My Research
As an undergraduate student, my passion for research is driven by a deep curiosity and a desire to contribute to the advancement of knowledge within medicine and public health. Research allows me to explore topics in-depth, engage with complex problems, and discover innovative solutions. I've been involved in multiple research endeavors across various disciplines and topics, with my most notable being in the Zhe Ma Lab studying Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV).
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My engagement with undergraduate research is rooted in the following key aspects:
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1) Personal Growth
Undergraduate research has been a transformative journey of personal growth, enriching my professional development in profound ways. Through these experiences, I've honed my critical thinking and problem-solving skills, learning to approach issues with creativity. These endeavors have also nurtured my communication skills, enabling me to articulate complex ideas and findings. Beyond academics, these experiences have fostered resilience, adaptability, and a growth mindset.
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2) Mentorship and Collaboration
Research offers the opportunity to work closely with experienced faculty mentors. The guidance I've received through these collaborations not only strengthens my research capabilities but also provides invaluable mentorship for my professional journey. Throughout my experiences, I've been guided by esteemed faculty within the University of Florida College of Medicine and Ph.D. candidates. This unwavering support has fostered my confidence and allowed me to develop wet lab skills.
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3) Interdisciplinary Exploration and Experiential Learning
Participating in research allows me to use a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving. This aligns with my value of embracing diverse perspectives and seeking holistic solutions. Bridging the gaps between different fields is essential in medicine since professionals often rely on collaboration. Connecting the knowledge I learn from my public health classes to the experiential learning during research and student activities truly excites and motivates me.
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Summary
Overall, my passion for undergraduate research drives me to embrace challenges, seek personal growth, and pursue excellence in my academic journey. My various research experiences across multiple disciplines have given me skills ranging from qualitative and ethnography-based to quantitative and wet lab techniques. I believe that research is not only a path to academic success but also a gateway to making a positive impact on society.
Research Experiences
May 2022 - Present
cGAS-STING and Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV)
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Dept. of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, UF College of Medicine
Mentors: Dr. Zhe Ma and graduate student Tiffany Nelson
Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a gammaherpesvirus (Haddad et al., 2021) responsible for multiple malignancies such as Kaposi sarcoma, multicentric Castleman disease, and primary effusion lymphoma (Goncalves et al., 2018). KSHV infection is lifelong with no available treatment or vaccines, and poses a high risk to immunocompromised individuals (Fukumoto et al., 2011). Critical to the detection of KSHV infection is the cGAS-STING pathway (Ni et al., 2018) and its subsequent activation of type 1 interferons (Cai et al., 2014), which has been shown to inhibit KSHV lytic replication. STING exhibits both anti-viral and anti-tumor responses (Jiang et al., 2020), showing promise as a protein of interest to study for the development of therapeutic treatment against KSHV.
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A specific agonist our lab focuses on is diamidobenzimidazole (diABZI) which has been shown to be effective in mouse models of colon cancer (Ramanjulu et al., 2018 ), protect against SARS-COVID-2 infection, and induce PANoptosis (Zhu et al., 2021). To assess the effectiveness of the agonist, we will evaluate cell viability and viral replication using CTG assay, immunoblotting, RT-qPCR, and RNA-sequencing. My project focuses on STING agonist diABZI and its effect on Primary Effusion Lymphoma cell growth and viability in vitro. I've presented my research at two symposiums, published in the UF Journal of Undergraduate Research, and completed a senior thesis. Funding was provided through the University Scholars Program at the University of Florida within the College of Medicine.
March 2022 – May 2022
Analysis of the GP120 Protein in Relation to HIV and SIV
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Cancer & Genetics Research Complex, UF College of Medicine
Mentor: Dr. David Ostrov
Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are closely related parasites that invade host cells and use transcription to reproduce, creating harmful effects. The difference between SIV and HIV is that SIV is often non-pathogenic and produces benign infections in its natural hosts (Williams & Burdo, 2009). However, the similarity of SIV and HIV allows for effective study to predict the pathogenic nature of HIV.
