NDSU Senior Aids Cancer Research Quest

An NDSU undergrad, Nathan Fix, is as­sisting efforts to improve the way a deadly disease is treated.
The 23-year-old senior studying micro­biology is researching ways to better combat one of the most deadly forms of cancer.
The research that Fix, three other un­dergrad students and two Ph.D students — Shireen Chikara and Harsharan Dhillon — are working on includes finding a less harmful way to treat pancreatic cancer us­ing a bioactive agent found in peppers called piperlongumine. They work in the lab of as­sistant professor of biological sciences Ka­tie Reindl.
The research is dissertation work for Dhillon, but Fix has worked on several as­pects of the project himself, Reindl said.
One of the key parts of research that Fix is working on involves understanding how the piperlongumine works under hypoxic conditions.
“Hypoxia is a condition of low oxygen that cancer cells frequently experience,” Re­indl said.
“Piperlongumine inhibits one of the key proteins involved in the hypoxic response,” she added. “Nathan has worked to develop new assays to study piperlongumine’s abil­ity to kill cancer cells that are growing in hypoxic conditions.”
Fix said he became interested in his pur­suit after taking one of Reindl’s classes.
“I found an unknown passion for molec­ular biology,” Fix said.
“My work’s importance and potential impacts it may have within the medical field come from the experiences I have had as an undergraduate researcher,” he added.
Reindl said Fix is motivated, responsi­ble, takes initiative and is a leader in the lab.
“Nathan has a curiosity about life and is motivated to learn new things,” she said. “He asks a lot of good questions and comes up with his own ideas.”
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Reindl said the five-year survival rate for those diagnosed with it is less than five percent.
“Most pancreatic cancer patients die within months of their diagnosis because there are very few effective treatment op­tions,” Reindl said.
Fix said his research team might not cure cancer, but it may increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments. Reindl said the research could also yield a less toxic ap­proach to treating cancer.
She said a lot of undergrads assist gradu­ate and Ph.D students with their research, especially in the biological sciences depart­ment.
Fix’s advice, “If a professor does re­search that seems interesting, get in contact with them.”