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Original Publication Date
2024
Document Type
Presentation
Abstract
Research focused on answering how drugs interact with the body at the cellular level, particularly through something called the Organic cation transporters (OCTs).
Transcription
Next, we have Jay Asalwa. He is researching unlocking the mystery of organic cation in transporter. He's in the School of Medicine, and his adviser is Dr. Jose Eltit. Hi, everyone. So, with the quick show of hands, how many of us know of a drug that was pulled from the market due to the appearance of unexpected or potentially dangerous side effects, because I can name a couple. Yeah. Maybe we remember those late-night commercials where someone tells us, you or your family are entitled to some financial compensation. If you tried X Y Z, I know. I watched them late-night TV shows, right? So, it's actually a really big problem because part of the problem is that we don't fully understand how exactly drugs interact inside of our bodies. Part of my research is trying to find the answer as to how drugs interact with the bodies at the cellular level, particularly through something called the Organic cation transporters (OCTs). OCTs are channel proteins that help move drugs and other chemicals in and out of our cells. They're found all across our body, but particularly in our liver and kidneys, where they help with drug metabolism and clearance. They also play a pretty crucial role in the brain, where they help regulate neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, as many of you may know, are chemicals responsible for our mood, behavior, and overall mental health. Many drugs are very non-specific for transporters, and so interactions elsewhere in the body are what cause these side effects that we see in some of these prescription drugs. If we can develop a drug that interacts specifically with OCTs, we can mitigate these side effects and improve therapies for things like depression, ADHD, and other neurological disorders. That brings me to my research. In the lab, I'm studying a group of molecules called quinoxaline, and seeing how exactly small changes in their chemical structure affect how they interact with OCTs. This is called the structure-activity relationship or SAR. You can liken this to like a lock in a key. Your OCTs are a lock, and these various drugs are different keys. Now, not every lock is going to open with every key. And so my job is figuring out how exactly these small changes in the chemical structure affect the activity with the respective OCT. To do this, I do something called fluorescence microscopy, which uses a very strong camera and microscope to take pictures of cells as I give them various drugs and see exactly how bright they glow under a very strong camera. I have some pictures here on the board, and you can see that the glowing cells is an activity indicator of how strongly the drug and OCT transporter are interacting. So why does this all matter? Well, at the end of the day, we have over 30 million Americans suffering from some form of depression, anxiety, or mental disorder. If I can develop a drug that interacts perfectly with these OCTs, we can improve the well-being and quality of life for these individuals. I'm working towards a future where our drugs are not only stronger, but safer, more effective, and actually work to improve our lives, not complicate them. Thank you.
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Second-place winner of the 10th Annual VCU 3MT® Competition, held on October 4, 2024.