Congratulations to Honors sophomore and Chancellor’s Scholar Gabrianne Ivey, who has been awarded the 2019-20 George Williams Garrett Memorial Scholarship. Ivey is a biology major pursuing double a double minor in chemistry and mathematics.
Ivey is working in the research labs of Dr. Darren Seals and Dr. Maryam Ahmed, both associate professors in the Department of Biology. This scholarship is to support Ivey’s research study of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) towards a therapeutic for breast cancer. As Ivey relates,
“Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and has few curative options in its advanced stages… Previous work in our lab suggests that VSV kills breast cancer cells, but can also either kill cancer-promoting macrophages and/or coerce them to a tumor-fighting phenotype. Less clear, however, is how the virus impacts co-cultured breast cancer cells and macrophages within a simulated breast tumor microenvironment. I hope to gain a newfound understanding of VSV’s therapeutic efficacy, a goal made all the more important now that the virus is in clinical trials for cancers of other tissue origins.”
Mrs. Sheila Garrett established the George Williams Garrett Memorial Scholarship in 2017 in honor of her late husband George Williams Garrett. Mr. Garrett, an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam, was a mathematician and systems analyst. Mrs. Garrett is a medical technologist whose career spanned 45 years. The Garrett family is devoted to scientific research, especially research focused on medical applications.
The George Williams Garrett Memorial Scholarship provides $1000 support to students in the Honors College at Appalachian pursuing careers in scientific research with preference given to students who are planning to work in medicine or medical research. Honors College students in good standing and performing research in fields related to the biomedical field are eligible to apply. This scholarship supports research and related travel expenses outside of coursework. Ivey plans to present her research at the North Carolina American Society for Microbiology Branch Meeting and the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium.
Top photo of Honors sophomore and Chancellor’s Scholar Gabrianne Ivey, the 2019-20 George Williams Garrett Memorial Scholarship award winner.
