AWA R D S
Neuroscience Student Goes for Goldwater BY YVONNE GAY
TANYA ROSEN-JONES ’97
In his first three years at Oberlin, neuroscience major Paul Kamitsuka conducted research to establish and understand nature-nurture interactions in brain disorders—studies that illuminated a path toward graduate research of brain cancer and other diseases. Now the rising fourth-year student from Avon Lake, Ohio, is the recipient of a 2022 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, which will support his final year of undergraduate studies at Oberlin. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1986, the Goldwater Scholarship is a highly competitive, merit-based award offered to college sophomores and juniors preparing for careers in the natural sciences, engineering, and math. Kamitsuka, who paired his neuroscience major with a minor in chemistry, is interested in studying what can go wrong with cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate nerve cell function in the brain, as well as how disruption in energy production affects other seemingly separate biological processes to cause diseases. “Although neurodegeneration is the progressive loss of nerve cells, and cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells, the metabolic characteristics between the two diseases are strikingly similar,” he explains. “Brain cancer is particularly fascinating because of the strict metabolic regulation that is needed to provide sufficient energy for the brain, the practical challenge of dealing with this balance, and the challenge of drug delivery to the brain. “These factors, the lack of a cure or efficacious treatment options, and my interest in studying cellular metabolism have led me to want to pursue a career as a medical scientist in neuro-oncology.” At Oberlin, Kamitsuka works in the lab of Biggs Professor of Neuroscience Gunnar Kwakye, whose research team studies the impact of environmental pollutants on the OBERLIN ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2022 SUMMER
development and progression of various neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and multiple system atrophy diseases, which are characterized by selective loss of nerve cells, motor incoordination, and altered involuntary functions such as breathing and blood pressure. Ongoing research conducted by Kamitsuka and other members of Kwakye’s lab examines the effects of the heavy metal cadmium—which is abundant in our environment and in tobacco plants—on the development and severity of Huntington’s disease. The lab also undertakes ongoing collaborative research projects to use innovative drug discovery through computer-aided drug design, genetic editing, and chemical synthesis of small molecule probes to interrogate human biology processes and disease states in neurodegenerative diseases and breast cancer, toward the goal of developing new therapeutics.
Kamitsuka and Kwakye are coauthors on a collaborative research paper under review that demonstrates the efficacy of a novel small molecule in altering energy function in triple-negative breast cancer cells and mice. “The immense support of my research mentor, Professor Kwakye, and other mentors within chemistry, neuroscience, and CLEAR (Center for Learning, Education, and Research in the Sciences) have made my academic and experiential learning here at Oberlin exceptional,” he says. In addition to the Goldwater Scholarship, Kamitsuka is a 2022 recipient of the Society of Toxicology Undergraduate Research Award, which fosters interest in graduate studies in toxicology and adjacent scientific fields.
To learn more about recent awards and fellowships for Oberlin students and recent graduates, visit go.oberlin.edu/ awards. 5