CATALYST IS BACK

AROUND

C A MPUS

 Louka Babic '23  Kendall Long '23

 Elena Hayek ’23

The Return of Gilmour’s STEMFocused Catalyst Program

Gilmour Academy’s Catalyst program has a long-standing reputation of preparing Gilmour students and alumni for careers in STEM. The program was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but was able to resume in-person for the Summer 2022 term.

Under the guidance of Dr. Neena Goel, Gilmour students like Olivia Robida ’19 have had transformational experiences through the Catalyst program. During the Summer of 2018, Olivia worked with Dr. von Recum in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Her project centered on studying the effectiveness of cyclodextrin polymers in drug delivery (doxorubicin, a drug used to treat glioblastoma) in the presence of local biological molecules such as cholesterol and albumin. In 2019, Olivia and the team with whom she worked on the project were published in an academic journal, the Journal of Materials Chemistry B. Olivia is now attending Arizona State University’s College of Pharmacy after being accepted through an accelerated program. When asked about her Catalyst journey, Olivia reflected, “I feel that my Gilmour education, and the Catalyst program specifically, has allowed me to be a successful graduate student. I look forward to being a Doctor of Pharmacy in a few short years and hope to pursue a residency in clinical pharmacy following graduation. I am thankful for the strong foundation Gilmour and their Catalyst program provided me.”

Though the program was temporarily stopped, the interest in completing a Catalyst experience did not wane and, upon its return this summer, Elena Hayek ’23, Kendall Long ’23 and Louka Babic ’23 participated under the mentorship of Dr. Goel.

Elena was able to partner with Dr. Ashleigh E. Schaffer in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Elena’s project focused on understanding the effect of disease-causing RNA-binding proteins in pathophysiological mechanisms of disease. She evaluated two RNA-binding proteins for altered cellular distribution as well as novel interactions of mutant proteins. When asked about her experience, Elena said, “Catalyst has been an unforgettable experience that I will cherish forever. It has given me insight into the world of research and medicine, where I could network and form relationships that gave me access to other opportunities. This experience affirmed my passion for science and my plans to pursue research and medicine as a career.”

Kendall also worked in the Genetics and Genome Sciences department at CWRU, working alongside Dr. Kristian Baker. Kendall studied the characterization of mutations in human UPF3 in promoting nonsense- mediated mRNA decay using the Budding Yeast Model. Mutations in the human UPF3 gene, a critical protein in promoting nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), have been linked to intellectual disability. NMD represents an important quality control process during gene expression that functions in recognizing faulty mRNA that harbor premature translation termination codons and targeting the mRNA to rapid degradation - thereby protecting the cell from the harmful effects that the truncated polypeptides encoded by these RNA transcripts could cause. With the knowledge that her Catalyst experience provided her, Kendall plans to major in biochemistry in college.

Louka had a similar experience with the Catalyst program. Reflecting on his experience, he shared, “Catalyst has opened my eyes to an entirely new view of scientific research, which I will undoubtedly want to participate in again during my higher education. The biological research I observed and performed during Catalyst greatly strengthened my desire to integrate biology in my future studies in university."

Louka worked with Dr. Edward Yu in CWRU’s Department of Pharmacology. He investigated the role of the ArpR transcriptional regulator in the virulence of Acinetobacter baumannii. Acinetobacter baumannii is a strain of bacteria that has become severely resistant to most types of antibiotics. In order to solve this important health problem, new methods must be developed to effectively kill this pathogen.

These cutting-edge research opportunities are typically not available to high school students. Elena, Kendall and Louka were able to complete this research as juniors in high school in the