While perusing the Internet for summer research opportunities early last spring, biology and biochemistry major Megan Kittleson stumbled across the perfect internship opportunity—the chance to spend her summer doing genomic research at the prestigious Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, in conjunction with the University of Cincinnati.
As luck would have it, her connection to Central helped her land the internship. Kittleson wasn’t optimistic about her chances at first, but a few weeks after she applied, Dr. Tom Boat ’61, then executive associate dean at UC College of Medicine, came to campus for the Healthcare Symposium. Although she wasn’t able to meet Boat, she later sent a personal note thanking him for coming. After emailing back and forth, Boat said he would put in a good word for her. Kittleson was one of 80 chosen for the internship program from more than 1,000 applicants.
While in Cincinnati, Kittleson, now a senior at Central, performed independent research on human genes to explore the connection between lupus and Gene PXK, which isn’t very well known. In her research, Kittleson extracted DNA and RNA from cells and looked at the gene’s alleles.
“In genetics, one allele is called the minor allele, and the other is the ancestral allele,” says Kittleson. “Most diseases are found on the minor allele, so it was surprising to find that A, the ancestral allele, was actually the one that was linked to lupus.” From there, more research can be done that may help solve issues with inflamed joints caused by lupus.
Besides her research opportunities, Kittleson was able to shadow 14 doctors in fields ranging from cardiology to nephrology. She also tutored a high school student on the basics of biology and genetics.
Kittleson particularly enjoyed getting to know the Boat family while she was there, to whose home she was often invited for meals. “Dr. Boat was named dean of medicine at the University of Cincinnati while I was there, but he was still modest. He’s just a laid-back, Iowa guy.”
Originally, Kittleson was planning to go into general pediatrics, but after her time shadowing the doctors in Cincinnati, she thinks specialization is a possibility. At the hospital, she often saw young patients afflicted by muscular dystrophy. “I found muscular dystrophy to be a heartbreaking disease,” she says. “It only occurs in boys, and by age 10 their mobility is lost.”
Kittleson plans to attend medical school after she spends a year or two doing more medical research. She has been asked to return to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where she hopes to explore other types of research and volunteer in the hospital and with Ronald McDonald House.