Microbiology Commons^™

The Changing Tumor Microenvironment Of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Mackenzie Hansen, Kim O'Neill, Qin Zhou, Yoko Derose, Magdalena Kovacsovics, Benjamin Brintz, Benjamin L. Witt, Siwen Hu-Lieskovan

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related death in the United States, and non-small cell (NSCLC) is the most common type. An increasingly prevalent treatment in the last few years for NSCLC has been immunotherapy. However, for immunotherapy to be the most effective, we need to have a better understanding of how the immune system interacts with cancer in all stages. Specifically, we need to know where the immune cells reside, how they interact with each other, and how these populations change as the disease progresses. To define the tumor microenvironment, we stained 27 whole tumor slides with …

Targeting Hsp90: A Novel Approach To Combat Synovial Sarcomas, Peyton Worley, Jared Barrott, Matt Kirkham, Drake Heithoff

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Synovial sarcomas are rare muscle cancers that have very few targeted therapies. HSP90 is a protein upregulated in this form of cancer and many others. A screening of this cancer was done in vitro, using FDA-approved drugs, showing that HSP90 could be a promising treatment option. A novel HSP90 inhibitor was applied to human and mouse synovial sarcoma cell lines and was analyzed after receiving a drug treatment for HSP90.

Engineering And Characterization Of Antibodies Against Cancer Biomarker Thymidine Kinase 1, Joshua Bennett, Kiara V. Whitley, Christopher J. Haynie, Kim O'Neill

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2023

Engineered antibodies used in immunotherapies have been increasingly successful due to their ability to uniquely target cells expressing specific cancer antigens Thymidine Kinase 1 (TK 1 is a DNA salvage enzyme typically found in the cytosol However, in certain types of cancer, TK 1 is surface expressed, making it a unique cancer biomarker By identifying antibodies with a high binding affinity for TK 1 we can target cancer cells expressing TK 1 on their surface Using cell sorting and a yeast display library expressing 109 human single chain antibody fragments, we have isolated ten unique single chain antibodies scFvs that …

The Chemotherapeutic Potential Of Resveratrol-Based Treatments, Connor Peck, Kim O'Neill

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Cancer is one of the most prevalent and deadly diseases in the world. In 2012 alone, there were approximately 14 million new cases of cancer and over 8 million cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite extensive research in past decades, the burden of cancer continues to increase.

One of the most common treatments for cancer is chemotherapy, the use of various chemical substances that exhibit anti-cancer activity. Unfortunately, chemotherapy can be quite toxic and often produces inadequate results. There remains a great need for improved chemotherapeutic treatment strategies in order to improve outcomes for cancer patients.

The purpose of my project was …

Cellular Mechanism Of Thymidine Kinase 1 Secretion, Wei Meng, Kim O'Neill

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Cancer remains the second most common cause of death in the US, accounting for nearly 1 of every 4 deaths. Studies have shown that the early detection of cancer leads to better patient prognosis and a greater five-year survival rate. [1] Diagnostic and prognostic markers play a key role in classifying tumors and determining the best treatment plan for a patient. Among these biomarkers, Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) has been studied extensively, primarily as a diagnostic biomarker for a variety of cancer types. TK1 plays a role in regulating the intracellular thymidine pools throughout the cell cycle, and thus regulates …

The Role Of Viral Interleukin-6 In Tumor Development Of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Lymphomas, Rebecca A. Fullwood

Theses and Dissertations

Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is a cancer-causing virus, primarily affecting AIDS patients. KSHV is found in 3-10% of the U.S. population and can cause a range of cancers in the highly immunosuppressed; these cancers include Kaposi's sarcoma, pleural effusion lymphoma (PEL) and multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). The current techniques for treating these cancers are relatively ineffective, largely due to their inefficiency at targeting tumors formed by the infection. One protein produced by KSHV, the viral homolog of interleukin-6 (vIL-6), is thought to play a major role in tumor development post-infection. Here a novel animal model is implemented to study the …

Role Of The Viral Lana Protein In Human Cancers Caused By Kaposi’S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus, Gregory Low, Brad Berges

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of our experiment was to ascertain the importance of the LANA protein encoded by the Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV). LANA is believed to be essential for the survival of KSHV in human cells. KSHV causes a variety of cancers including Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), multicentric Castleman’s disease (MCD), and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). These cancers most often appear in the immunocompromised and can be fatal. The mortality rate of PEL is ~60% after one year, KS 5-year mortality rate is ~30%, and MCD 5-year mortality rate is 35%. No known vaccine or anti-viral drug treatment is currently licensed for …

Antioxidants In Cancer Research And Prevention: Assay Comparison, Structure-Function Analysis, And Food Product Analysis, Andrew Robert Garrett

Theses and Dissertations

Recent epidemiological studies have suggested that the development and progression of several chronic diseases may be initiated or augmented by oxidative stress. Reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species react readily with and can damage nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. While biological systems are equipped antioxidant defenses to cope with oxidative stress, oxidative damage may still occur when oxidative stress overwhelms antioxidant defenses. This damage, if left unchecked, may lead to a variety of degenerative diseases, including heart disease, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and cancer. Several assays have been designed to describe the antioxidant activity of various phytochemicals, vitamins, and …