Fighting breast cancer
In 30 percent of women who have breast cancer, a protein known as HER2 (Human EGF Receptor 2) is present. In these women, the cancer is more aggressive and the outcome less favorable. So if there were a way to stop HER2 in its tracks, the prognosis for these women would likely improve.
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| Dr. Allison Jablonski looks on as Christine Walker '09 studies cells under a microscope. |
That is at the heart of research under way in a laboratory in Hobbs Hall where Dr. Allison Jablonski, associate professor of biology, works with biomedical science and biology students, training them how to do the experiments, analyze data, and produce a scientific paper to explain their results. It's the kind of research often found at the graduate level, which gives them a competitive edge when applying to a graduate program or job.
"We encourage students to do two semesters of research, even though the requirement is only one," Dr. Jablonski said. "It makes them think more independently; that's a big advantage."
Dr. Jablonski's interest in breast cancer research was borne of personal loss. Her mother died of the disease in 1987, only two years after her diagnosis. While Dr. Jablonski does not know whether her mother was in the 30 percent of women with HER2, she suspects she was.
A 1986 graduate of the College of William and Mary, Dr. Jablonski earned her Ph.D. in human genetics at the Medical College of Virginia in 1995 and then did post-doctoral work at the University of Virginia from 1995 to 1998, working on cell signaling in breast cancer and HER2, which has been recognized as a factor in breast cancer since 1985.
HER2 is a normal cellular protein. So a single breast cell might have 10,000 copies of the protein, but a cancerous cell might contain 100,000 to one million copies - in scientific jargon, it's overexpressed.
To attack the problem, Dr. Jablonski works with a technique know as siRNA or small interfering RNA which are inserted in the cells via fats, or lipids. The siRNA greatly reduces the production of HER2 to about 5 percent. The hope is to understand what happens to the proteins and how they can be stopped without damaging healthy cells.
"If we can find a system that will consistently knock down HER2 production and still survive, there are a host of questions that can be answered downstream," she said.
Eventually, she hopes, she might be able to work with a clinical researcher on an animal model to test that system.
Biomedical science majors Samantha Atzingen '09 and Christine Walker '09 were thrilled to work on this type of research with Dr. Jablonski. "It's exciting that we might be helping women with breast cancer," Christine said.
