La Sierra sophomore’s research poster wins prize at San Diego conference

Abrahams’ poster was deemed the best in the genetics category during the 44th Annual West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference at the University of San Diego. It depicted her analysis of the role that host proteins and lipids play in the life cycle of positive-strand RNA viruses, which is the largest genetic class of viruses and includes pathogens such as Zika, Dengue and hepatitis C.  Abrahamswas among 13 undergraduate students from 10 universities and colleges whose research in various subject areas was honored. The group included students from Loyola Marymount University, UC Riverside, Cal State Sacramento, and Scripps College. 

“I was actually kind of surprised because there were so many people there with so many different posters, not just about cells and [microbiology] but about macro stuff, conservation of jaguars and such,” Abrahams said. “When they actually acknowledged me and the work I’ve done it was something really honoring.”

Abrahams, a native of Phoenix, Ariz. and a Seventh-day Adventist, is considering pursuing a doctoral degree in biology once she graduates from La Sierra. She was accepted into the SIGNALS summer research program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she will have the opportunity to interact with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, providing her a window into the worlds of graduate school and research careers.

Abrahams is a research assistant in the lab of Associate Professor of Biology Arturo Diaz where she conducts research on positive strand RNA viruses. Abrahams’ work integrates yeast genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology to identify and characterize the role that host cell proteins play in helping the virus multiply. Gaining a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms used by viruses to replicate will provide a way to design interventions for more effective and diverse antiviral therapies.  

She was introduced to virus research as a freshman through a program called SEA-PHAGES in which students identify new viruses that infect bacteria, also known as bacteriophages. SEA-PHAGES is a program of nearly 160 colleges and universities around the country that is jointly administered by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the lab of Graham F. Hatfull, professor of biological sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.

Diaz initiated SEA-PHAGES in La Sierra’s biology department in 2017. Each year 20 eligible freshmen are accepted into the program which replaces general core biology requirements. The students engage in hands-on scientific research at a level traditionally reserved for graduate students and professors with opportunities to discover new viruses and engage in complex genomics studies. 

Freshmen SEA-PHAGES participants also have the unique and career-enhancing chance to publish their findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In April, the journal Microbiology Resource Announcements published an article produced by La Sierra’s 2018 SEA-PHAGES class, which included Abrahams, describing the genomes of KaiHaiDragon and OneinaGillian, two bacteriophages that students recovered from soil samples in the Riverside area.

“The opportunity to do research with undergraduate students is incredibly rewarding,” Diaz said. “Although they don’t have as much experience as Ph.D. students, if they are properly mentored and motivated they are capable of generating data that is as good, and in some cases better, as that produced by graduate students. Our students have been able to present their research at regional, national, and international conferences. It’s exciting to see when other scientists recognize the quality of our students’ work, as was the case for Rhiannon.”