NREF awards UC medical student neurosurgery research fellowship

“I was ecstatic,” says Carnwath, “actually that’s an understatement.” He embarrassedly admitted he was running around his apartment shouting with excitement. 

That one-year fellowship allowed Carnwath to assist Matthew Garrett, MD, PhD, in a research project focused on a particular type of brain cancer called IDH1 mutant glioma. “These particular gliomas behave a little bit differently,” Carnwath explains, “at least at the molecular level.”  

Through a drug screen, Garrett and Carnwath identified inhibitors of histone deacetylase, or the HDAC family of enzyme, as specifically effective in stopping these tumors. “The problem is though,” says Carnwath, "there is not just one HDAC enzyme, there are actually 18.”

They had to eliminate each enzyme one-by-one, which brought in Carnwath’s computer-coding skills. “I was able to do the sequencing analysis,” he explains, “which is pretty complex.” 

Garrett was impressed by Troy's work. "It takes many people years if not decades to learn the coding skills that Troy acquired during his undergraduate experience and during this fellowship," he said. "They have multiple applications and will make Troy a highly sought-after collaborator throughout his career."