Ahana’s Undergraduate Summer Bursary in Leukaemia
Ahana Mitra, a medicine student, undertook a Big C funded 8-week undergraduate summer project in Prof. Stuart Rushworth’s group based in the Bob Champion Research and Education (BCRE) building, UEA.
Her project was on chemotherapy resistance in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. This allowed her to gain experience in cancer research in outside of clinics and in a laboratory environment.
The current problem
There are 2,900 new cases of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) each year in the UK (Cancer Research UK, 2019). Currently, AML has many treatment options including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and stem cell transplantation, which are not always successful. Due to potential relapse or resistance to treatment, new treatments and other drug options are still being explored.
The research
The Rushworth lab has shown previously that cancer (AML) cells can take mitochondria – the powerhouse of the cell – from surrounding healthy cells for its own use. When they are used up, they transport these mitochondria out through small cellular compartments called vesicles. The aim was to stop this transport. Thus, the mitochondria can build up and lead to cell death in the cancer cells.
Throughout her project, Ahana developed an experiment to detect vesicle formation in AML cells. To then test over 50 drugs to see which was most effective. She found that a drug called Pu-dz8, showed a drastic effect on the AML cells. To improve our understanding of this drug’s mechanism and effectiveness as a cancer treatment; she remarks that, ‘[this is] an exciting new finding that will need to be investigated further’.
In a nutshell, a drug was found to affect cancer cells, specifically AML cells, which may offer a new treatment opportunity upon further research.
Personal Experience
This studentship has helped Ahana learn a multitude of lab skills. From pipetting to more complex techniques, such as, cell culture, flow cytometry and running biochemical assays (experiments).
‘This studentship has allowed me to develop a new skillset that I would not have had the chance to develop otherwise as a medical student.’
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