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When Jashodeep Datta ’06 begins work at the National Cancer Institute this month, he won’t just be building his resume; the 20-year-old rising junior will be moving one giant step closer to his goal of becoming an oncologist. 

Datta is conducting research this summer and fall at the National Cancer Institute in Washington, D.C.,  as part of �Ա���Ƶ’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) study group. The program enables him to collaborate with one of the country’s top scientists on cutting-edge cancer research.

Jash Datta is studying biology at �Ա���Ƶ and is looking to attend medical school after graduation. (Photo by Caroline Jenkins)

“I know it will be a tough semester, but I’m going to learn a lot,” said Datta, a resident of Calcutta, India, who prefers to be called Jash. “Getting the chance to work at the National Cancer Institute — it’s a dream come true.”

Under the guidance of Sushil Rane, head of the cell cycle and cancer group in the organization’s Laboratory of Cell Regulation and Carcinogenesis, Datta is examining retinoblastoma, an important cellular protein.

Retinoblastoma, along with another family of regulatory proteins, suppresses the uncontrolled proliferation of cells. Mutations and changes to retinoblastoma result in uncontrolled cell proliferation — or cancerous tumor growth, in other words.

Datta and Rane are investigating the molecular mechanisms responsible for the mutation of retinoblastoma in the human pancreas. Pancreatic cancer is particularly dangerous, explained Datta, as it involves an internal organ, and symptoms of the disease only show up in its later stages.

“It’s definitely important research,” he said, adding that he hopes that what he accomplishes with Rane “makes a difference” in some way. “And who knows—one seemingly minor discovery today could lead to a cure for cancer in the future.”

Datta got his start in the lab when he assisted Nancy Pruitt, professor of biology, on one of her projects as part of �Ա���Ƶ’s undergraduate research program during the summer of 2003. His work impressed Pruitt so much that she suggested he participate in the university’s NIH study group. He applied, and was accepted to begin the program early.

Pruitt’s project, though not directly related to the work that Datta will do at the NIH, perhaps prepared him most for the coming semester.

 “Not only did he become skilled at some important techniques—like running gels that separate out proteins — but he also developed the ‘research mindset,’” Pruitt explained. “He learned how to ask the appropriate questions, how to analyze and interpret data, and just generally how to approach lab work.”

The two worked together to examine a specific scientific property called freeze tolerance. Only a small number of plant and animal species are freeze tolerant — meaning that their cells can withstand the presence of ice — and scientists have not yet discovered what allows them to survive. Datta and Pruitt studied the phenomenon using the freeze tolerant larvae of the Goldenrod gall fly.

Through their research, Datta and Pruitt were able to pinpoint two cellular proteins that appear to play a role in the freeze tolerance of the insect and possibly for all freeze tolerant species. A paper of their findings is currently being prepared for submission to the Journal of Experimental Biology. 

“I know Jash got some great experience while working with me,” said Pruitt. “But I think what is most important is that he has made that intellectual transition from a student to a colleague.”

Datta agreed, saying that he wanted to do the same with the NIH’s Rane. Developing a strong relationship with Rane, he said, will help him accomplish his goal of getting into medical school — and, ultimately, conducting oncology research or volunteering at a medical clinic somewhere in the world.

 “Right now, we only know 2 percent of human ailments, and I am going to help change that somehow,” he said. “Where I do it isn’t really a factor. Doctors are needed everywhere these days.”

Caroline Jenkins
Office of University Communications
315.228.6637