Isabella Zhang spent her summer break working in a lab at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences researching a DNA inhibitor that may help reduce cancer cells in gliomas in the future.
On July 29, Zhang, a junior at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, had an opportunity to share her research at the 13th annual Arkansas Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium at UAMS in Little Rock. The symposium provided students from 36 colleges and universities as well as seven high schools from across the United States an opportunity to present their research.
Zhang worked this summer in the laboratory of Dr. Alicia Byrd, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Thanks to funds from the ASMSA Foundation, Zhang was able to live in student housing on the UAMS campus this summer, making her summer research possible.
Her research focused on a compound that may possibly inhibit high expression levels of DNA helicase B (HELB). High levels of HELB reduce overall survival chances of patients with gliomas, the most common primary tumors of the brain and spinal cord, according to Zhang’s research. A HELB inhibitor could be a valuable therapeutic target for gliomas, but no HELB inhibitors have been discovered.
Zhang is the first ASMSA sophomore to work in a UAMS lab after informally auditing the junior Capstone class last year. Byrd has previously hosted ASMSA students in her lab working on similar research, including Luis Vidal of the Class of 2026, Carmella Lewis of the Class of 2025 and Hannah Taylor of the Class of 2024.
Dr. Whitney Holden and Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak, who both serve as a Life Sciences Instructor of Excellence at ASMSA, helped connect Zhang with Byrd. Holden said Zhang showed early enthusiasm for research that shows great potential.
“Isabella has demonstrated remarkable initiative and scientific maturity, becoming the first ASMSA sophomore to conduct summer research at UAMS before formally beginning her junior Capstone year,” Holden said. “The best part is that this is only the beginning for Isabella! Thanks to her hard work and scientific curiosity as well as the resources ASMSA provides, she is well positioned to continue doing rigorous research with the potential to improve health in our communities.”
Holden cited the ASMSA Foundation’s support for Zhang’s summer housing and the institutional support from the Residential Life department of providing twice-weekly transportation to UAMS for Zhang and other students this year to continue research at UAMS.
“It is a big team effort here at ASMSA to support our emerging young scientists,” Holden said.
The symposium was sponsored by the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with support from the UAMS Graduate School, the IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program, the Center for Molecular Interactions in Cancer, the Central Arkansas Chapter of Sigma XI and MedChemExpress.