2023 Edition
“Though we tremble before uncertain futures, may we meet illness, death, and adversity with strength. May we dance in the face of our fears.”
Gloria Anzaldúa
The Editor's Take: March Newsletter
Welcome back from spring break AMWA! I hope you all had a restful break and are ready to end this semester strong! For this edition, your writers bring to you topics on AI and Healthcare, Virus-Like Particle Advancement in Medicine, the Gut Microbiome, and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. In addition to these articles, we also bring to you two spotlight pieces. In the first piece, we highlight two AMWA members, Alina Ahmed and Induja Asthigiri. Read along to learn about their pre-health journey! The second piece is a spotlight on Gertrude Belle Elion, an American pharmacist and scientist, known for revolutionalizing drug development.
As always, check out our Study playlist for this month! If you have any topics, ideas, or your own pieces of writing that you would like to submit, please feel free to email me at Tanya.Baiju@utdallas.edu.
- Tanya
AMWA Members Spotlight
By: Siya Kumar and Alyssa Chiev
For this newsletter, we would like to showcase some members that stand out at AMWA UTD. Get to know Alina Ahmed (our events coordinator) a junior biology major, and Induja Asthigiri a freshman biochemistry major! It was exciting to get to interview these ladies and to be able to get to know them.
Alina Ahmed
Why AMWA?
Initially, Alina joined AMWA because of the welcoming environment, service opportunities, socials, and professional speakers. Additionally, the first round of officers put in a lot of work when everything was online due to COVID.
Favorite Memories from AMWA
One of Alina’s favorite memories from AMWA would be the tie-dye social because everyone had something to go home with. Another one would be the Friendsgiving social because it is fun to see all of the AMWA members come together, take a break from school, and destress. Lastly, Alina enjoys the guest speakers. “They always inspire me over and over and the journey
is long but they have shown it was worth it.”
Extracurriculars
Alina is involved with quite a few extracurriculars on and off campus. On campus, Alina is the AMWA Event’s Coordinator, she is a part of the Student Union, and the Activity Board (SUAAB) committee. Outside of campus, she is a mentor for Girl Connect and a part of The Longest Day Committee for the Alzheimer's Association.
Future Health Career
Ever since the 8th grade Alina wanted to be involved in surgery! She wants to be a general surgeon or get involved in emergency surgery.
If you could go back in time and give your freshman self any advice what would it be?
“I would tell myself to take a step back and look at what you are doing because during covid it was foggy for me”, she would have more organization and have made herself a priority, “Whatever I was doing harmed more than helped.”
Favorite Way to Study
To Alina, location matters, depending on the subject, the location can range from her room, the library, to a study room with a whiteboard, to Starbucks, or any sort of cafe.
“I like to go through about 10 slides and go to a study room and be able to teach it back to show an understanding."
Favorite Way to Destress
Alina’s favorite way to destress is to go out and try new food with her boyfriend and friends! She also likes to take naps with her cat and watch shows. Some of the shows that Alina has watched include Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Ginny and Georgia, Shameless, and Law and Order.
Any tips on how to be a strong grad school applicant?
“Learn how to be vulnerable by putting yourself out there, when I say that, I mean to be receptive to others around you, also come out of your comfort zone and fight for opportunities, be passionate, and be able to showcase yourself. Make yourself the main character!”
Go-to Drink
Iced Matcha Latte with Sweetness!
Induja Asthigiri
About Induja
Induja was born in Arkansas and at 11 years old she moved to India where she attended an international school. The big jump from Arkansas to India was significant for Induja because she got to experience diversity and built up her work ethic. Being the first to pursue medicine in her family, Induja is looking forward to her journey in medicine.
Favorite AMWA Memories
Induja enjoys socials because she gets to meet people with similar aspirations and from diverse backgrounds. “Hearing everyone's story and why they chose to be in AMWA” is why Induja enjoys attending socials.
Extracurriculars
Induja is an undergraduate research assistant (10 hours a week) for the Gassensmith lab on campus. This is a lab through the Clarks Scholars Research Program. The lab aims to find a vaccine against nicotine addiction using bacteriophage Qbeta, a virus-like particle that can
be conjugated on the interior and exterior. Her project specifically focuses on increasing the yield. Other extracurriculars include becoming an orientation leader for the upcoming summer, Indian classical dancing (4 hours a week), and becoming a scribe.
Future Health Career
Induja decided early on that she would like to pursue a career as a doctor, specifically specializing in cardiology. Induja knows people in her personal life who have heart complications which is why she chose this route. Another option she considered before cardiology was neuro-surgery.
