UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #408

Submission information
Submission Number: 408
Submission ID: 8311
Submission UUID: 924ee44f-44b2-4719-a877-782766ae627b

Created: Thu, 08/10/2023 - 04:28 PM
Completed: Thu, 08/10/2023 - 04:28 PM
Changed: Fri, 09/01/2023 - 01:37 PM

Remote IP address: 128.186.168.104
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Primary Research Mentor Name Zucai Suo
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns Dr.
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific? suo.zucai@med.fsu.edu
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) zucai.suo@med.fsu.edu
Position Title Faculty
FSU College (if applicable) Medicine
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation FSU
Headshot (optional)
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above) Nikita Zalenski
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific?
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) nikita.zalenski@med.fsu.edu
Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable) Turner Seay
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific?
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) turner.seay@med.fsu.edu
Title of the Project Mechanistic investigation of the Inhibitory mechanisms of a novel blockbuster anti-AIDS drug
Project Keywords HIV. nucleoside analog drug, drug inhibitory mechanism, AIDS
Are you currently looking for research assistants? Yes
Number of Research Assistants Needed 3
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) The potential undergraduate researchers should major in biochemistry, biology, chemistry, or biomedical engineering.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation?
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): In-person
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? 8 hours
Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work? During business hours
Overall Research Project Description Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) persists as one of the top ten leading causes of death in certain populations. One significant feature of HIV is its ability to mutate with high frequency, garnering resistance to many historical and current anti-HIV medications. Our research aims to investigate the kinetics of the novel nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI), Islatravir, with HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) mutants or human DNA polymerases. Islatravir is undergoing multiple phase II and III clinical trials by Merck, Inc. Our research efforts will help Merck to understand the inhibitory mechanism and potential toxicity of Islatravir at molecular level.
Research Tasks bench work, data collection and analysis, and prepare simple project report under the guidance of graduate students and Dr. Suo.
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Recommended skills: biochemistry and some chemistry skills, and good bench performance.
Mentoring Philosophy As a professor for more than 22 years, I enjoy working with the motivated students. I feel really good when I see my young trainees growing intellectually and professionally. During my career, I have trained about undergraduate researchers in my labs at the Ohio State University and here. The general pattern is that the GPAs of my undergraduate researchers were/are higher after working in my labs.
Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable): https://med.fsu.edu/suolab/home
Please add any additional information here (if applicable):
Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation Yes
Materials Grant Yes
UROP Poster Presentation Yes
Year 2023
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