While still a student at The Gregory School, Euzebie De Montfort ‘25 is already advancing biomedical science. And in recognition of her work, Euzebie received the first place AZ Bio Student Discovery Award in the High School Category at the 2024 AZBio Awards–a celebration of educators, researchers, and organizations in the biosciences across Arizona.
The award, which includes a $1,000 cash prize, recognizes Euzebie’s research that she completed as part of the University of Arizona’s summer KEYS Research Internship, a highly selective program for Arizona high school students to work in University of Arizona faculty laboratories.
Euzebie's abstract: “Mitochondria Permeability Transition Pores (mPTPs) can assist in mitochondrial functions. However, irreversible openings lead to abnormalities and various cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. My project focused on modifying proteins to identify the unknown components of these pores. To do so, I ran two experiments with a probe containing a ligand and one without to visualize the enrichment of the probe to the proteins. We hypothesized that we would see less signaling using the ligand. Current imaging results show the probe without the ligand has a positive dosage response and is effective at labeling general proteins. Proteins with the ligand display fewer but weaker signals possibly due to an unsuccessful chemical reaction or low probe concentrations. In future research, we will perform live cell experiments and use confocal microscopy to observe our probe’s localization to mPTPs. This will be fundamental in creating better treatments against mPTP-related diseases."
During the 2024 KEYS Program, Euzebie spent 42 hours per week for seven weeks in the lab of Dr. Michael Taylor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, studying mitochondrial pores and what causes them to open. “Irreversible openings lead to abnormalities and various cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases,” Euzebie explained.
Euzebie presented the results of her KEYS work, titled “Investigation of Mitochondrial Transition Pore Components With Pyridinium Cyclosporin A,” at the 2024 AZBio Awards poster session, alongside high school students from all over Arizona.
After successfully completing the summer KEYS program, which doubled as her senior internship (a Gregory School graduation requirement), Euzebie has extended her time in Dr. Taylor’s lab, working there this academic year through SARSEF’s STAR Lab program. This continuation of her research involvement has enabled her to add a second senior internship to her transcript.
What are Euzebie’s next steps? While taking both AP Biology and Organic Chemistry at TGS, Euzebie is applying to a variety of universities around the United States, including the Univeristy of Arizona. No matter where she matriculates, she can already be certain that she will be a valuable member of a professor’s research team. Congratulations, Euzebie!
Watch Euzebie explain her research in this YouTube video of the 2024 KEYS Slam, beginning at minute 13:59.
