Student Volunteer Who Discovers a Way to Kill Cancer Cells Starts and Internship at Moffitt

June 07, 2002

TAMPA, FL -- (June 7, 2002) Anupama Kotha, was a 14-year-old student research volunteer at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute when she discovered that resveratrol, a grape extract, can kill cancer cells. Now 17, she is a Moffitt student intern continuing to study how resveratrol affects the proliferation of normal and tumor-induced cells.

Kotha became interested in cancer research three years ago, inspired by the fact that some of her family members have had cancer. As a freshman at King High School, she began a science project on a based on the theory that compounds in grapes can fight cancer. She has based her study on the French Paradox: French people eat rich food yet have a lower rate of heart disease than Americans. This paradox has been attributed to the protective affects of resveratrol that is present in wine made from red grapes. Although the French Paradox has been studied and results reported, Kotha’s findings came at time when little was known about the anti-tumor properties of resveratrol. Kotha said, “I was amazed to see that such simple work could yield such outstanding results especially because they were unexpected.”

She has been a student research volunteer for the last three years at Moffitt in Dr. Richard Jove’s laboratory; Jove is the Program Leader of the Molecular Oncology Program. Kotha credits Jove for being supportive throughout her project and an amazing guiding force in study development and execution. She is now a summer intern at Moffitt.

The summer interns, under the direction of Moffitt faculty, work in Cancer Center laboratories, attend seminars and mix with graduate and postdoctoral fellows. Junior and senior faculty at the University of South Florida College of Medicine and Moffitt Cancer Center provide additional leadership and mentoring. Anu’s achievements are extraordinary, especially for a high school student,” says Dr. Jove. “Since her initial observations, other laboratories have independently made similar findings and confirmed her results, which she plans to publish after completing her studies this summer.”

Her accomplishments include winning the Best of Fair three years in a row in the senior division of Hillsborough County’s science fair competition, winning the Best of Fair at the state science fair this year and being honored by the Athena Society as one of the top ten Young Women of Promise. She is also among 21 U.S. students who will travel to South Korea this summer to study with some of the top researchers in the biotechnical field.

Kotha would like to attend an Ivy League medical school when she graduates and pursue a career in pharmaceuticals.

Situated on the campus of the University of South Florida, Moffitt Cancer Center is a world renowned cancer treatment and research facility. The only National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in Florida, Moffitt’s mission is to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer.

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