If you could go back in time and give yourself any advice about college, what would it be?
“Be more open in a professional sense, talking to professors, making more meaningful relationships with people in professional life."
Study Tips
While talking to Induja about study tips she stressed staying organized and planning out important dates helps her stay on track. Induja said making a list for a specific class based on the time frame, setting a deadline for specific topics, and mainly studying independently and then group study are some of her study tips.
Ways to Destress
Induja loves a good Netflix binge and catching up with the new season of Criminal Minds. Going on a run and listening to music, specifically Taylor Swift are other ways Induja likes to destress.
Go-To Coffee Drink
Iced Caramel Macchiato
Is AI Taking Over Healthcare?
By: Hafsa Mohammed
Last week, I was afflicted with a condition we have all experienced battling: The common cold. My morning began with a pounding headache and burning fever. The itch in my throat quickly devolved into an incessant cough. Laying limp in bed, I stared at my ceiling fan whirring around and solemnly inferred, “Yep, I’m sick”. With a midterm later that same day, and two impending ones later that week, I needed a reprieve. Fast. I was able to schedule an eVisit and after answering a few questions, was prescribed a doctor’s note that allowed me to reschedule my exam. The entire process was quick and there was no interaction required by the provider. I provided my own vitals and symptoms and was diagnosed with the help of an AI algorithm that provided clinical decision support.
With the recent fervor over chatGPT passing the Step One USMLE, the notoriously difficult medical licensing exam, a debate has sparked over the future of AI in medicine and the potential for it to replace medical professionals in the field. While AI is by no means perfect at the moment, it is only a matter of time before algorithms can provide more efficient and fool-proof methods of analyzing and diagnosing patient data than mere human diagnosticians. Or at least that is the current fear permeating the space.
Frankly, it is virtually impossible for AI to overtake the roles of all medical professionals in the field, now and even in the future. The more common explanation is that AI cannot replicate human empathy and interpersonal interactions. While that is true, I’d like to confer another angle to the argument. It’s often easy to forget that the role of a medical professional does not solely exist for diagnosing and treating conditions. Healthcare professionals do so much more than that. We operate within a changing value-based system in which our decision-making is not absolute nor falls to a concrete standard. Our goal is the patient’s health and well-being. For instance, the onset of symptoms of my cold was somewhat abnormal, whereas in hindsight stress may have been the leading factor to its severity. A doctor in the flesh would have asked me how I’m doing overall, to which I would have promptly discussed the plethora of exams I am undergoing. A sheer hint of an investigation into the livelihood of the patient, out of genuine care and not result-based algorithm, is an irreplaceable facet of the world’s doctors.
A “meat-bag” doctor’s empathy isn’t their only asset. The making of ethical decisions is perhaps the most telling part of the profession. Human life cannot be equated to a numerical value. An algorithm cannot simply follow a baseline standard to make decisions regarding a patient’s care plan without consideration of subjective experiences and beliefs such as religion, belief systems, emotions, and so on. Humans make “imperfect” decisions, but there is value in imperfection. Not every case is to be treated with a uniform standard. An AI may make maleficent decisions that “solve” a patient's immediate problem but at the expense of the patient’s care, happiness, and morals.
Different people have different needs, and a doctor’s empathy and ethics light the path to individualized treatment. It's important to note that as future medical professionals, our primary focus is not curing illnesses, but being advocates for our patients and leaving them with care in which their quality of life has been improved. An AI will formulate a “doctor’s note" and solve my immediate exam absence problems, but a doctor would encourage me to put down my textbook and rest.
Virus-Like Particle Advancement in Medicine
By: Alyssa Chiev
There are many developments in the world of medicine. Every day, there are breakthroughs, but most notably, new material is on the rise. Virus-like particles are molecules that resemble viruses but they lack the viral genome making them non-infectious. These virus-like particles can be conjugated on the interior and exterior meaning that we can attach drugs and any sort of materials to the interior and exterior of the molecule. They can target specific locations making them useful for drug delivery.
They are mainly used for gene therapy, phototherapy, immunotherapy, encapsulation, and chemotherapy. “One study concluded that in 174 VLPs, bacterial systems were used in 28% of cases to make the VLP, yeast systems were used in 20%, and insect systems were used in 28%. Plant and mammalian systems were used in 9% and 15% of cases respectively,” according to News Medical Life Sciences. There are many types of VLPs all with a variety of shapes and functionality making them useful for all sorts of medicine. As of recently, research on VLP’s mainly involves using it in vaccines and methods of cancer therapy.
