MORRISTOWN — Angiolina Hukovic is not your average high school junior. She excels in the classroom, with a particular interest in science. This interest has led her to extraordinary success, and an opportunity to be named as a co-author of a review article in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Last year, Angiolina, a pianist, joined her twin brother as a member of the North Country Community Orchestra. Through that experience, Angiolina met Dr. Costel C. Darie, a Chemistry & Biochemistry Professor at Clarkson University. She knew that Dr. Darie had a biochemistry and proteomics research lab, and asked if she could visit.

Dr. Darie welcomed Angiolina to the lab, and following her visit invited her to return for the summer of 2023, working on a project examining biomarkers for triple negative breast cancer, specifically in Hispanic women. Angiolina was assigned to work with a mentor, Ms. Whitham, to learn the research process.  Before long, she was up and running on her own.

During this project, Angiolina prepared samples of triple negative breast cancer in Hispanic women using a process called gel electrophoresis. She prepared the gel substance, created wells on top of the gel, and placed the sample into those wells. The samples were then processed by a machine which helps the proteins in the sample to organize themselves according to size. Once this was completed, Angiolina removed the samples and prepared them to be analyzed.

Culminating her experience in the lab, Angiolina created a poster demonstrating her findings. She was invited to present the poster at the local Research and Project Showcase at Clarkson University. In November 2023, Angiolina received another invitation to present once; this time at the Eastern Analytical Symposium, an international conference in Princeton, NJ.

After the Eastern Analytical Symposium, Dr. Darie was invited to contribute with a paper to the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. The paper was written as a collaboration between r. Darie’s lab team and Dr. Anca Neagu, a professor from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iasi, Romania. Angiolina was invited by Dr. Darie to contribute, and was tasked with analyzing research about environmental factors, like the consumption of various substances, and their potential biomarkers, their potential to cause breast cancer, and where in the body the cancer would form.

Angiolina has already been invited to return to Dr. Darie’s lab for the summer of 2024. She says, “I eventually want to go into the medical field, and this was a great step and experience in the field of research to find cures. This helped me to see that I really enjoyed it.” Angiolina is also currently taking college bio through Morristown Central School Districts collaboration with SUNY Potsdam. While unsure as to where she will attend college, Angiolina hopes to pursue her interest in medical research, specifically related to cancer.

Morristown Central School District UPK-12 Counselor, Sarah Belile, says “I am so proud of Angiolina’s work and determination. We have a star walking our halls.”

The article that Angiolina had the opportunity to contribute to, titled Onco-Breastomics: An Eco-Evo-Devo Holistic Approach, can be read here: https://www.mdpi.com/search?authors=hukovic&journal=ijms