Undergraduate Researcher Katie Washington Becomes “Hooked” on Infectious Disease Research

Beginning in summer 2009, the College of Science partnered with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) to offer one outstanding Notre Dame Science student an undergraduate research position at CSHL, part of the Watson School of Biological Sciences in New York. Katie Washington ‘10 who conducted research on campus with Professor David Severson at the Eck Institute for Global Health in summer 2008 and during the ’08-’09 year was selected to be one of about twenty undergraduates from across the globe to participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program at CSHL.

After her summer research experience at CSHL, Washington, a Biological Sciences major, was convinced to expand her goal of clinical medicine by pursuing a PhD as well as an MD. Raffaella Sordella, whose work focuses on fighting lung cancer, served as Washington’s mentor in the lab in New York.

Sordella’s lab is working to determine the roles of different cell-signaling pathways in the development and maintenance of lung tumors. Sordella and her collaborators recently showed that some tumors depend on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and they were able to reduce the tumors by inhibiting EFGR with the drug gefitinib, although patients relapsed after several months.

Washington’s work used genomics to determine which genes are required for EGFR dependence in the tumors and which contribute to the tumors’ ability to overcome the treatment with gefitinib. As part of the experience, Washington met Nobel Laureate James D. Watson, co-discoverer of the double helical structure of DNA and former director and president of CSHL. He advised her to pursue a field that excites her – confirming her desire to do research on unconventional solutions to challenging medical problems.

“My project has been a remarkable opportunity to apply knowledge acquired from my coursework to an exciting problem with substantive consequences,” she says. “While I employ my newly acquired technical skills to perform daily experiments, appropriate interpretation of my results has required me to synthesize different parts of my scientific background into relevant, sound conclusions.” The experience in the lab also showed her the benefits of collaborative research.

“Ultimately, my experience at CSHL has underscored the importance of scientific inquiry in the development of more effective methods of disease prevention and treatment,” she says. “Clinical practice would be severely limited without scientists who discover creative solutions to the diverse set of problems encountered in pursuit of improving human health.”

Washington’s work at Notre Dame in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Eck Institute for Global Health is part of a paper that has been submitted to BMC Genomics in which she is listed as co-first author. Her mentor, David Severson, director of the Eck Institute for Global Health, says she has become "hooked" on infectious disease research which started from her experience at the Eck Institute.

Washington’s experience was generously funded by a Notre Dame endowment. Students who are interested in applying for the research position at CSHL should contact the College of Science Undergraduate Research Coordinator Dominic Chaloner.

Released: 9/15/2009