Introducing a VLP into the body will cause an immune response in the body, the body will recognize the virus and prevent further infection, giving immunity to that virus, similar to a regular vaccine. With this characteristic, VLPs are desirable in use with vaccines. VLP vaccines are a type of recombinant vaccine, but they offer the efficiency of a live-attenuated vaccine. Recombinant vaccines use a particular piece of the disease that the immune system targets specifically. The immune response to this type of vaccine is very strong to top up the vaccine to maintain immunity. An advantage of a VLP recombinant vaccine is that it’s efficient for those with a weakened immune system.
The cervical cancer vaccine (HPV) is one of the most common types of VLP vaccine, mainly given to girls and boys between the ages of 9 and 13. The advantages of these nanoparticle-based vaccines are that they have high specificity, are very effective, and move out of the body efficiently. VLPs may also eliminate the need for vaccines to be injected at all, it is speculated that vaccines may be possible to give through intranasal vaccines or inhalers.
Another use for VLPs is in photothermal therapy. Photothermal therapy is a type of cancer treatment that converts light to heat to eliminate and suppress cancer cells. Recently, the Gassensmith lab here on campus was able to use VLPs with photothermal therapy. A dye is conjugated to the surface of QBeta Bacteriophage (a VLP), turning it into a powerful near-infrared absorber for photothermal therapy. It is biodegradable unlike most methods of photothermal therapy and acts as a vaccine agent combined with the heat it produces. It is shown to lead to the suppression of primary tumors, reduced lung metastasis, and increased survival time.
The uses of VLP vaccines are still constantly being discovered. There are many uses waiting to be discovered for these nanomaterials. The Gassensmith lab will be linked here and there are many publications about the uses of virus-like particles.
Spotlight: Gertrude Belle Elion
By: Hafsa Mohammed and Janavi Mehta
Gertrude Belle Elion (1918-1999) was a renowned American Pharmacist and Scientist responsible for revolutionizing drug development forever. She is best known for her and her colleague, George Hitchings’, ingenious method of drug-making dubbed, “rational drug design”. Elion and her colleagues later received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1988 for developing drugs that treated many diseases and ailments. Hitchings and Elion discovered a pathway that would disrupt the formation of leukemia cells. While their drug was successful, the severe side effects, led Elion to find 6-MP, a less volatile but just as effective drug that effectively treated leukemia. In addition to that, Elion and Hitchings' drugs significantly impacted patients afflicted with gouts, malaria, herpes, AIDS and so much more.
Elion was raised during turbulent times. Growing up her family faced bankruptcy in light of the Great Depression and later on, World War II. In a time when it was rare for women to pursue higher education, Elion was the sole female in her graduate chemistry class at New York University. In a brief autobiographical entry, Elion explains that her maternal grandfather’s death from cancer when she was 15 was perhaps the catalyst that instilled the love of learning and scientific pursuit in her at a young age. Impassioned with a fervent desire to find a cure for cancer, Elion pursued her career in research and pharmacology to the best of her abilities and took advantage of all the opportunities available to her.
One of these critical opportunities in Elion’s life was after WWII broke out and a shortage of chemists allowed her to work in a research laboratory called Burroughs Wellcome Company. It was here that she and her colleague, George Hitchings, developed their rational drug testing method and the first antiviral drugs. The rational drug testing method was new to the scientific community which formerly used trial and error to test drugs. This approach focused on the life cycle of cells and living things and how to disrupt them so that they could no longer replicate and disseminate. The pair made the discovery that growing cells and pathogens had differences in their nucleic acid metabolism. Then, this can be targeted to block their growth. The other major development Elion is known for is the antiviral drug Acyclovir. Before this drug, scientists thought that any drug targeting viruses would be far too detrimental to the body. However, Elion was determined, and continuing her research on purines led her to this revolutionary discovery. Later, the basis of Acyclovir was used to create the first drug approved by the FDA to treat HIV/AIDS.
Gertrude Belle Elion is a trailblazer and notable in more than just her scientific discoveries. Her life itself is a source of inspiration to women everywhere because of what she preserved through. Thanks to her contributions, the world has advanced far into antiviral drugs and drug development methods. From Gertrude Elion, all can learn a few things about determination, a love for learning, and compassion.
