2020 Undergraduate Student Pelotonia Scholars

Major – Public Health

Project – Determination of the Effects of miR-4488 and miR-4286 on Melanoma Migration and Invasion

Mentors – William Carson, MD

Idea Inspiration – The inspiration for my idea was both the direction of translational cancer research in the Carson Laboratory and a personal family history of skin cancer.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Raise $500 and bike 100 miles

Major – Biomedical Science

Project – GABRP’s Role in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Tumor Growth in the Brain

Mentor – Daniel Stover, MD, and Gina Sizemore, PhD

Idea Inspiration – My idea of focusing on Gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor subunit pi's (GABRP) role in breast cancer brain metastasis was actually stumbled upon. While learning to code in the bioinformatics software called R, I discovered a highly expressed gene (GABRP) in two separate datasets containing information on relapse in triple-negative breast cancer patients. Luckily, another researcher here at Ohio State, Dr. Gina Sizemore, had experience with GABRP, and her preliminary studies showed increased metastasis to the brain when GABRP expression was high in vitro. Thus, my project of identifying the role GABRP in breast cancer brain metastases was born.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Raise $750 for cancer research and ride 100 miles

Major – Microbiology (Minor: Medical Humanities)

Project – Assessing the Generalizability of Myelolytic-Virotherapy in Various Pediatric Cancer Models

Mentors – Timothy Cripe, PhD, MD, and Mark Currier, Research Program Manager

Idea Inspiration – The inspiration came from a previous study completed by my lab in which we had complete cures in several mice with Ewing sarcoma.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Running 100 miles in one month

Major – Biomedical Science (Minor: Pharmaceutical Science)

Project – Determining the Role of Genetic Variants Linked to PIK3CA and Metabolic Regulators in Breast Cancer

Mentor – Amanda Toland, PhD

Idea Inspiration – The inspiration for my idea stems from my interest in tumor metabolism. A variety of genetic factors impact tumor growth, and my goal is to examine the mutations that cause these changes to potentially find new targets for breast cancer treatment.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Bike 200 miles throughout the summer and fundraise at least a dollar per mile

Major – Neuroscience

Project – Optimizing Albumin-Conjugated Chemotherapeutics in Pancreatic and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers

Mentor – David Carbone, MD, PhD

Idea Inspiration – Our lab previously found that the protein caveolin-1 (Cav-1) is crucial in mediating the uptake of albumin within tumor cells, and we know that the effectiveness of albumin-bound chemotherapeutics relies on the albumin uptake of tumor cells. The idea that this knowledge could be used to discover more effective treatments for pancreatic and NSCLC lung cancer patients inspired my project, which involves developing a molecular signature to predict which tumors will uptake the most albumin, and in turn, albumin-conjugated drugs.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Walk a mile five days a week with my dog Bear and bike 45 miles

Major – Molecular Genetics

Project – Targeting Tumor-Resident Myeloid Cells Via BTK Inhibition to Enhance Oncolytic Viroimmunotherapy

Mentors – Timothy Cripe, PhD, MD, and Mark Currier, Research Program Manager

Idea Inspiration – My project was inspired by a previous project that I did on myeloid-derived suppressor cells as well as work done by Dr. William Carson at Ohio State and Dr. Timothy Cripe at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Walk 43 miles for the 43 children who are diagnosed with cancer every day

Major – Biology Pre-Med

Project – Development of a Novel Genetic Assay to Interrogate DNA Double-Strand Break Repair Pathways

Mentor – Ruben Petreaca, PhD

Idea Inspiration – Cancer is incredibly diverse and comes in different forms. With a wide variety of symptoms, treatment options continue to grow to account for the diversity that exists. Nevertheless, the initial steps in disease progression are similar for nearly all forms of cancers. When cells replicate, they often make mistakes that accumulate over time to change the genetic makeup of a cell and cause cancer. This project focuses on generating a platform to interrogate mechanisms that drive accumulation of genetic errors.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Because my 20th birthday is in 2020, I’m running/hiking 120 miles

Major – Biomedical Science

Project – Nanoparticle-Mediated Inhibition of the APC/C in Glioblastoma

Mentor – Monica Venere, PhD

Idea Inspiration – My interest in brain cancer research was reinvigorated after my grandmother was misdiagnosed with a brain tumor. Although my family was grateful that my grandmother did not have the disease, the mere possibility of her having it really motivated me to continue with my research and work toward increasing the knowledge and tools available for families impacted by brain cancers.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Help the local food pantry in my hometown

Major – Health Sciences (Minor: Cultural Anthropology)

Project – Biology and Targeting of EGFL7 in Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Mentors – Adrienne Dorrance, PhD, and Lalit Sehgal, PhD

Idea Inspiration – My lab has been investigating EGFL7 for years but mostly in the context of acute myeloid leukemia. When my Principal Investigator and I saw that EGFL7 could possibly play a role in mantle cell lymphoma, we were intrigued and reached out to my Pelotonia co-mentor, who is an expert in lymphoma. My inspiration to work every day comes from the brilliant minds of the scientists that I work with. And of course, I’m inspired by Pelotonia’s goal to make our world cancer-free, as well as the strength of those battling cancer and those who have survived it.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Hike the 12.8 miles of the Olentangy Trail every month of my fellowship with my sister

Major – Psychology (Minor: Pharmaceutical Sciences)

Project – Studying the Effect of Peroxynitrite-Depleting Agent 9076348 in Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells

Mentor – William Carson, MD

Idea Inspiration – Our lab group under Dr. Carson is very interested in myeloid-derived suppressor cells and has conducted research showing how certain drugs can inhibit their function. This project builds upon previous work to help look at the mechanism by which this drug compound inhibits production of peroxynitrite, as well as how it affects tumor growth.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Run 50 miles

Watch as Gabby shares more details about her research project.

