Meet Karina Kinghorn
Major: Biochemistry
Graduation Year: May 2017 Field of Study: Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center Abstract: Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers and the fifth leading cause of all cancer related deaths. The scarcity of available treatment makes the development of small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapies particularly needed. siRNA delivery systems such as dendrimer nanoparticles (DNPs) have been developed to evade the physiological barriers preventing delivery to target cells. DNPs have proven useful due to their capability to encapsulate siRNA, their optimal size, minimal toxicity, and high uptake into tumor cells. There is limited knowledge on the uptake mechanism of nanoparticles, and an increased understanding of cellular uptake and intracellular dynamics would allow us to further optimize DNP activity and specificity. In this study, we investigated the mechanism and silencing ability of DNPs in commercially available IGROV1 and patient derived LCOV2 and LCOV6 ovarian cancer cell lines. We delivered pan-toxic siRNA targeting ubiquitin B (siUBB) and measured the viability in the presence of various endocytosis inhibitors. We then used flow cytometry and confocal microscopy to quantify the uptake of DNPs in the presence of inhibitors in IGROV1, LCOV2, and LCOV4 cell lines. The use of bafilomycin-A1 showed that an acidic endosome is important for efficacy. The use of methyl-β-cyclodextrin, EIPA, genistein, and chlorpromazine show that the pathway of endocytosis is cell line specific and that multiple pathways are utilized. |
My Experience:
I was very excited to be a part of the Green Fellowship because I saw it as a great opportunity to immerse myself deeper into research and see if it was truly the career path that I wanted to follow. I joined the Siegwart lab in the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, and my passion for developing novel drugs to treat diseases such as cancer was confirmed. However, working full time in a lab made me realize just how stressful and lonely research can be at times. With the friendship that I developed with my postdoc, I made it through. The Green Fellowship has helped me realize that I would like to move away from academia and into industry. After grad school, I hope to work for a pharmaceutical company to develop new and life changing medicines.
I was very excited to be a part of the Green Fellowship because I saw it as a great opportunity to immerse myself deeper into research and see if it was truly the career path that I wanted to follow. I joined the Siegwart lab in the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, and my passion for developing novel drugs to treat diseases such as cancer was confirmed. However, working full time in a lab made me realize just how stressful and lonely research can be at times. With the friendship that I developed with my postdoc, I made it through. The Green Fellowship has helped me realize that I would like to move away from academia and into industry. After grad school, I hope to work for a pharmaceutical company to develop new and life changing medicines.
The Green Fellowship is a time of figuring out who you want to be and attending lectures can help you immensely with that. You have the chance to listen to some of the most well known researchers from around the world speak and you may discover a passion you never knew you had.
My Advice:
You will be working with some of the greatest researchers around so take advantage of it! Get to know the people in your lab and ask for their advice on everything from scientific to personal issues. Also, the Green Fellowship is a time of figuring out who you want to be and attending lectures can help you immensely with that. You have the chance to listen to some of the most well known researchers from around the world speak and you may discover a passion you never knew you had. Also, get a graduate student or postdoc to drag you along to some of the career seminars they go to because that was how my interest in industry really grew. It may be a very overwhelming semester for you, but just take one day at a time and learn from your experiences! |
|