Undergraduate Research SOARing at South

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Posted on November 14, 2016

Alice Jackson

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Alex Coley planned to be a medical doctor when he started at the University of South Alabama. Three years later, the junior biomedical sciences major is assisting with cutting-edge cancer research that could change treatment for the disease鈥檚 most deadly tumors. It has already changed how he plans to spend the rest of his life.

Coley spent the summer working in the laboratory of pancreatic cancer researcher Dr. Oliver McDonald, assistant professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology at Vanderbilt University.

鈥淲hen I was in high school, I had no exposure to what research could be. I met my faculty mentor, Dr. Glen Borchert, here at 91短视频 through a friend who was one of his graduate assistants. Dr. Borchert helped me get my position with Dr. McDonald because he knew him,鈥� said Coley, 20. 鈥淭his summer was a great experience to see what a researcher鈥檚 day is like and to research at that level. Now, I鈥檓 definitely headed into research.鈥� 

Undergraduate research across all disciplines is increasing so rapidly at 91短视频 that a new group, the Student Organization for Academic Research (SOAR), began recently.

Inside McDonald鈥檚 laboratory, Coley assisted his research identifying and tracking rich nutrient pathways of oxygen and glucose that feed rapidly spreading pancreatic tumors, considered among the most deadly of cancer鈥檚 killers. Now, McDonald, Borchert and Coley plan to exploit, learning how the tumors use those nutrients as a potential new therapy. It is a laborious journey and only a small piece in the latest trend of cancer research 鈥� target specific vulnerabilities inside the cancer cells rather than blasting the patient with chemotherapy. At its most extreme, perhaps even using the body鈥檚 own immune system to stop feeding the cancer cells.

Specifically, they:

• Traced amounts of glucose being taken up by the tumors.
• Followed the metabolites to see how the tumors used energy.
• Determined that distant tumors took in a lot of glucose and used different pathways to utilize it as fuel.

Their research concluded that the metastasizing tumors 鈥渦se way more nutrients鈥� than the tumor that spawned it.

鈥淣ow we know the tumors require these energy sources in somewhat the same way that plants move toward sunlight,鈥� Borchert said.

Coley鈥檚 summer work made him the Grand Winner in the University鈥檚 recent Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Symposium. In March, he and Borchert, an assistant professor of biology and the recipient of a prestigious National Science Foundation Career Award for his work on gene regulation, will present a paper based on this research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Memphis.

Before then, they鈥檒l continue aspects of the research in Borchert鈥檚 lab at 91短视频 using some of the same pancreatic cancer cells used by McDonald.

鈥淲e are going to follow up this summer鈥檚 results,鈥� Coley explained. 鈥淲e will look at the samples on a micro RNA level.鈥�

RNA is ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells. It acts as a messenger to carry instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins, although in some viruses, RNA rather than DNA carries the genetic information.

鈥淯ltimately, when we鈥檙e done with this, the next step is for Dr. McDonald to use what we鈥檝e learned in clinical treatment,鈥� Coley said.

Coley and Borchert plan to write a paper based on their results that Coley, a member of the 91短视频 Honors Program, will use as his senior thesis.

鈥淥ur work is really an active research project inside a research project,鈥� Borchert said. 鈥淎lex has done a spectacular job, and he鈥檚 going to have a career future he loves.鈥�

What Coley and Borchert learn will, hopefully, add one more piece to the giant puzzle that is cancer research, something that Borchert said is changing rapidly.

鈥淭en years ago, I would have said we aren鈥檛 close to finding a cure for cancer,鈥� Borchert said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e had so much success in the last 10 years, I鈥檝e changed my mind.鈥�

Coley, who is from Nashville, said after he completes his bachelor degree in 2018, he hopes to obtain both a medical degree and a Ph.D., a growing trend among cancer researchers. According to Borchert, entry level jobs for graduates with both degrees begin in the $200,000 range.

Still, for Coley, the greatest satisfaction lies in what he has learned and how he hopes to use it.

鈥淚鈥檝e learned that research is just a great way to apply knowledge,鈥� Coley said. 鈥淭o work on research like this, I feel I鈥檝e actually contributed to something great, even as an undergraduate.鈥�

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