Grad student receives Young Investigator Award

Jennifer Patritti Cram is passionate about bench research. But once she completes her doctorate in neurosciences at the College of Medicine next year, she likely will move out of the lab and begin pursuing another of her interests: intellectual property law. No matter which career path she takes, though, she still wants to continue her work increasing the number of minorities in the STEM fields and advocating for science policy.

All these areas are tremendously important to Cram, and she is sure she will be able to find the right mix in her career. First, she will be focusing on her research in neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form anywhere in a person’s nervous system. Her research recently received a substantial boost when she received a Young Investigator Award from the Children’s Tumor Foundation. She was one of eight young scientists from around the world to receive the honor.

“It’s really nice to have that recognition that my research is worth receiving an award like this,” she says.

Iain Cartwright, PhD, associate dean for graduate education, was effusive in his praise for Cram receiving the Young Investigator Award.

“Jennifer is a rare student. One who combines unquestioned academic and research excellence—witness the numerous awards and fellowships she has garnered—with a fierce passion to enhance the opportunities and outcomes for students of color in the scientific profession,” Cartwright says. “She has educated many of us regarding our shortcomings in this area, and her advocacy will have a lasting effect on our programs and policies as we make efforts to move toward a better and more equitable future for all our graduate students at the College of Medicine.”

Cram is perhaps most pleased that the award reviewers included neurofibromatosis patients, the very people she is hoping to help with her research.

“For the grant that I submitted for the Children’s Tumor Foundation Young Investigator Award, I received feedback from patients with neurofibromatosis and it’s nice to hear that they’re very excited about the project because of the potential therapeutic treatments for NF1 (Neurofibromatosis Type 1). When I started writing this grant, I knew I had to transfer my science language into something that a patient could read, and so the fact that they understood my project and were excited about it makes me more proud than actually receiving the award.”

Being able to communicate to a non-science audience is important also for her desire to advocate to policymakers and legislative leaders for increased science funding. Last year she became an Early Career Policy Ambassador for the Society of Neuroscience and went to Capitol Hill to discuss science policy with legislators.

“I met Sen. Sherrod Brown in February and we talked about science and the importance of federal funding for research. Ultimately, I want to combine the passion that I have for science and research with the love that I recently found with law and my passion of policy to increase minority representation. Hopefully those things will combine,” Cram says.

Cram, now in her fifth year of graduate studies at the College of Medicine, was born in Venezuela. When she was 3, her family moved to Puerto Rico where she spent her childhood until leaving for Columbus to attend Ohio State University. She says the death of an aunt from cancer while she was an undergrad at Ohio State fueled her desire to find a cure “to this terrible disease” and began her love of bench research. When she came to UC, the research in tumor development being conducted in the Children’s Hospital lab of Nancy Ratner, PhD, professor of pediatrics, caught her attention, and in 2017 she became a lab team member.

Her background and passion for research led her to joining the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanic and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). She has served for the last two years as president of the University of Cincinnati chapter of SACNAS but is stepping down to concentrate on her research and finish her doctorate.

“One of the things that I’m most proud of with my involvement with the Cincy SACNAS Chapter is founding a mentoring program where we pair undergraduates with graduate student mentors and graduate students with postdocs or faculty mentors. This mentorship program is designed to expand the student’s network and is a way for students to get advice from people other than their advisor,” Cram says.

Cram also was selected to participate in the Yale Ciencia Academy for Career Development, something she calls “one of the best experiences I’ve had as a graduate student.” The academy is sponsored by the non-profit organization Ciencia Puerto Rico in collaboration with Yale University. It provides opportunities for professional mentorship, networking and other skills designed to help participants contribute to their communities through science outreach. It also works to increase the number of scientists from underrepresented or underserved communities.

“In addition to her science, Jennifer is absolutely committed to serve as a mentor and advocate for minority scientists,” Ratner says. “As part of this mission, she has worked tirelessly with SACNAS and attended an outstanding training program over two years in coordination with Yale University. These activities have been an important part of Jennifer’s graduate training plan. She is gaining valuable leadership training, organization skills and management abilities through this work.”

Cram says that working with both organizations helps her stay connected with the Hispanic community and has helped reduce the stress of working toward a doctoral degree.

Her research project, under Ratner’s mentorship, involves looking at drugs that could be used to prevent tumor development or shrink tumor growth in people with NF1, a disease that affects more than 100,00 Americans.

“Our laboratory bred mice that develop NF1 to use as a model of the disease,” Cram explains. “We used genetic modification technologies to alter both copies of the NF1 gene in mouse Schwann cells. These genetic alterations are very similar to the genetic alterations that NF1 patients have. We know that our mouse model of neurofibroma accurately represents the disease because our mice develop plexiform neurofibromas in similar places in the body and at a similar rate that we see in NF1 patients.”

Cram describes Schwann cells as specialized cells surrounding the nerve processes in the body. In healthy humans, Schwann cells help to support nerve function. But in NF1 patients, mutations of the NF1 gene in Schwann cells affect these cell’s normal behavior, causing them to multiply and promoting the development of neurofibroma tumors.

Her work primarily focuses on a receptor in Schwann cells known as P2RY14. Research completed in Ratner’s lab has found that the P2RY14 receptor is highly expressed in NF1 tumors. The hypothesis is that high expression of this receptor is implicated in neurofibroma development.

“We want to test what happens when you completely delete this receptor from Schwann cells,” Cram says. “Does it decrease or prevent tumor formation? We can use our neurofibroma mouse model to manipulate the expression of this receptor in mouse Schwann cells. Our hypothesis is that absence of this receptor in mice with neurofibroma can decrease the rate at which Schwann cells multiply and decrease and/or prevent tumor formation.”

Using the genetically modified mice, Cram has showed that the neurofibroma mice with P2RY14 receptor deleted from Schwann cells tend to survive longer. Additionally, she showed that deletion of P2RY14 from the neurofibroma-bearing mice also decreased tumor number and tumor size.

“These results lead us to believe that the P2RY14 receptor has a role in tumor formation, meaning that if we can potentially target this receptor with drugs, we might see a reduction of tumor formation in NF1 patients,” she says.

Fortunately, there are available drugs available that target P2RY14 receptors for use in model systems. Cram’s research is now investigating whether any of these drugs can be used to treat NF1. Currently there is only one Food and Drug Administration-approved drug (Selumetinib) to treat NF1, but it does not help every patient.

“Her new funding for her research project provides Jennifer with a spectacular opportunity, and it is hoped will contribute toward new hope for therapies that treat this genetic disease,” Ratner says.

The Children’s Tumor Foundation was founded in 1978 as a grassroots organization to find treatments for NF. The Young Investigator Award is the organization’s oldest research award and serves to advance the understanding of the biology of neurofibromatosis and bring talented young investigators into their NF field.

Cram is excited about her future and the potential her research holds. She also is grateful for the Young Investigator Award and thankful to Ratner for her encouragement. “Honestly, I wouldn't have had all these opportunities without having her support,” she admits.

Featured photo of Kim Seroogy, PhD, professor in the College of Medicine Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, and Jennifer Patritti Cram in Washington, DC.

Photos courtesy of Jennifer Patritti Cram.