Anderson Rivas, of Silver Spring, MD was recently selected as one of two recipients of the 2025 Undergraduate Research Award from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 022BC-University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Each spring, the chapter's awards committee selects two applicants to receive $500 each for this prestigious honor on the recommendation of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) Committee.
Anderson was selected by the awards committee for their innovative research abstract and strong letter of support from their mentor, Herana Kamal Seneviratne.
Anderson Rivas, Biological Sciences
Mentor: Herana Kamal Seneviratne, Chemistry
Title of Research: Understanding Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity Using Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics
Abstract: Doxorubicin (DOX) is a first-line chemotherapeutic agent effective against various cancers. However, its clinical administration is constrained by dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. The heart primarily relies on fatty acid oxidation for energy, demonstrating the role of lipid metabolism in cardiac homeostasis. Furthermore, DOX is known to disrupt cellular metabolism, however the connection between DOX-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC) and lipid metabolism remains understudied. We hypothesize that DOX-induced lipid metabolism alterations contribute to DIC. Using a mouse model, we investigated DOX-induced alterations in lipid metabolizing proteins. Eight-week old female C57BL/6 mice were dosed with 15 mg/kg DOX, conferring acute DIC, or vehicle. Body weights were monitored and hearts harvested seven days after treatments. Heart slices underwent cryosectioning, protein extraction, digestion, and proteomics analysis via nano-HPLC and timsTOF mass spectrometry. Data were analyzed by PEAKS Studio to identify detected proteins and their intensities. Proteins with at least a 1.5 times fold change between control and DOX-treated groups were investigated for lipid metabolism involvement. DOX downregulated Acyl carrier protein, mitochondrial, ATP-citrate synthase, Prostaglandin E synthase 2, and Methylmalonyl-CoA epimerase, mitochondrial, while upregulating Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase family member 11. DOX-treated mice also demonstrated body weight reduction. These data reveal that DOX modulates the above lipid metabolizing proteins.
More About Phi Kappa Phi
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. The Society's mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others." Since its founding, more than 1.5 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization's more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist John Grisham and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi awards nearly $1 million to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.
More About Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 22BC
Chartered in 2010, Chapter 22BC invites the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors for membership in Phi Kappa Phi. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.