BLaST Celebrates Scientist of the Month for March
BLaST Scholar Shadrach Stitz outside in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Since 2016, the Biomedical Learning and Student Training (BLaST) program at UAF has highlighted scientists from all biomedical fields through its Scientist of the Month articles. BLaST Scholar and UAF biological sciences undergraduate student Shadrach Stitz was selected as the March 2023 BLaST Scientist of the Month. To read more about BLaST's monthly Scientist of the Month series, go to their website.
Shadrach Stitz is a second-year BLaST Scholar and a senior at UAF pursuing a BS in biochemistry. He grew up in a military family and lived in Texas, Missouri, and Iowa before coming to Alaska. He graduates in May 2023 and plans to attend medical school. He enjoys the outdoors hiking and fishing, as well as tinkering on snow-mobiles, motorcycles, and cars in his free time. He plans to apply to the One Health master’s program at UAF.
Stitz’s current research project, "Cytotoxicity as a Function of Ligand Isomerism: Synthesis and Prospective In Vitro Anticancer Activities of Pt(CH3)2I2{2,2'-bipy-a, a'-(CH3)2}. (a,a' = 4,4'; 5,5'; 6,6')," created platinum based anticancer drugs and tested them against cancer cell lines for potential use as chemotherapeutic agents in William Howard’s lab at UAF. The compounds they tested were proven to directly interact with the DNA of cancer cells, which is very significant, as there are still many unknowns in how this process works.
Stitz presents his research at the 2022 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Anaheim, California.
Stitz shared, "By working with Dr. Howard, I was able to really get a hands-on appreciation for what I was learning in the classroom. It also introduced me to the chemical groundwork that goes into the creation of every drug or compound that we take for granted today." Stitz presented results along with other peers in this project at the 2022 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists in November, held at Anaheim, California.
Stitz analyzes an NMR spectrum in a lab in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Stitz thanks Howard, "for being an incredible mentor and providing me with such amazing opportunities to be a major part of really phenomenal research. His ideas and depth of understanding constantly motivate me to work harder in my classes to deepen my knowledge and better prepare myself to be a lifelong learner and scientist as a physician. He stepped aside and gradually gave me more and more responsibilities which gave me the confidence I needed to take the next step in our research and be a more confident and capable researcher." Stitz also thanks his previous BLaST Research and Mentoring Professional Emily Sousa, "for being super fun and always giving encouragement through all my ups and downs in research, school, and life; and for always pushing me to get outside for a weekend and 'be a human.' She helped me to acknowledge myself as a scientist and to really own my research and overcome imposter syndrome as I started to engage with hands-on science more and more."
Any questions about this or any BLaST Scientist of the Month article, please contact Amy Topkok at aktopkok@alaska.edu or 907-474-2403.