Zuha Tariq

Abstract: Mobile genetic elements, tumor suppression and aging: insights from a retroelement reporter.
p53 mediates stress responsive apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and senescence and is the most commonly mutated gene in human cancer.  This gene regulates adaptive responses to cellular stress by controlling the expression of genes that mediate cell cycle arrest, DNA damage repair, and programmed cell death. However, recent studies suggest that known p53 pathways are unable to explain p53 tumor suppression.  Leveraging the drosophila model organism, the Abrams lab identified an evolutionarily conserved function of p53 in the basal repression of retrotransposons in unstressed cells. Loss of p53 is permissive for retrotransposon activation, but secondary stimuli are required to trigger retroelement eruptions in these cells.  In this study, a fluorescent retroelement reporter was utilized to identify stimuli and cellular conditions capable of inducing retroelement activity in p53 mutant tissues. Data suggests the retroelement reporter correlates with endogenous retroelement eruptions. Analysis of stochasticity of retroelement eruptions suggest that eruptions are stable after being induced. Furthermore, results suggest that there was no significant relationship between penetrance of retroelement eruptions within p53 mutant animals and age. Future studies will be targeted to validate this data and understand if retroelements become dysregulated in p53 isoform knockouts, allowing further characterization of the complex p53 regulatory network.

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What does research mean to you? 
Research to me is the tool that gives the power to an individual to make necessary improvements to the world around them. Whether it may be the advancement or further understanding of technology, biology, therapeutics, energy, health care, or more, it should only be pursued in order to bring benefit to one’s society. I hope to use research throughout my life to discover and drive positive change in the global community.
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Tell us about your journey.
My research career began while interning in the Healthy Development Project under Dr. Holub at UTD as a research assistant, working to collect data to understand the factors associated with childhood obesity. During my sophomore year, I also began scribing and began to fall in love with the clinical setting, including the interaction with patients and opportunities to understand the science behind a variety of diseases. Furthermore, in my junior year, I worked as a lab assistant in the Hajeri Lab at UTD which focused on creating STEM research lesson plans for educators around the DFW area and instilling passion for science in the next generation. These experiences drove me to integrate my passion for science and medicine, leading me to apply for the Green Fellowship.

What was your favorite part about the program? 
My favorite part of the fellowship was it providing me the opportunity to pause other aspects of my life and dive into the depths of a single topic. I enjoyed learning so many new things and conversing with people with so much knowledge on the subject. This experience made me recognize the beauty behind science and its infinite complexity. I realized that the more one studies, the more they will realize how little they truly know, driving their desire to continue to learn and discover more.

What was the biggest thing you learned from the program?
Throughout this experience, I was reminded time and time again to appreciate the beauty of failure and was forced to become comfortable with it. I was able to learn so much from the many times my RNA extraction did not work or other malfunctions and resulted in me having to troubleshoot or go back to the drawing table. I now understand the amount of resilience and patience the field requires for one to excel and am prepared to embrace future difficulties that come my way. 

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Advice for Future Green Fellows

My main advice for a future Green Fellow would be to prioritize this experience like no other. Attend seminars, ask your mentor questions, and don’t limit yourself. Research is a difficult field that builds character, developing individuals with the utmost amount of patience, humility, and strength. Find time to reflect on your journey and discover things about yourself, including the person this hard work pushed you to become and what you still need to improve.