PhD Candidate is the First TTUHSC Student to Receive F31 NIH Grant

 Brianyell McDaniel Mims had one question for her college adviser: “What are my career choices?”
 
She enjoyed science and had chosen a major in biochemistry. Her adviser helped her apply for the RISE (Research in Science and Engineering) program, which gave Mims an opportunity to work in a science laboratory. “I had no idea I could have a career in science, and once I started working in the lab, I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life,” Mims said.
 
When considering higher education options after graduation, she decided to interview at TTUHSC, though apprehensively.
 
“I was nervous because I felt like I was the only black face when I arrived,” she said. “I was afraid I was going to be treated differently, which I was, but it wasn’t the way I expected. Everyone was so friendly and were very familiar with me as an individual and knew the little things about me. When Dr. Grisham found out I was from New Orleans, he said he’d love to have me in his lab since we’re both from Louisiana!”
 
Almost four years later, and Mims is the first TTUHSC PhD candidate to receive a NIH F31 Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Award — estimated at $91,500 over a three-year period – for her work in the role of T cells and the intestinal microbiota in mouse models of acute graft versus host disease. Patients diagnosed with cancer, blood disorders and autoimmune diseases qualify to receive stem cell transplantation for treatment. However, a 100% perfect match is rare, which can cause many patients receiving stem cell transplants to contract acute graft versus host disease. This disease manifests in inflammation of multiple organs.
 
“You treat one disease, yet cause another,” Mims added. “The cancer or blood disorder is gone but now you have acute graft versus host because the stem cells that are transplanted are attacking the different tissues in the body, which can lead to multiple organ inflammation.”
 
Additionally, the radiation that patients receive before transplantation can be damaging to body tissues, especially the gut. Mims’ work revolves around manipulating T cells in mouse models of acute graft versus host disease in the absence of toxic pre-conditioning such as radiation and intestinal injury.  
 
Mims is expected to graduate in May 2020 with her PhD in Biomedical Sciences: Immunology and Infectious Diseases.
 
Get to Know Brianyell McDaniel Mims:
-One of eight siblings.
-First-generation college student. One of the first of 44 grandchildren to attend college.
-Loves vampire novels.
-Dancer in high school and college.
-Interest in science peaked in 2009 during the swine flu pandemic after scientists created a vaccine.
-Applied to several graduate programs alongside her cousin, Myeisha. “We did literally everything together, and graduate school was no exception. Myeisha was murdered in New Orleans in January 2016 right before the interview process began. Now everything that I do is for the both of us. She is my motivation.”