UA Little Rock Senior Completes Competitive Research Internship at Arkansas Children’s Hospital

UA Little Rock senior Armin Mortazi, a biology major with a minor in chemistry, completed a highly competitive internship with Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) over the summer.

Mortazi was one of 20 students nationwide selected to gain hands-on research and clinical experience through ACH's Summer Science Internship Program.

"When I got that call and found out that I'd been accepted, I was shocked," Mortazi recalled. "I had applied to probably a dozen internships, and this one felt like a reach, but I applied anyway. I was super stoked to find out I was accepted."

The internship was focused on advanced medical research and also gave students the opportunity to shadow physicians in various specialties. During his internship, Mortazi observed professionals in neurosurgery, emergency medicine, as well as plastic surgery.

Mortazi spent his internship working under the guidance of Dr. Graham Strub on his R01 research project focused on inhibiting microRNA-21. The goal of this research is to address Lymphatic Malformation in Endothelial Cells (LMEC), vascular anomalies that can happen anywhere on the body and can be extremely disruptive to those impacted.

"These LMEC can prevent eating, breathing, sight, and can happen anywhere," Mortazi explained. "They're not supposed to happen. We're trying to address the core issue. Current treatments like laser or surgery are only temporary solutions because the core of the problem is microRNA 21, which inhibits tumor suppressors and causes the LMEC to return."

Mortazi credited UA Little Rock with preparing him to be able to go in and pick up different techniques, despite having limited experience with the research topic prior to his internship.

"It was a pretty seamless transition," Mortazi noted. "My experience in the labs here at UA Little Rock had me well equipped."

During his internship, Mortazi worked with Dr. Strub, as well as Dr. Haihong Zhang and Dr. Syed Jafar Mehdi, who imparted valuable knowledge. He also had the opportunity to use high end equipment, including the digital droplet PCR (ddPCR), to identify potential issues in DNA sequences.

Mortazi found his experience at Arkansas Children's Hospital highly rewarding.

"It was amazing to be in an environment where there are children next door and we're treating their problems," stated Mortazi. "It really puts into perspective how translational this research is."

Mortazi emphasized the importance of increased involvement in medicine.

"Medicine is a gift to everyone," stated Mortazi. "This experience really opened my eyes to how much help is needed. The more people get involved in medicine, the more of these research developments we can make and ultimately the more people we can help."

Although his internship is over, Mortazi plans to continue his research with Dr. Strub as a volunteer.