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.”
Shuttleworth chose the rigorous M.D./Ph.D. program at UAMS with the goal of becoming both a physician and cancer researcher. She has completed the first two years of medical school and the first of an anticipated three to four years of predoctoral research toward a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). She will then complete the final two years of medical school before continuing with postgraduate clinical and research training.
“I have wanted to pursue medicine for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until college that I discovered how much I enjoy research,” said Shuttleworth, who is from Beebe and earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry at Harding University in Searcy.
The impact of cancer on her own family placed her on her current path.
“I never got to meet my grandfather, who died from colon cancer before I was born, and I watched my grandmother fight triple-negative breast cancer while I was in high school,” Shuttleworth said. “Those experiences inspired me to pursue a career in oncology where I can care for others facing the same challenges and work to develop new immunotherapies for cancer.”
“My fellowship research focuses on understanding how an enzyme called RNF166, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, can enhance the function and persistence of cancer-fighting T-cells by preventing T-cell exhaustion, which is a major barrier in treating solid tumors,” Shuttleworth said. “By using advanced proteomics, our research aims to uncover novel mechanisms and therapeutic strategies to improve the effectiveness of adoptive T-cell therapies such as CAR-T.”
UAMS is home to the NIH-funded IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics, the only facility of its kind in the country. Proteomics is the large-scale, technology-driven study of proteins to better understand disease mechanisms, rapidly identify disease biomarkers and develop new drug targets. Tackett, who is also a distinguished professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, directs the center.
Koss established his laboratory for highly specialized cancer research as the state’s first recipient of an elite NIH Director’s Early Independence Award in 2021. He previously received an NCI Ruth L. Kirschtein NRSA award for predoctoral students, while he was a graduate student working with Tackett in 2019.
“Dr. Koss is pioneering numerous strategies to improve the efficacy of immunotherapies, and he provides a rich and vibrant atmosphere for training within his laboratory,” noted Tackett.
“I am incredibly fortunate to have an outstanding mentor like Dr. Koss,” Shuttleworth said. “I joined his lab as a research technician before starting medical school, and from the beginning, he was enthusiastic about helping me apply for this fellowship early.
“I greatly admire Dr. Koss for his determination, creativity and success in building a successful research program,” she said. “I hope to build a career that mirrors that impact by leading a lab dedicated to advancing cancer immunotherapy, guiding future scientists and contributing to meaningful progress in translational research.
“I’m also grateful to Dr. Tackett for welcoming me into the proteomics core facility during my time as a medical student and his willingness to serve as my co-sponsor for this fellowship,” Shuttleworth added. Having the opportunity to work in the core facility early in my training allowed me to build valuable technical skills in mass spectrometry and proteomics. His mentorship and support were instrumental in shaping both my research direction and the preparation of my fellowship project.”
While Shuttleworth was the first M.D./Ph.D. student at UAMS to receive a Ruth L. Kirschtein award from the National Cancer Institute, additional UAMS learners have received similar NRSA awards from the NIH in recent years. In 2023, M.D./Ph.D. student Ravi Sun received an NRSA F30 fellowship award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Graduate students Hayley Sabol and Katherine Deck received F31 NRSA fellowship awards designated for predoctoral students in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
