Students conduct summer research

Four senior science majors are returning for the fall semester at Northwestern College after receiving invaluable experience in competitive off-campus research projects this summer.

Samantha Hoy, a biology-health professions major from Liscomb, Iowa, studied the mechanism of a relatively new form of chemotherapy used to treat abdominal cancers. She was part of a team assembled by Dr. David Strom, associate professor of physiology and pharmacology at Des Moines University, which researched Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC), a technique in which chemotherapy is heated before it is delivered directly into the abdominal cavity. The researchers studied how HIPEC affects the heat shock protein 90, which protects cells when stressed by elevated temperatures.

Elizabeth Stevens was at the University of Missouri, working on a team that synthesized new molecules for potential use in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. A senior chemistry major from Ord, Neb., Stevens was part of a research group that used enzymology to test the ability of various molecules to inhibit or inactivate a certain protein. The students were led by Dr. Kent Gates, the Herman Schlundt Distinguished Professor of Chemistry.

Adam Verhoef, a senior biology-health professions major from Pella, Iowa, studied replication proteins in the University of Iowa’s Biochemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program. He worked with Dr. Marc Wold, professor of biochemistry and radiation oncology.

Anna Yarrow researched cloning and expression of human nuclear protein modules fused to fluorescent chromophores at South Dakota State University. A senior biology-health professions major from Sioux Falls, S.D., Yarrow worked with Dr. Suvobrata Chakravarty, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry.