Story and photos by Logan Jackson
- Caitlin Mattingly – senior biochemistry major
- Mentor: John J. Tanner, professor of biochemistry and chemistry
Students pursuing the Honors College Certificate at Mizzou have a unique opportunity to begin their research journey as soon as their first day on campus through the Discovery Fellows scholarship program. Discovery Fellows gain beneficial insight into the professional world, enhance their critical thinking skills and oftentimes form invaluable connections with their faculty mentor.
Caitlin Mattingly was connected with John J. Tanner, a professor of biochemistry and chemistry, through the program as a freshman. Now, as Mattingly enters her senior year this fall, she’s still an active researcher in Tanner’s lab.
“I didn’t know research was even a career you could pursue,” Mattingly said. “The Discovery Fellows program helped me see what opportunities were out there, and I’m so thankful it connected me with Dr. Tanner. Being part of the lab has allowed me to apply what I learn in the classroom to real-world situations.”
Mattingly is leading her own research project in the lab this summer through another Honors College offering – the Cherng Summer Scholars program. A nine-week research or creative scholarship program for Mizzou students who are pursuing the Honors Certificate, the Cherng Summer Scholars program allows students to participate in individually designed projects under the mentorship of a Mizzou faculty member. The program is supported by a gift from Peggy and Andrew Cherng and the Panda Charitable Foundation.
“It’s been very interesting to hear about what others are working on,” Mattingly said. “I’ve enjoyed being able to hear more about their processes and approaches to their work.”
Mattingly’s research this summer is focused on proline dehydrogenase (PRODH), an enzyme that is often found over expressed in cancer cells. Individuals in her lab have already found two inhibitors to PRODH and Mattingly is trying to better understand how those inhibitors function. The inhibitors are being explored as potential cancer treatments.
“I’m using kinetic protein crystallography, which basically means that I grow protein crystals with our inhibitors,” Mattingly said. “I then activate them with light because the reactions are light mediated. At specific times, I’m freezing them and once they’re frozen, they can be imaged so that we can see each step in the process.”
Mattingly said for the two inhibitors that her lab has discovered, one takes around 50 minutes to work and the other only takes 10 minutes.
“I’m interested to see if the time difference has an effect on the mechanisms because if we can understand the mechanisms better then we can potentially find inhibitors that would work better as treatments for cancer,” Mattingly said. “The treatments would hopefully have fewer side effects, too.”
While Mattingly is working with data the graduate students in the Tanner lab have collected, her years of experience and the Cherng Summer Scholars program are allowing her to be more independent with this project.
“Everyone in Dr. Tanner’s lab is incredibly helpful,” Mattingly said. “But it’s also been nice to become more and more independent.”