Valparaiso University student researches medical mystery

Sara Tewoldemedhin completed the summer portion of her research as a recipient of the American Physiological Society’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

Tewoldemedhin, a biochemistry major, is the university’s first student to receive the fellowship. Her project analyzes compounds involved in regulating fluids within the body to explore questions in the mechanics of those systems.

Patrice Bouyer, associate professor of biology and APS member, acted as her faculty sponsor for the project.

Tewoldemedhin’s research focused on the compound NKCC1. It is critical to chloride-driven fluid secretion in the human body which is an important process for the healthy function of a variety of organ systems. When activated, protein kinase C causes cells to internalize NKCC1, but what activates the protein is unclear. Her research involves testing whether the protein ubiquitin could be responsible.

Tewoldemedhin said she will have more research to do before the abstract submission deadline in December.

“I’ll need a lot of patience and persistence if I want to be part of a research lab,” Tewoldemedhin said in a press release . “There are a lot of things that go wrong, and things that you have to troubleshoot for, and that takes a lot of patience and grace, sometimes for yourself because you might make mistakes.”

The fellowship included a stipend for 10-weeks of consecutive research and travel expenses for the APS Summit in April 2025 in Baltimore.

Tewoldemedhin tells other students trying to make their projects a reality to not let fear hold them back.

“You can trust that you’re way more capable than you think you are,” she said. “Have faith that even if you don’t understand something at first, you can still learn from the experience.”

The post Valparaiso University student researches medical mystery appeared first on Northwest Indiana Business Magazine .