Samantha Yee, a third-year Ph.D. student in the pharmacology and physiology discipline of the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Program, has published a co-first author paper in Nature Communications. Yee is a student in Dr. April Risinger’s lab and is her first graduate student.

The title of Yee’s paper is “Elucidating target specificity of the taccalonolide covalent microtubule stabilizers employing a combinatorial chemical approach.”

Sam’s dissertation research focuses on evaluating the pharmacological and physiological effects of a novel class of microtubule stabilizers, the taccalonolides, in both in vitro and in vivo cancer models, particularly ovarian cancer.

Ultimately, the goals of her dissertation work are 1) to identify an optimal taccalonolide for future clinical development and 2) elucidate the molecular and cell biological mechanisms underlying the antitumor efficacy of this novel class of drugs.

“It is certainly a humbling opportunity to publish in Nature Communications, as the main goal is to conduct good and solid science that is rigorous and reproducible and to have the ability to share these findings with the scientific community and a broader audience,” Yee said. “By publishing in Nature Communications, we are able to reach a broader audience with diverse backgrounds and, hopefully, receive some constructive criticism regarding our research from experts in their respective fields. As scientists, we always strive to improve our experimental design and to critically answer questions, while intertwining disciplines, to help better lives at the end of the day.”