Nate Sowa: Harnessing biotherapy to fight disease

Albion Explorations: What's Happening in the Sciences at Albion

Posted Friday, January 17, 2003

His experience as a fellow with Albion's Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity gave Nate Sowa a definite advantage in landing his latest research opportunity-with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This past fall, Sowa, a senior biology major, was one of only six interns selected for a project (run through Colgate University) at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the NIH's National Cancer Institute, and he was one of the few undergraduate interns at the NIH.

The biotherapy lab where he worked focuses mainly on refashioning organisms and parts of organisms to battle various diseases. Sowa had considerable professional independence as a member of the lab's research team. "I designed, conducted, and reported on experiments that pertained to my research project," says Sowa. "Of course I received help from my mentor, as well as the other members of the lab, but I basically worked on my own."

Sowa looked for ways to defuse a common bacterium that plagues thousands of people with weak immune systems. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen, found in wet and dry environments, attacking both animals and plants. Healthy immune systems are well-equipped to fight off exposure to the bacterium, but, Sowa explains, "people whose immune systems are weak, such as cancer, burn, or cystic fibrosis patients, can develop serious infections. . . . It is a serious concern for cystic fibrosis patients, and is the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. It is a major problem for people who are on mechanical ventilation for long periods of time."

The virulence of P. aeruginosa, Sowa explains, lies in its stubborn resistance to antibiotic therapy, so Sowa explored its genes, looking for a way to fight the pernicious organism from the inside. Preliminary research indicates that parts of the bacterium's RNA seem to work as "switches" that activate genes that offer it extra protection against toxins (such as antibiotics and heavy metals). "My research targeted two potential cellular pathways in this bacterium that [enable it] to survive in stressful environments," says Sowa. "If we can learn more about how these pathways are regulated through [the bacterium's RNA], eventual therapies could be developed that target these regulatory mechanisms."

Although Sowa knows that the RNA "switch" he was hunting for is years from being identified, he still found many short-term rewards in his work. "I witnessed the planning of an elaborate research project, encompassing two other labs besides my own. It was very interesting for me to see 'science in action,' as I like to put it-the actual development of a project from its very primitive stages," he explains. "Plus, I worked with some of the top experts in their respective fields. . . . [The NIH] is a huge conglomeration of knowledge and talent, and it was amazing for me as an undergraduate to just be a part of this environment. Everyone was very supportive of me, and I truly enjoyed working there."

Back to Campus News