Briefly explain your research.
For my research, I conducted a review on Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) based on existing scientific literature. DIPG is a rare childhood cancer that occurs in the brainstem’s most delicate area known as the pons, located between the midbrain and the medulla oblongata, where the brain meets the spinal cord. The pons controls essential physiological functions like sleep, respiration, balance, and bladder control. However, when a patient has DIPG, the tumor applies pressure to the pons, suppressing the pons’ ability to carry out its functions. DIPGs are derived from a substitution mutation in histone H3, where the amino acid methionine replaces lysine 27 to form a histone mutant. Histones are basic proteins that help organize DNA, so a mutation in their structure will lead to abnormal gene expression. In this case, the histone H3 mutation promotes gene expression which can be seen in the child’s phenotype, or the observable traits. Children with this cancer experience a change in facial muscles, such as uncontrollable facial expressions, droopy eyes and eyelids, and double vision, as well as physiological changes, like difficulty walking, speaking, or urinating. These gliomas — or tumors formed in the brain or spinal cord — infiltrate the surrounding healthy tissue, making surgery nonviable. Currently, anyone diagnosed with DIPG has a bleak prognosis and will likely not survive past a few months. Though there is not yet a cure for DIPG, there are palliative treatments given to DIPG patients to help reduce symptoms and extend their lifespan by a few months. Radiation therapy is a method that uses radiation to kill tumor cells while giving healthy tissues enough time to regenerate. Chemotherapy — another common palliative cancer treatment — uses medication to target the tumor, but this treatment affects both healthy and unhealthy cells in the body, proving to be ineffective. Currently, scientists are working to understand the genetic mutations in order to alter their functions to produce new therapeutic drugs in hopes of curing DIPG.
What inspired you to research this topic?
DIPG is of particular interest to me because my friend’s sister died from this cancer. The doctors gave a bleak prognosis, and since there is no cure for DIPG, it pained me to think about how his family had to experience this, with nothing they could do about it. Since that time, I have been intrigued to learn about DIPG cancer in great detail, including the genetic mutations that cause the brain tumor, the implications for the patient, and possible treatments to remove the tumor, so that a child diagnosed with DIPG can be immediately cured and restored back to health.
What was your role in this research project?
Throughout this project, I read a plethora of scientific literature about Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma and synthesized the information I read into a paper detailing DIPG’s affected demographics, the genetic mutations causing the onset of the cancer, and current medical treatments at the time of my research.
How were you introduced to the field of research?
My 9th grade biology teacher, Mr. Anderson introduced me to research. He challenged us to critically think about the issues in the world and actively find solutions to better humanity and the globe. In his class, we continuously researched unresolved issues and tried to come up with new and innovative answers to these problems based on existing knowledge and tried strategies. The beauty of this type of research that I did in his class was that there was not a readily available answer to every question I typed into a Google search; experts in the field were still searching for remedies themselves! It was an eye-opening experience to learn that science is an ever-evolving field, looking for ingenious minds to fill in the gaps.
What resources were invaluable or crucial to your research project?
I primarily utilized the Internet, and more specifically, online scientific articles to learn about DIPG. NIH National Library of Medicine was definitely a huge help in my research. The organization has detailed articles describing the specific histone H3 mutation that causes Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. The articles revealed to me how comprehensive and thorough scientific publications are and I was particularly fascinated by the choice of words and sentence structures that communicated a level of expertise from the writer(s).
Did you run into any hiccups along the way? How did you overcome them?
Science is an ever-evolving field with new groundbreaking discoveries emerging every day, so it was a little difficult to find information about DIPG cancer at a time when DIPG-specific research was underfunded and much was unknown. However, I continued to change up my search combinations to uncover the latest information about DIPG and found more than I had previously discovered.
What is the importance of your findings?
DIPG is a rare and lethal cancer that primarily targets children between the ages of 5 and 10. As mentioned, this cancer does not have a cure and the survival rate of children diagnosed with DIPG is zero percent. Scientists have already identified the histone H3 mutation and have tried treatments to help curtail the disease. Further understanding of this specific mutation and its effect on the pons can help scientists develop the right curative treatment to safely and successfully expunge the tumor.
Did this experience prompt you to continue pursuing research as a career goal?
Absolutely. For me, research is a means to an end. It’s less about gathering knowledge for the sake of simply storing it, and more about applying the knowledge to create groundbreaking contributions in one’s chosen field for the betterment of people. I aspire to become a pharmacist, a profession where I will be able to dispense medications to people in need. There are certain medicated drugs that are ineffective, so I hope to utilize research as a tool to develop more effective medications.
What did you like about your research?
I enjoyed becoming an expert on my chosen topic of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. It was fascinating learning about science in an applicable and relevant way.
Favorite Netflix/TV show?
My favorite Netflix series is “The Unlisted”!
Juliet Amadi is a senior in high school. She is an aspiring pharmacist and is interested in pharmaceutical sciences, psychology, and public health, with a mission to elevate others to the highest version of themselves. Her favorite activities include reading, watching movies, exercising, and spending time with her family and friends.
This article was written as part of STEMchats’ Blueprint program. Follow us on Instagram @stemchats and @blueprint.stemchats and visit our website
