Reda Riffi, a first-generation student at Case Western Reserve University, was selected to participate in the BioMed Amgen Scholars Program at Yale University this summer. Riffi is majoring in neuroscience and conducts research at CWRU in the Xiong Lab.
The BioMed Amgen Scholars Program is a highly competitive, intensive prestigious summer research program for undergraduate students across the nation to engage in science and biotechnology work. The program is affiliated with the Amgen Foundation, the American Cancer Society and 14 premier institutions, including top Ivy League schools such as Yale and Harvard University.
Riffi is one of just 25 students—and one of just seven American Cancer Society Scholars—selected for Yale’s program. The Yale Biomed Amgen scholars reside at the Yale School of Medicine campus apartments, with a stipend and all expenses covered, including travel and housing. Over the nine-week program, students are paired with research mentors for hands-on research projects supported by their matched principal investigator.
This summer, Riffi was matched with the Bindra Lab, working under the supervision of Ranjit Bindra, scientific director of the Chênevert Family Brain Tumor Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center of Yale University. Recently, the team discovered a novel mechanism of action and synthesized the “KL50,” a new lead compound for the treatment of drug-resistant brain cancers. Riffi’s work is in the field of DNA damage repair and drug development.
Riffi’s project involves creating cell lines with defined characteristics by genetically modifying the DNA of alive glioblastoma cancer cells obtained from cancer patients. Using CRISPR-Cas9 technology, Riffi targets particular genes, specifically the DDX11, before the administration of the KL50 molecule.