IOWA CITY, Iowa — Hope Fury of Crawfordsville was one of more than 100 current University of Iowa students to participate in the 2023 Spring Undergraduate Research Festival, an event staged annually by the Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates. All students involved in mentored research or creative work are invited to present their work.
Fury’s poster/presentation was in the topic area of Natural Sciences (e.g.Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Health and Human Phys, etc.) and titled “Modulating Donor T Cell Graft-Versus-Host and Graft-Versus-Tumor Reactivity by STAT6”
Fury described the work this way: “Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurs after bone marrow transplant (BMT) when donor immune cells attack recipient tissue, leading to inflammation, and in some cases, death. 61% of bone marrow transplant patients develop some form of GVHD, and common treatments, such as steroids, are only completely effective in 25-40% of cases. For these reasons, we are exploring preventative treatments, taking advantage of the T helper-2 (Th2) immunological pathway, which we and others have proven to reduce the incidence of GVHD due to its immunosuppressive properties. Currently, we use a genetic model of T cell overproduction of STAT6, a Th2 transcription factor, termed STAT6VT. These transgenic T cells display a phenotype consistent with decreased GVHD, such as increased Th2 and immunoregulatory cytokine production, higher percentages of regulatory T cells, an increased CD4:CD8 T cell ratio, and a higher percentage of memory cell markers. When STAT6VT T cells are transferred in BMT, recipient mice have significantly less GVHD and improved survival compared to mice receiving wildtype T cells. Additionally, STAT6VT T cells show some evidence of graft-versus-tumor activity, with BMT recipient mice with leukemia having smaller tumors and fewer cancer cells than those with no treatment.”
Nedim Ince was Fury’s primary faculty mentor. Ince works in the UI’s Department of Internal Medicine.
A variety of judges, including faculty, graduate students, and peers as well as members of the Iowa City community, were on hand to discuss the students’ work and provide valuable feedback.
“This is an incredible opportunity for Iowa students to practice and hone their communication skills,” said Bob Kirby, director of ICRU.
“From designing a poster, to giving a short pitch about what they study and why it matters, to fielding questions from experts in their field as well as non-experts, everything about this experience is designed to help students boost critical communication skills that will help them succeed in whatever comes next for them.
