By Deborah Wormser

Two students in the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences have received prestigious 2015 International Student Research Fellowships from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

Ho Yee "Joyce" Fung

The fellowships are among 45 awarded to students from 18 countries. The program, established in 2011, provides $43,000 in annual support for international students during their third through fifth year of graduate school in the United States. The awardees from UT Southwestern are:

• Ho Yee “Joyce” Fung, of Hong Kong, a fourth-year student in the molecular biophysics program, who is mentored by Dr. Yuh Min Chook, Professor of Pharmacology and of Biophysics; and
• Le Qi, of China, a third-year student in the cancer biology program, who is mentored by Dr. Sean Morrison, Director of the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern, and is himself an HHMI Investigator.

Ms. Fung, a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, will work on a project focused on understanding CRM1 (chromosome region maintenance 1 protein), the major export factor that transports numerous proteins and nucleic acids from the nucleus to the cytoplasm – the area surrounding the nucleus – in the cell. Specifically, she will seek to identify how the exporter recognizes various protein cargoes by their attached nuclear export signals. The signals in these proteins are similar to barcodes on packages: When the signals are “read” by CRM1, the “packages” are sent out of the nucleus to their destinations.

Le Qi

Recently, CRM1 inhibition has gained attention in cancer therapy and a small-molecule, oral CRM1 inhibitor is in clinical trials as a potential treatment for various cancers. Ms. Fung’s project could help lead to a better understanding of how CRM1 inhibitors work.

“I am very honored to have received this award, and I am most grateful for all the help and guidance provided by my mentor and other members of the department,” Ms. Fung said.

Mr. Qi’s project focuses on the unfolded protein response in mammalian blood-forming stem cells and their descendants. By doing so, he investigates a fundamental question in biology: Do different cell types have different sensitivity to the accumulation of misfolded proteins as often occurs in neurodegenerative diseases? The research could provide novel insights into stem cell biology as well as improving our understanding of diseases associated with protein misfolding.

“I feel very honored to receive this prestigious fellowship and I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Morrison, for his tremendous help throughout the process,” Mr. Qi said.

Dr. Morrison, a native of Canada, was selected as an HHMI International Predoctoral Fellow when he was completing his Ph.D. at Stanford University.

“It feels like an opportunity to give back a little by now mentoring one of these students in my lab,” Dr. Morrison said. “These are all students who have an opportunity to do something special. The fellowships fill a major need, while also supporting some of the strongest and most highly selected students in the country,” he added.

International students in U.S. graduate schools often have difficulty getting funding to support their studies. They are not eligible for federal fellowships or training grant support, or other governmental opportunities that are generally reserved for students who are U.S. citizens.

Dr. Chook is a Eugene McDermott Scholar in Medical Research.

Dr. Morrison holds the Mary McDermott Cook Chair in Pediatric Genetics.