By Catherine Duncan
\nWhen Derek Wallace was accepted into the SUNRISE program, the nursing student brought 15 months of laboratory experience in an oncology lab and a physiology lab.<\/p>\n
Wallace, a seventh-semester traditional track Bachelor of Science in Nursing student, said he thoroughly enjoyed his lab experience and has always had a fascination with research. When he heard about the nursing school\u2019s new SUNRISE program, it sounded like the perfect fit for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SUNRISE program is totally different than what I did before. In my previous experience, I was given a task to do,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIn the SUNRISE program, I\u2019m tasked with developing a research question and designing experiments to answer that question.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 In his research project, Wallace worked with his faculty mentor, Darpan I. Patel, Ph.D., to plan the research project, perform experiments, conduct statistical analysis, and disseminate the findings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is truly collaborative. Dr. Patel is a true mentor rather than a boss,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Their research, \u201cAttenuating Prostate Cancer Induced Cachexia with Exercise and Nexrutine\u00ae,\u201d concentrates on studying the cytokine (inflammatory) signaling of prostate cancer tumors that leads to cachexia, which is the clinical name for muscle wasting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are looking at two non-pharmaceutical interventions\u2014exercise and Nexrutine\u00ae which is the extract of cork tree bark\u2014to\u00a0prevent or delay muscle wasting due to prostate cancer,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cIf we can reduce this debilitating side effect of cancer, we can significantly improve quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Patel said pharmaceutical interventions have proven to be ineffective and have adverse effects. \u201cCachexia is a complex condition with multiple physiological pathways involved. Prescribed medications typically target just one protein in one pathway. In my lab, we study the effectiveness of exercise and Nexrutine\u00ae in modifying all the physiological pathways associated with cachexia. Nexrutine\u00ae and exercise appear to be more effective and target multiple pathways. Once we figure out what these interventions are doing to the muscle in animal models, we can measure their effectiveness in cancer patients with cachexia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Wallace said their research can be translatable to other populations suffering from cachexia, like patients with COPD, advanced cardiovascular disease and other cancers. Once their research is completed, their findings can be the basis for recommending patients at risk for muscle loss exercise and take Nexrutine\u00ae in order to battle muscle wasting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Undergraduate student Derek Wallace brought previous lab experience to the SUNRISE program, but he was excited to learn he would actually plan the research project, perform experiments, conduct statistical analysis, and disseminate the findings. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"magazine":[24],"issue-year":[20],"featured-story":[],"class_list":["post-486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","magazine-tribute","issue-year-20"],"yoast_head":"\n