OHIO Cancer Researchers Discuss Work at Molecular and Cellular Biology Retreat

Dr. Thomas Rosol discusses his work on the Wnt signaling pathway and its role in bone metastasis.

By Amanda Biederman 

OHIO students and faculty members convened last month to share their research at the annual Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) retreat. The event, which included a series of faculty and student talks as well as a poster session, spanned a variety of disciplines including biochemistry, molecular biology and medical research. The MCB program includes the departments of Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry & Biochemistry, and Environmental & Plant Biology.

A popular topic of discussion during the retreat was cancer research, which was featured in several student and faculty presentations. Nearly 40 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetimes, according to the National Cancer Institute. Many OHIO faculty and students are applying their diverse backgrounds and expertise to study various aspects of cancer development and treatment.

These included talks by Biological Sciences graduate students Christian Showalter and Pratik Shriwas, who were among the 13 student winners of the 2017 John J. Kopchick Award. Environmental and Plant Biology professor Dr. Allan Showalter, the 2017 faculty recipient of the John J. Kopchick Award, spoke on his work using DNA barcoding in drug discovery for cancer and diabetes research.

Other presentations included a talk by Biomedical Sciences chair Dr. Thomas Rosol, who spoke on his work on the link between a signaling pathway that is likely to be involved in bone metastasis in patients with prostate cancer. In addition, the poster session included presentations by Biomedical Sciences professor Dr. Ramiro Malgor; Biological Sciences graduate students Yanyang Cao, Silvana Duran-Ortiz and Haiyun Zhang; Environmental & Plant Biology graduate student Colin Kruse; and undergraduate HTC student Emily Caggiano. Christian Showalter and Shriwas participated in the poster session as well. 

For more information, visit https://www.ohio.edu/mcb/.