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Michelle Personick
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Graduation Year: 09
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Previous School: Villa Walsh Academy
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Hometown: Bernardsville, NJ
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Major: Chemistry
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Thesis: Kinetics and Mechanism of the Oxidation of PtIV-bound and RuIII-bound Guanosine Derivatives
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Michelle Personick is Middlebury College's first Beckman Scholar. This prestigiuos program will be awarded to a total of 4 Middlebury chemistry, biochemistry, or biological and medical science students over the next 3 years. See the following for more information on the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department or on the Beckman Scholars Program.
What is your summer research project?
I’m studying the kinetics and mechanism of the oxidation of platinum(IV)-bound and ruthenium(III)-bound guanosine derivatives. I’m looking at how PtIV and RuIII anti-cancer complexes and analogous complexes bind to and oxidize DNA monomers and oligomers, which serve as a simplified model of in-vivo DNA interactions. Previously, it had been proposed that an attached nucleophile at the 5’ or 3’ position of the guanine base was required for oxidation to occur at the H8 position through an intramolecular electron transfer reaction. However, my summer project has shown that in guanine derivatives without a 5’ or 3’ nucleophile, it is possible for this oxidation to occur via an intermolecular reaction if a free nucleophile, such as hydroxide or phosphate, is available. This is important because it shows that these complexes can oxidize guanines in the middle of a DNA chain, which lack a 3’ or 5’ nucleophile, in addition to guanines at the 3’ or 5’ end which do have an attached nucleophile.
How did you become interested or involved in this project? I’ve always been interested in studying treatments for diseases such as cancer. In high school I became particularly interested in the applications of nanotechnology in cancer treatment after I wrote a research paper on gold nanoshells for an essay competition. When I was a freshman at Midd, Prof. Sunhee Choi asked me to join her lab after I took her general chemistry class and I’ve studied various aspects of the interaction of PtIV complexes with DNA since them. Our lab also began working on ruthenium complexes two years ago, and this project has been particularly interesting because it has allowed me to see how the two metals parallel each other. What tools have you used and skills have you learned from doing this project?
Working on a research project has given me a variety of skills, including specific skills such as how to use many different pieces of equipment and instrumentation, as well as the ability to plan experiments and adapt them to account for factors that cause them not to run as planned.
What do you hope others can learn from this project?
PtIV drugs and RuIII drugs provide a promising alternative to current PtII anti-cancer treatments such as cisplatin, because they are less toxic, treat forms of cancer that are cisplatin resistant, and have the potential to be administered orally, rather than intravenously. The goal of research in Choi Lab is to study how these complexes interact with DNA so that it is possible to gain an understanding of the mechanisms by which these drugs work. This helps not only in the understanding of current drugs and drug candidates, but also has the potential to be useful in developing more effective and safer metallopharmaceutical drugs.
How does this project relate to your studies at Middlebury and/or future studies?
I’m a chemistry major, so this project and the work that preceded it have been a major part of my studies here at Middlebury through summer work, J-term independent studies, and work during the school year. They provide a hands-on application of what I’ve learned in my lecture classes and a way to use what I’ve learned in lab classes. The project will also most likely become my thesis project, or at least part of my thesis project. I hope to continue similar work with inorganic chemistry and disease treatment in graduate school, or perhaps study the applications of nanotechnology in the same field.