Photo: Hallie Leo
PhD candidate Emily Sholi has received a prestigious Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to further her ribosome research, using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) methods to understand how pathogens such as pneumonia-causing Pseudomonas aeruginosa inhibit host ribosomes.
Sholi, who is a student in the lab of Andrei A. Korostelev, PhD, professor of RNA therapeutics, studies how infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses can target ribosomes and take control of the host’s translation machinery. A member of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology program in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School, Sholi is using cryo-EM to visualize detailed interactions at atomic resolution between host ribosomes and bacterial protein, which may result in the development of new antibacterial therapies.
“With this fellowship, I now have support to investigate a novel mechanism used by P. aeruginosa to inhibit host ribosomes, which we recently uncovered in collaboration with Victor Ambros’ lab,” Sholi said. Victor R. Ambros, PhD, a 2024 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, is the Silverman Chair in Natural Sciences and distinguished professor of molecular medicine.
The grant funding will also give Sholi the opportunity to attend conferences and present her research to leaders in RNA structure and translation. Her ultimate goal is to establish startup companies for new therapeutics at the ground level.
“Emily is an outstanding student and enthusiastic about her research,” said Dr. Korostelev. “In addition to being an insightful researcher, she’s a wonderful colleague, happy to share her knowledge and skills with others, and she’s a pleasure to discuss new ideas with.”
Sholi, of Sandwich, studied biochemistry at UMass Amherst and worked as a senior research associate at Arrakis Therapeutics prior to applying to UMass Chan.
“As a young scientist, I fell in love with the excitement and challenges of early-stage drug discovery. I set out to find a training environment with a strong RNA community, tons of resources for structural biology and open lines of communication with the biotech hub in Boston. UMass Chan was a perfect fit,” Sholi said.
Sholi is an avid music-lover who designs T-shirts for her friends’ bands. And she says every experiment she does has its own soundtrack.
“I log over 100k minutes of music listening on Spotify per year,” she said.
The Student Spotlight series features UMass Chan Medical School students in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and T.H. Chan School of Medicine. For more information about UMass Chan Medical School and how to apply, visit the Prospective Students page.
