Undergraduate Research at Virginia Tech

Canine Brain Tumors a Possible Model for Human Cancers

By Jessica Cooper, marketing management major and honors student

Now in her final semester, senior biology major Jessica Kross began her days as a cancer research assistant haphazardly. Following a suggestion from Biology Associate Professor Jill Sible, Kross began investigating research opportunities in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Her initiative and hard work quickly paid off, landing her a position with Professor John Robertson.

Specializing in oncology, Robertson, a.k.a Dr. Bob, conducts comparative research between cancers in animal species and similar cancers in humans. Alongside Dr. Bob, Kross has dedicated the last two years to studying the development of astrocytic brain tumors in canines. The overall goal is to verify that such tumors in dogs are a good source to study and compare against human brain tumors, said Kross.

In her research, known as Immunohistochemistry Procedures for Canines, Kross is using antibodies to stain cells to help find specific molecules on cells. In layman's terms, she is trying to determine whether brain tumors in dogs are expressing the same proteins as tumors found in humans. The entire process of staining cells with the antibodies can take anywhere between five hours and a day and a half. With so many minute variables that need to be precise, "it's exciting and entertaining when everything goes right and we get the results we are expecting," remarked Kross.

Kross uses canines for her research because they are the only species that has naturally occurring brain tumors at the same rate as humans. Thus canines provide a more realistic model because the tumors are naturally occurring, rather than implanted in mice or grown in Petri dishes. The specimens she used were taken from dogs that had died over the last 20 years of brain tumors. "They were people's pets and there was nothing clinically that could be done for them," Robertson said.

Kross's research results have so far shown that astrocytic brain tumors in dogs express the same proteins as those found in humans.

For those suffering from cancer, this research is essential. The proteins that Kross is hoping to find are being used as targets for specific drugs to help fight this still very mysterious and developing disease of cancer. Kross and other researchers are hoping to identify which proteins are being under expressed and which are being over expressed so that they can develop better treatments. Such findings would allow doctors to treat patients more effectively without damaging as many normal cells, as current treatments like chemotherapy and radiation do.

Despite her interest in staining slides and conducting the hands-on research, Kross's least favorite part of the entire process was conducting research in the library. "I'd get sidetracked a lot," she told me, which turned an already arduous process into a much more time consuming affair. However, during last summer's fellowship program, run by Dr. Bob, veterinary students provided guidance about how to better maneuver in the library as well as the lab.

With graduation near, Kross looks towards medical school in the fall. She will most likely study at the University of Virginia. Looking back on her research, Kross commented that even though it was a wonderful opportunity overall, it made her sure that she did not want to pursue research as a career path. However, it did spawn an interest in the study of oncology, in addition to her already present interest in family practice.