2019 Undergraduate Summer Research Program Participant
Home Department: Human Biology
Mentor: Calvin Kuo, Medicine (Hematology)
Mutations in a gene called ARID1A, which is part of a specific chromatin remodeling complex subunit and normally acts as a tumor suppressor, are present in 29% of gastric cancers and 7% of all cancers. Walter’s project plans to use human gastric organoids to perform a drug screen of more than 2,000 compounds. Identified compounds will then be investigated in order to characterize the causative pathway, which will pave the way for future research in developing synthetic lethalities for ARID1A mutation.