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We investigated the protein GP120 and its binding to mutations in SIV molecules that can be closely mirrored onto HIV molecules. Mutations in SIV were mapped using the software PyMOL to examine the protein binding patterns and sites of the GP120 protein structure. Read more about this research experience here.
January 2021 – August 2021
Impact of COVID-19 on first-generation college students’ financial literacy
UF Dept. of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Mentor: Dr. Larry Forthun
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has altered financial life across all demographics, particularly for vulnerable groups such as first-generation college students (FGCS). As a population, young adults tend to have poor financial literacy with parental income and knowledge of investing having significant impacts (Lusardi et al., 2010). Previous research has demonstrated the financial strain and lack of financial literacy prevalent among FGCS (Rehr et al., 2022). COVID-19 has exacerbated these problems to unknown degrees among different subgroups of FGCS. The purpose of this study is to understand how COVID-19 has impacted these subgroups.
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We explored this strain through a Chi-Square analysis of a survey administered to 70 FGCS students (74.3% female). Our analysis compared ethnic group and gender differences against financial hardship, loss of employment, housing insecurity, food insecurity, concern about family, and increased interest in financial literacy education.
Contrary to our expectation, only limited disparities arose based on ethnicity with significant differences based on gender. This is likely due to the specificity of the survey: it was only administered to FGCS with similar economic status.
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However, our findings indicate that financial hardship, food insecurity, and concern about family were statistically significant based on gender, with female students reporting an increased concern. The loss of employment and housing insecurity were statistically significant based on ethnic group, with white students reporting increased concern over loss of employment and Latinx and Hispanic students reporting no housing concern. These results illustrate the effects of stress from COVID-19 on different FGCS subgroups. Implications from this study are the need for greater financial and emotional support for FGCS from their respective universities.
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This research study was conducted as part of the University Research Scholars Program and was presented at the University of Florida Spring 2021 Undergraduate Research Symposium. View my presentation here.
References
Cai, X., Chiu, Y. H., & Chen, Z. J. (2014). The cGAS-cGAMP-STING pathway of cytosolic DNA sensing and signaling. Molecular Cell, 54(2), 289–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2014.03.040
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Fukumoto, H., Kanno, T., Hasegawa, H., & Katano, H. (2011). Pathology of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection. Frontiers, 2, 175. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2011.00175
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Goncalves, P. H., Ziegelbauer, J., Uldrick, T. S., & Yarchoan, R. (2017). Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus-associated cancers and related diseases. Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS, 12(1), 47–56. https://doi.org/10.1097/COH.0000000000000330
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Lusardi, A., Mitchell, O. S., & Curto, V. (2010). Financial literacy among the young. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44(2), 358-380.
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Ni, G., Ma, Z., & Damania, B. (2018). cGAS and STING: At the intersection of DNA and RNA virus-sensing networks. PLoS Pathog, 14(8): e1007148. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007148
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Ramanjulu, J. M., Pesiridis, G. S., Yang, J., Concha, N., Singhaus, R., Zhang, S. Y., Tran, J. L., Moore, P., Lehmann, S., Eberl, H. C., Muelbaier, M., Schneck, J. L., Clemens, J., Adam, M., Mehlmann, J., Romano, J., Morales, A., Kang, J., Leister, L., Graybill, T. L., & Bertin, J. (2018). Design of amidobenzimidazole STING receptor agonists with systemic activity. Nature, 564(7736), 439–443. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0705-y
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Rehr, T.I., Regan, E.P., Abukar, Z., & Meshelemiah, J.C.A. (2022). Financial Wellness of First-Generation College Students. Department of Education, 40(1), 90-105. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1336579.pdf
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Williams, K. C., & Burdo, T. H. (2009). HIV and SIV infection: the role of cellular restriction and immune responses in viral replication and pathogenesis. APMIS, 117(5-6), 400–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0463.2009.02450.x
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​​Zhu, Q., Zhang, Y., Wang, L., Yao, X., Wu, D., Cheng, J., Pan, X., Liu, H., Yan, Z., & Gao, L. (2021). Inhibition of coronavirus infection by a synthetic STING agonist in primary human airway system. Antiviral Research, 187, 105015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.antiviral.2021.105015