Major – Biomedical Science

Project – Elf5: Friend or Foe in Inducing Precancerous Changes Following Abrupt Involution of Mammary Glands

Mentors – Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy, MD, and Sarmila Majumder, PhD

Idea Inspiration – "You have cancer." Over the past eight years, I have been volunteering with patients and their families on the oncology floor of Nationwide Children's Hospital, and I have witnessed just how devastating receiving this diagnosis is. These patients, and my friends whose lives have been altered by a cancer diagnosis, are the inspiration for my project. Research behind risk factors for cancer is so important for the identification of strategies for prevention.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Running and biking 100 miles (and trying to get my 15-year-old brother to do it with me)

Watch as Resham shares more details about her research project.

Major – Chemical Engineering

Project – Probing the Influence of the Tumor Extracellular Matrix on Anti-Angiogenesis Therapy

Mentor – Jonathan Song, PhD

Idea Inspiration – I have been into running and track my whole life. When I was younger, one of the track coaches died while fighting cancer, and this led me to focus my abilities in this area.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Half marathon

Major – Molecular Genetics (Minor: Clinical Psychology)

Project – Investigating Mitochondrial Tu Translation Elongation Factor (TUFM) in RB Deficient Cells

Mentor – Wayne Miles, PhD

Idea Inspiration – The project comes from the results of the first project I started when I was a freshman. I was working with Drosophila to identify RNA binding proteins that would be good potential targets in cancer cells.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Raise $250, ride 25 miles, lose eight pounds and go back to volunteering at Star House, a homeless shelter for youths

Watch as Rahi shares more details about his research project.

Major – Biology (Minor: Music)

Project – Pre-Clinical Evaluation of the Oral AKT Inhibitor ARQ 751 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Mentors – John Byrd, MD, and Erin Hertlein, PhD

Idea Inspiration – I was inspired to pursue this project through a conversation I had with my PI, Dr. Erin Hertlein. She was telling me about a new set of targeted cancer therapies that were being developed that targeted the signaling protein AKT. I was intrigued about how these new drugs would work in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as they have not been tested much on AML up to this point. After this, I started designing my project in the hopes that one day I could help bring this type of cancer therapy to patients suffering from AML.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Bike 100 miles

Major – Biology

Project – Determining the Role of Group 3 Innate Lymphoid Cells in Creating a Pro-Tumorigenic Microenvironment

Mentors – Bethany Mundy-Bosse, PhD, and Aharon Freud, MD, PhD

Idea Inspiration – My mentors’ expertise in the field of innate lymphoid cell (ILC) research was a significant factor in my decision to pursue this project. For more than two years, I have had the privilege of aiding in their efforts to determine how acute myeloid leukemia dysregulates normal ILC function. My work is motivated by my grandmother’s battle with another form of leukemia. I hope, through my project, that we will gain additional insights into how leukemia can disrupt ILC development so we will be able to develop ILC-derived immunotherapies to cancer.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Riding my bike for 50 miles

Major – Biology (Minor: Nonprofit Management)

Project – Investigating the Mechanism of OSU-2S Mediated SLAMF7 Gene Upregulation: A Novel Target in CLL

Mentor – Raj Muthusamy, DVM, PhD

Idea Inspiration – The overarching aim of this project is to explore the mechanistic basis of OSU-2S mediated SLAMF7 upregulation, which will pave the path for the rational combination of OSU-2S with SLAMF7-directed CLL therapies.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Spending 20 hours a week engaged in research related to my project on chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Major – Biology

Project – Unraveling the Regulatory Roles of MO25 Protein Pmo25 in Late Stages of Fission Yeast Cytokinesis

Mentor – Jian-Qiu Wu, PhD

Idea Inspiration – I had been assisting on a project investigating the roles of MO25 family protein Pmo25 in cytokinesis in the fission yeast model system. In humans, MO25 proteins are involved in cancer; however, their specific roles in regulating cytokinesis remain unknown. Additionally, the lab I worked in had done previous studies on Ync13, which regulates the late stages of fission yeast cytokinesis and whose animal homologues are also involved in cancer. Data from recent experiments provide evidence for a relationship between Pmo25 and Ync13, thus I proposed a project to investigate the roles of Pmo25 in regulating cytokinesis by studying the regulatory roles of Pmo25 on Ync13.

My Pelotonia 2020 – Virtual rider