In an interview with The News-Letter, sophomore Angelina Dong recounted her experiences as a Woodrow Wilson Undergraduate Research Fellow at the Hoke lab under Dr. Ahmet Hoke at the Hopkins School of Medicine. Currently majoring in Neuroscience and Medicine, Science and the Humanities, Dong joined her research lab in the September of her freshman year. Her project is titled “MAP4K4 Inhibition as a Promising Treatment for Chemo-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Effects of MAP4K4 Inhibition on Paclitaxel Antineoplastic Capabilities.”
Peripheral neuropathy is categorized as the damage to the peripheral nervous system, nerves outside the spinal cord and brain. As of 2022, 2.4% of the world population experiences this disease, with the number increasing to 8% in older age groups. Current forms of treatment range from exercise and physical therapy to surgery, depending on the severity of the damage. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) among the hands and feet is one of the common side effects found in patients undergoing chemotherapy. One example is paclitaxel, a chemotherapy drug used to treat cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer. Categorized as an antineoplastic drug, paclitaxel treats malignant cancers through preventing proliferation and growth, eventually triggering apoptosis.
MAP4K4 is a gene and a Ste20 protein kinase that plays a role in regulating a multitude of cellular functions in eukaryotes. Regarding CIPN, MAP4K4 may play a role in the JNK neuronal stress response pathway that eventually leads to axonal degeneration in neurons. Dong’s research will help determine if the MAP4K4 inhibitor she’s investigating can be used to treat CIPN in patients.
“MAP4K4 overexpression is associated with a poorer prognosis for pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, lung adenocarcinoma,” Dong explained. “A research associate at the Hoke Lab discovered a MAP4K4 inhibitor that can potentially inhibit axonal degeneration in CIPN. My goal is to see whether this MAP4K4 inhibitor interferes with the chemotherapy’s [anti-tumor] activity, or if it may synergistically interact with chemotherapy to eliminate cancer cells.”
This involves treating cancer cells with the MAP4K4 inhibitor treatment and with the chemotherapy, measuring the cell viability along with the efficacy of the chemotherapy within the different experimental conditions. Dong shared that the first portion of her project revolves around in vitro experiments before moving on to in vivo mice studies.
Dong was able to learn about Undergraduate Research, Scholarly & Creative Activity (URSCA) through the Student Involvement Fair and asked her principal investigator for his support applying to the Woodrow Wilson Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program.
“I started meeting with URSCA whenever they would host drop-in hours. I met current researchers and URSCA staff. Being able to speak with them — asking questions about the structure of the grant and having them look over certain sections I had written… attending those sessions and asking them for help when I needed it was critical in my writing process.”
Dong offered specific tips for the URSCA application process.
“There’s a lot of background and literature review required to formulate your research project,” she said. “Meeting with the URSCA staff helps a lot with the process of outlining the grant, since there’s a very specific structure to follow. Also, one main piece of advice I have is to really try to show your passion through your writing; it’s a very structured research grant proposal, but there should be elements of you included in there too”
Future career plans for Dong included either applying to MD or MD/PhD programs to continue research that focuses on both neuroscience and oncology.
When asked about advice for aspiring undergraduate researchers, Dong emphasized the importance of maintaining an open line of communication with one’s lab members.
“Make sure you are seeing them, meeting with them regularly, getting to know them as people as well as researchers. Have the initiative to take that first step sometimes… at the end of the day, you’re not just in the lab to do your experiments and go home. A lab is a team environment, so you should strive to be a part of the research team.”
