A Chicago middle school student has discovered a cancer-fighting compound with incredible origins.
Thirteen-year-old Kamaria Williams found goose poop in a local park and eagerly scooped it up for analysis at the Chicago Institute for Antibiotic Discovery, a STEM outreach program.
An eighth-grader at Chicago’s William H. Brown STEM Magnet School, she was scouted for a 14-week project in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club.
Ms. Williams and her instructors were searching for antibiotics from natural sources, and the students were tasked with collecting samples and transporting them to the lab, where the team analyzed them under a microscope.
The samples will then be analyzed by a robot the group has programmed to catalog and track the antibiotic’s potency.
The feces collected by Dr. Williams contained the bacteria Pseudomonas idahoensis, but it was not an obvious finding. The researchers discovered that the bacteria produced a never-before-seen compound called orfamide-N, which when viewed under a microscope was toxic to skin and ovarian cancer cells.
Although the discovery won’t immediately lead to treatments for many types of cancer, researchers believe it could help them better understand how cancer works and, in turn, help scientists develop better drugs. It is said to be useful for development.
“My mother, aunt, and grandmother all had cancer, so I’m glad that what I found can be helpful,” Williams said. It makes you want to discover more. ”
The feces collected by Kamaria Williams, 13, contained a novel compound that scientists discovered was toxic to human melanoma and ovarian cancer cells.
Although the compound Dr. Williams discovered did not have antibacterial properties, scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago found that it slowed the growth of skin and ovarian cancer cells in humans.
she said washington post: “I did something and it worked. It feels good.
“It was so much fun to be able to go outside, put on gloves, and do some science on my own.”
She is now a published scientist. A summary of the team’s findings was published in a paper by the American Chemical Society. omega journal Miss Williams was named co-author in October.
“Now people will know about me. They will know that I am a smart child and a curious person,” added Miss Williams.
She was first drawn to the program’s valuable hands-on opportunities for local STEM students.
she said chicago tribune: “We walked around and they had these chemicals and they were researching stuff, and it was just fun.
“I just want to go out and look for things and see what I can do.”
Dr. Brian Murphy, a pharmaceutical researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago, runs the program to inspire a new generation of scientists.
During the pandemic, Dr. Murphy’s lab worked with the university’s tuberculosis lab to purchase a $200,000 robot that can be programmed to pick up specific bacteria and transfer them to new test plates for testing against the pathogen. .
Williams was drawn to the program because of its unique hands-on experience for local STEM students. She discovered the poop as part of a Boys & Girls Club after-school program in partnership with the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The students programmed a robot to do all of this while isolated at home.
After the research program, students were taught to use robotic discoveries to analyze and understand information gleaned from biological research to determine which ones have useful antibiotic properties. .
“In Kamaria’s case, she prioritized bacteria with antibiotic properties,” said Jing-Yi Tan, a fourth-year doctoral student in Murphy’s lab.
“So I tracked down her preferred strain, grew it in the lab, purified the compound, and did some more testing. We discovered this new compound that has some cytotoxic activity against.
Dr. Murphy said Dr. Williams’ exciting findings demonstrate the importance of accessible STEM programs for young people who want to become scientists.
He said, “What we’re really trying to do is show young students that science has a lot of real-world applications.” We want to ignite a spark in their minds and interest them in education. We hope that this research will be a starting point for the next generation of biomedical researchers. ”
Williams has already made his decision.
“I want to be a scientist,” she said.
