UAF BLaST Features Scientists of the Month for March and May 2023
By Amy Topkok
Since 2016, the Biomedical Learning and Student Training (BLaST) program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) has highlighted scientists from all biomedical fields through its Scientist of the Month articles. BLaST Scholars and UAF biological sciences undergraduate students Shadrach Stitz and Logan Ito were selected for the months of March and May 2023 as BLaST Scientists of the Month. To read more about BLaST's Scientists of the Month series, visit the BLaST website.
Shadrach Stitz, BLaST Scientist of the Month for March 2023
BLaST Scholar Shadrach Stitz, Fairbanks, Alaska (Photo Credit: Chris Kim, Feb. 2023)
Shadrach Stitz is a second-year BLaST Scholar who graduated from UAF with a bachelor of science in biochemistry in 2023. He grew up in a military family and lived in Texas, Missouri and Iowa before coming to Alaska. He enjoys the outdoors, hiking and fishing, as well as tinkering with snowmobiles, motorcycles and cars in his free time. He plans to apply to the One Health master’s program at UAF and also plans to attend medical school.
Stitz’s undergraduate 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 the lab of UAF professor William (Bill) Howard, PhD.
The compounds they tested were shown to directly interact with the DNA of cancer cells, which is very significant, as there are still many unknowns in how this process works.
“By working with Dr. Howard, I was able to really get a hands-on appreciation for what I was learning in the classroom,” Stitz said. “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 held in Anaheim, California.
Stitz said Howard was an “incredible mentor” who provided amazing opportunities for him to be a “major part of really phenomenal research.”
“[Howard’s] 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,” Stitz said.
“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.”
He also thanked his previous BLaST Research and Mentoring Professional (RAMP) 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,” Stitz said.
Stitz presenting his research at the 2022 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Students (ABRCMS), Anaheim, California. (Photo Credit: Tyler Baker-Chapman, 2022)
Logan Ito, BLaST Scientist of the Month for May 2023
BLaST Scholar Logan Ito, Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo Credit: Chris Kim, Feb. 2023)
Logan Ito is a first-year BLaST Scholar who graduated from UAF with a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences with a concentration in physiology in May 2023. He was first introduced to BLaST in the summer of 2018, where he studied aquatic parasites in the Rural Alaska Honors Institute (RAHI) research course with Don Larson, PhD, a former BLaST Graduate Research and Mentoring Assistant (GRMA) and current UAF faculty.
Ito, from Dillingham, Alaska, said he has grown fond of Fairbanks and calls it “a home away from home.” Ito enjoys fishing, wrenching on motorcycles and snowmobiles, resurrecting old cars and off-roading. He plans to apply to medical school and hopes to become an orthodontist.
Ito’s research project analyzes the genomics of different Bering Sea herring populations under the guidance of Andrés López, PhD, an associate professor in UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. He started with completing and understanding herring dissections and tissue extractions, and recently moved towards DNA sequencing and analysis.
Ito said understanding the genetics of the Bering Sea herring will provide useful insight towards fisheries management of this species and can be a stepping stone to future projects. He said it is valuable to know more about the seemingly small, yet critical species of the Bering Sea.
Ito expressed how he enjoyed gaining research skills with López.
“The López lab has provided me with research experience encompassing a wide variety of skills to take with me no matter where I end up, and no day seems to be the same,” he said. “This research is a fun and refreshing break from classwork, and I always walk away from the lab feeling like I accomplished something.”
Ito thanked many individuals who have helped him throughout his research journey at UAF.
“I would first like to thank Dr. López and master of fisheries and ocean sciences graduate student Sydney Almgren for their support and infectious enthusiasm integrating me into their lab team,” Ito said. “I have learned so much about research this year and it has truly been a unique experience to broaden my understanding of the many steps it takes to make a project come together.”
He also thanked Larson, who introduced him to the field of research nearly five years ago and “lit a fire that has been burning ever since.”
Ito also thanked his former RAMP Emily Sousa for “being a knowledgeable, supportive and flexible mentor, whether it be academic- or lab-based” and thanked UAF BLaST principal investigator Arleigh Reynolds, PhD, for “being my current BLaST mentor and making sure my last months as a senior are going well.”
Ito with his BLaST faculty mentor and PI Arleigh Reynolds. (Photo credit: Amy Topkok, April 21, 2023)
The Diversity Program Consortium Coordination and Evaluation Center at UCLA is supported by Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health / National Institutes of General Medical Sciences under award number U54GM119024.
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