.
- Mason McCrury Thompson is a 2nd year graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology track mentored by Dr. Samantha Kendrick. He was a Runner-up for Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Award for Outstanding Cancer Research in the graduate student division for his poster entitled “Activation Induced cytidine Deaminase as a Mutagen on G-quadruplex DNA in Lymphoma”.
- Kirk West is a Postdoctoral Fellow mentored by Dr. Kevin Raney and Dr. Justin Leung. He was the winner of Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Award for Outstanding Cancer Research in postdoc/resident division.