For almost a year I have been data mining a complementary DNA microarray that was created using 260 patients who were diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a devastating disease. Our lab centers on the antioxidant defenses of mammalian cells and their affect on apoptosis (and therefore cancer), and we were trying to see if there was any kind of pattern in the microarray data. The mRNA expression of many genes that code for antioxidant defense enzymes correlated significantly with patient survival. Specifically, the majority of these genes had lower mRNA expression in patients with a poor survival. This data is very exciting to us, because it points to a possible connection between the redox state of the cell and its ability to resist modern chemotherapeutical treatments.

I had the pleasure of presenting this research at the Experimental Biology Conference in Washington DC. The conference was huge, and in fact a little daunting to an undergraduate going to a conference for the first time. I went to see a few very interesting symposia, and tried to pick out a few interesting posters to see (out of the thousands of presenters). I attended a lecture given by Louis Staudt, the man responsible for the microarray data that I am using. I was only at my poster for two hours, but I had quite a few people ask questions during my session. I felt that I represented my laboratory and the UA very well. I had an amazing time, and I hope to go to another conference next year.

David’s trip was funded by a grant from HHMI #52003749.

David B. Johnson, UBRPer in Dr. Margaret Briehl’s lab, Pathology