The Gut Microbiome:
How the Bacteria in your Gut can Affect your Health
By: Janavi Mehta
The human body’s gastrointestinal tract (GI) harbors over 100 trillion microbes, which are roughly ten times more bacterial cells than human cells present in the human body (Thursby & Juge). The Gut Microbiome (GMB) is composed of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and various other diverse organisms (Rinninella et al). The microbes that have colonized the human GI help digest food and synthesize nutrients and vitamins, some of which humans are unable to do. They have developed a commensal relationship with humans who provide them with a home and nutrients in return for their services. However, besides their “surface-level” role, the GMB plays a pivotal role in metabolism through its interactions with the other organ systems outside of the digestive system. The GMB has roles in the nervous, endocrine, and immune system, thus it is no wonder that the overall health of the GMB also affects the overall health of individuals (Zheng et al).
Every individual has a unique composition of microbiome due to their unique genetics, environment, and diet habits. Yet, there are some microbes that are shared with healthy individuals versus those who have GMB-related sicknesses, hence, suggesting that GMB plays a role in overall health and host metabolism. This combined look at the human and their gut microbiome constitutes the concept of a holobiont. The holobiont looks comprehensively at humans and GMB, which allows scientists to make connections about diseases through the lens of the GMB.
Some of the effects of the GMB can be tracked through the composition of certain bacteria present or absent in the gut, for example in mice, the presence of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (JB-1) can decrease anxiety-like behavior (Schretter). Another way that microbes can impact our health is through the metabolites they produce. Using metabolites like short-chain fatty acids, branched-chain amino acids, trimethylamine N-oxide, tryptophan, and indole derivatives, our cells can be influenced into abnormal states and cause a systemic illness (Agus et al). Some disorders that have shown a strong correlation with changes in the GMB are depression, anxiety, Alzheimer's, immune disorders, and some gastroenteric disorders like Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS).
With more advanced research techniques to discover evidence, it is no surprise that gut microbiome research is a hot topic and rapidly expanding right now. There is also research into how to utilize microbes for treatment or therapies for these disorders. As time advances, scientists may be able to prove a causal link between the gut microbiome and these disorders and be able to treat them with microbes too.
Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
By: Siya Kumar
On February 26, 1987, President Ronald Reagan announced that March would be recognized as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. In 2014, The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act was signed to aid individuals with disabilities in their search for employment and training. Every year the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities holds a campaign to raise awareness about developmental disabilities and to talk about the importance of inclusion.
Inclusion is important because it helps those with developmental disabilities feel accepted and creates vital conversations in our communities. In recent years there have been more laws passed to support those with disabilities such as in 2014, The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act was signed to aid individuals with disabilities in their search for employment and training. This is significant because many people with disabilities face discrimination in the workplace which is why ensuring a safe workplace environment is important. According to the CDC’S Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Out of 61 million Americans 1 out of 4 U.S. adults have a disability that affects their everyday life. There are many ways to acknowledge Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month such as wearing orange, creating awareness by sharing stories and taking the time to listen to what others are saying about their experiences as someone with a developmental disability. It is important to educate ourselves and those around us, on such topics, because it allows for a more inclusive environment where everyone feels like they have a voice.
Sources
https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-a-VLP-Vaccine.aspx
https://bpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/labs.utdallas.edu/dist/c/2/files/2021/09/jacs.1c05090.pdf
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1988/elion/biographical/
https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/women-scientists/gertrude-elion.html
Agus A, Clément K, Sokol H. Gut microbiota-derived metabolites as central regulators in metabolic disorders. Gut. 2021 Jun;70(6):1174-1182. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2020-323071. Epub 2020 Dec 3. PMID: 33272977; PMCID: PMC8108286.
Rinninella E, Raoul P, Cintoni M, Franceschi F, Miggiano GAD, Gasbarrini A, Mele MC. What is the Healthy Gut Microbiota Composition? A Changing Ecosystem across Age, Environment, Diet, and Diseases. Microorganisms. 2019 Jan 10;7(1):14. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms7010014. PMID: 30634578; PMCID: PMC6351938.
Schretter CE. Links between the gut microbiota, metabolism, and host behavior. Gut Microbes. 2020;11(2):245-248. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2019.1643674. Epub 2019 Jul 25. PMID: 31345081; PMCID: PMC7053934.
Thursby, Elizabeth, Juge, Nathalie; Introduction to the human gut microbiota. Biochem J 1 June 2017; 474 (11): 1823–1836. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20160510
Zheng, D., Liwinski, T. & Elinav, E. Interaction between microbiota and immunity in health and disease. Cell Res 30, 492–506 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-020-0332-7
wowzers super interesting. loved the spotlight article. gertrude was a slayqueening girlboss.
Amazing articles guys!
Great articles this month! Enjoyed reading it 😊💗💗