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“Lafayette has an environment that stimulates students beyond the classroom,” says neuroscience major Jacobi Cunningham ’03, who has just been accepted by Boston University School of Medicine for enrollment in the master’s program of the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
Working with Elaine Reynolds, assistant professor of biology, Cunningham is making great strides toward a treatment for epilepsy by testing an experimental drug called Topomax. The drug, which is under patent, was received as a gift from the Robert Wood Johnson Pharmaceutical Institute.
Cunningham and Reynolds are using fruit flies with genetic mutations that cause seizures and paralysis to learn more about the disease and its potential treatments. The researchers are working with two groups of flies. One is given Topomax for a day, while the other is fed the drug for the duration of its life. Reynolds reports that both groups exhibit significant improvement after the drug is administered, but the lifetime feeding is much more effective.
“Another aspect of the project is understanding how the mechanism of the drug works,” says Reynolds. “This is a unique facet of the research that will result in new information.”
Cunningham, who will pursue a career in pharmacology, says he is excited because this research is similar to graduate-level work and industry studies. He devotes about ten hours a week to his project and hopes to publish his findings at the end of the semester.
“Jacobi is learning to use pharmacological agents to answer questions about basic cellular mechanisms and is applying his knowledge to solve a problem in a human disease,” says Reynolds. “He has been able to read and integrate his knowledge and has creatively applied his learning to understand the scientific problem.”
Cunningham describes Reynolds as “an excellent guide who facilitates the progress of this project.”
“She is beyond qualified to be my mentor, and I am honored to have her help and support my efforts,” he adds.
Cunningham has held leadership positions in many campus organizations, including president, vice president, and treasurer of Association of Black Collegians; executive chair of Lafayette Activities Forum; vice president of the campus chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Rho Omicron; Student Government multicultural liaison; treasurer of Brothers of Lafayette; and president of Freshmen Class Council. He is a member of the Lafayette Dance Team and The Chorduroys, a male a cappella group. He also serves as student coordinator for the Office of Intercultural Development and is a night manager at Farinon College Center.
Jacobi Cunningham ’03 researched the experimental drug Topomax with Elaine Reynolds, associate professor of biology.