Angelina Dong, a sophomore double-majoring in Neuroscience and Medicine, Science, and the Humanities, was recently interviewed by the JHU News-Letter about the research she is conducting as a University Undergraduate Research Fellow. Angelina’s project, supervised by Dr. Ahmet Hoke at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, investigates a potential treatment for chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).
The News-Letter spoke with Angelina about her experience in the lab, and Angelina shared knowledgeably about the nature and incidence of CIPN, the role of the MAP4K4 gene in triggering axonal degeneration in neurons, and the discovery of an MAP4K4 inhibitor that may impede that degeneration. Angelina’s project aims to assess how the MAP4K4 inhibitor interacts with chemotherapy — that is, whether it might interfere with or rather support the elimination of cancer cells.
In addition to describing her research methods and project aims, Angelina also shared her experience applying for the University Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and offered tips for other students seeking funding for their independent research projects:
“I started meeting with URSCA whenever they would host drop-in hours. I met current researchers and URSCA staff. Being able to speak with them — asking questions about the structure of the grant and having them look over certain sections I had written… attending those sessions and asking them for help when I needed it was critical in my writing process.” Her main piece of advice when composing the application was to ” really try to show your passion through your writing; it’s a very structured research grant proposal, but there should be elements of you included in there too.”