Hi! My name is Stacia Subick and I am a senior in the Swanson School of Engineering and David C. Frederick Honors College. I am majoring in chemical engineering, and minoring in bioengineering and chemistry. I am also a part of the executive board of Pitt’s chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Outside of school I enjoy baking and sewing, as well as doing my nails! I have also done research with Dr. Steven Little’s lab for the last three years, and I’m so excited to continue my research this summer as a part of the Brackenridge fellowship program! 

I will be working on investigating innate immune system suppression in mice using localized delivery of eATP receptor antagonists. eATP is a chemical that can be secreted by immune cells in response to an allergic reaction. eATP molecules send pro-inflammatory signals when bound to its receptor, which increases the body’s inflammatory response. By delivering small molecules called antagonists that can bind to and block eATP receptors, these signals are dampened. Dampening these pro-inflammatory signals could help suppress the overall inflammatory response. I will be using polymer microparticles to encapsulate a small molecule known to block eATP receptors. Microparticles can be injected under the skin, and release the encapsulated molecules over time. I will be testing the efficacy of these particles using a murine hypersensitivity model, which is essentially testing for a reduced immune response in mice stimulated with an allergen. The focus will be on the innate immune response, which is the first stage of the immune system’s reaction. 

Suppressing the body’s natural immune response can be important in many cases, particularly in transplant patients where there is a risk that the donor tissue is rejected. Transplant patients typically are treated with immunosuppressant drugs, which are delivered systemically and frequently. These drugs can have many undesirable side effects. If localized drug delivery methods are successfully developed, transplants could be treated by suppressing the immune response directly at the area of the transplant. This would help avoid some of the side effects of traditional drug regimens and improve quality of life for transplant recipients.

After I graduate this December, I am hoping to begin a career in the pharmaceutical industry, specifically in research and development. I think this fellowship will give me the opportunity to learn many new technical skills, as well as research methods. I also look forward to practicing effectively communicating my research to a variety of audiences, and am excited to apply everything I learn to my future career!