Supervisor:
Co-Supervisor:
Program of Study:
MSc, Neuroscience
Project Title:
Effect of 5-Fluorouracil on Orexin Neurons: Implications for Chemotherapy-Induced Fatigue
Scholarships and/or Awards:
- Best MSc Neuroscience Poster Presentation, Biosymposium, July 2023
- Best 3 Minute Flash Talk, Biosymposium, July 2023
- Dean’s Excellence Award, $7,500, May 2023 – April 2024
- CIHR-Canada Graduate Scholarship-Master’s Program, $17, 500 -May 2023- April 2024
- Newfoundland Disability Grant, $2,000, January 2021 – May 2022
- Memorial University Undergraduate Scholarship 2015 – 2016
- BRHS English Scholarship 2015
- BRHS Math Scholarship 2015
- BRHS Music Scholarship 2015
- Sybil Ann Whitman Memorial Scholarship 2015, Recognizes individuals who are creative, friendly, and “possess a certain Joie de Vivre”
- Kincardine Student Community Award 2013
Lay Research Summary:
Chemotherapy (chemo) is often used to treat cancer but it can have many serious side effects. A common concern for patients after chemo is fatigue, which can be very harmful and long lasting. My research looks at how changes in the brain affect feelings of fatigue after chemo using mice. The most important cells to our research are known as orexin neurons, which are known to increase our feelings of energy. If these cells are less active, fatigue symptoms will be more likely. To study this, mice are given chemo to create fatigue symptoms, and their neurons will then be tested to look for any changes. Finally, the drug, metformin, has been shown to increase energy levels in patients receiving chemo, while providing large anticancer effects. Our study will test this drug after mice have had one month of chemo treatments. We expect this drug to help reduce fatigue and increase energy levels. Our animal study will allow us to look at new possibilities for treatments to relieve fatigue caused by chemo in ways not possible in human research. Our overall goal is to improve the quality of life for millions of cancer patients and survivors suffering from chemo related fatigue worldwide.
Career Aspirations:
I have always dreamed of working within the biomedical field in some regard. Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to pursue cancer-related research within my Neuroscience master’s program through evaluating how chemotherapy affects our brains and researching potential treatment options. Although I am still in my first year of study, I find this work exceptionally inspiring, and look forward to pursuing this further in the future. I hope to eventually contribute knowledge related to improving the quality of lives of patients living with impairments from cancer treatments.
Location:
Memorial University of Newfoundland