Saicharan V.

Hello, my name is Saicharan Vellanki, and I am a rising sophomore at Issaquah High School. I was part of the first session of the Fred Hutch Explorers Pathways Research Explorers Program.

            In the past, I have worked in the field of computational biology, with a focus on the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in cancer research. I was always on the computer, programming neural networks, preprocessing datasets, and writing research papers. I had never even used a micropipette, one of the most basic techniques, or even entered a real-world research lab. However, this program had changed everything. I saw firsthand labs using animal models, machinery costing millions of dollars, and finally, I even learned how to use a micropipette.

Caption: Me fake micropipetting during a lab.            

As part of the many concepts and techniques I learned, the most interesting and intriguing was the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) on the BRCA1 gene, a common gene that is mutated in breast cancer. PCR is a common technique that helps amplify the number of copies of a specific DNA sequence. To successfully achieve this, three basic components are needed. First, a template DNA. This is the DNA that contains the section one is interested in copying, and the source of the DNA can be from any organism or synthetic. Second, PCR-Grade Water is needed. This is ultra-pure water, free of DNases, which are enzymes that degrade DNA. Adding this water helps dilute the template DNA to an ideal concentration for PCR. Finally, a master mix is needed. The master mix contains Taq DNA polymerase, an enzyme that can build copies of DNA and withstand the high temperatures required to separate the strands of DNA, nucleotides, the building blocks of DNA (A, T, G, and C) that Taq polymerase used to build new primers, and primers, short sequences of DNA surround the section that one is interested in copying and also tell the Taq polymerase where to start copying. The stages of a PCR reaction include denaturation, when the DNA strands separate, annealing, when the primers attach to the DNA, and finally extension, when the Taq polymerase builds onto the attached primer, creating a new strand. Using the materials and following the steps in the lab, I successfully amplified the BRCA1 gene, making the experiment a success.

Caption: The amplified BRCA1 can be clearly seen on the right as SYBR Safe was used to illuminate the amplified DNA.

            Along with learning the many wet-lab techniques, I also highly enjoyed the talks given by the guest speakers. One I particularly found fascinating was Dr. Abizar Lakdawalla’s talk. He described the next-generation method of cancer diagnosis, liquid biopsies. In this type of biopsy, blood is extracted from patients, and as dead cancer cells shed their DNA that enters the bloodstream, the blood can tell medical professionals whether cancer is present or not. Listening to this novel research sparked a desire in me to incorporate liquid biopsies into my current research as well.

            As a final message, the Fred Hutch Explorers Pathways Research Explorers Program provided a transformative experience for me, as I learned many applicable wet-lab techniques and was able to see firsthand how real-world labs work and the current research being conducted in the field. Apart from all the learning, I also enjoyed many fun activities, such as playing Mafia and chess with my friends.

Caption: Kunqi and I playing chess.

I can safely say that I will never forget this amazing experience.