Multidisciplinary research may help CF patients catch breath of life
An interdisciplinary research team that included
undergraduates published research findings that
could help cystic fibrosis patients combat oftenfatal
pulmonary infections.
The Urbana researchers focused on the cystic
fibrosis patients' lung mucus, which unlike its
healthy counterpart, is molasses-thick, so bacteria
stick to it, grow, multiply and cause the infections
that are the primary cause of cystic fibrosis
patient death.
Two materials science and engineering and
physics professors, Gerald Wong and Erik Luijten,
with lead author Lori Sanders, a postdoctoral
research associate, published a paper in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
showing that the CF mucus includes negatively
charged molecules. The positively charged "goodguy"
bacteria-fighting antimicrobials are attracted
to the negatively charged mucus components and
are unavailable to kill the bacteria.
The researchers used x-ray scattering and
computer simulations to develop a genetically
engineered, reduced-charge antimicrobial that
is less "sticky" while maintaining its bacteria-
killing ability. There's still clinical work
to be done, but the researchers have a
leg up on what Wong described not as a cure
but a "therapeutic strategy" against CF's
deadly infections.
Michael Strohman,
a senior molecular and cellular biology
major, saw a call for undergrads to join the
Wong research team in a biology department
newsletter. He and four other undergrads were
selected. Strohman's task was to examine the
biology of the reduced-charge antimicrobials.
"I worked with grad students and post-docs,
then wrote an undergraduate thesis and
understood the greater thinking clarity that
comes with scientific writing," Strohman said.
After spending a year on the CF research,
Professor Wong offered Strohman an
opportunity to participate in research
at Stanford's Linear Accelerator Center.
Strohman, from Geneseo, Ill., is now studying
for his doctorate in immunology at Stanford.
"The Wong lab has a great track record of
involving undergrads in research," he said.
Reporting: James E. Kloeppel, Urbana News Bureau
