At the 2024 ACPHS Research Symposium, 23-year-old Landon Thompson described four years of research, working with ACPHS faculty, fellows and other students on a novel pathway toward curing HIV.
As one of nine researchers 鈥� only two of them students 鈥� giving podium presentations during the annual research showcase, Thompson summarized an innovative approach to 鈥渟hocking鈥� HIV out of its hiding place by inhibiting an enzyme that may be found near the site where the virus integrates into聽DNA. By reactivating the latent HIV cells this way, researchers hope they might expose them to therapeutic drugs that could kill them 鈥� providing a cure for a virus that has evaded such an end for decades.
Thompson spoke like a seasoned educator, deftly alternating between the technical details of his work on RNA polymerase III鈥檚 impact on HIV latency with generalized, easy-to-understand statements on the researchers鈥� process. He highlighted the lab鈥檚 鈥渟hock and kill鈥� strategy with pop-culture images featuring characters from 鈥淭he Sopranos鈥� and 鈥淏reaking Bad.鈥�
If there were moments when it seemed聽Thompson took the topic lightly, nothing could be further from the truth. A few days before his presentation, he described the impact of being involved in such weighty work, which holds the potential to improve millions of lives.
鈥淚t feels like a large responsibility,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e working in the lab, it鈥檚 like, I could do this task tomorrow. But maybe I should do it today 鈥� get it done 鈥� because that could be one step closer (to a cure).
鈥淓ven at time when you feel like the experiments aren鈥檛 working, and you don鈥檛 feel like you鈥檙e producing much, you think to yourself, 鈥榃hat if I just contribute one small step?鈥欌��
Thompson鈥檚 contribution to the work in Dr. Singh鈥檚 lab is a big step toward a personal aim: to earn dual doctorates in medicine and philosophy. As he heads toward graduation in May with a Bachelor鈥檚 in Microbiology and Master鈥檚 in Molecular Biosciences, he has been accepted to two medical schools and is waitlisted for MD-PhD programs. With far fewer of the latter around the country, competition is fierce.
While med-school acceptance is an achievement many would embrace, Thompson is mulling whether to take a research job for now, then reapply to MD-PhD programs if he does not get into one. Research seems like too much of his life to give up.
Indeed, Thompson has been unable to choose between his dueling passions for patient care and research since his years at Bethlehem High School. He was surprised to learn he could find his path toward both, just 5 miles from his Delmar home.
鈥淚 was thinking I鈥檇 have to go away to some big school to have these opportunities, but they were right downtown, a few miles from me,鈥� he said.
He wanted to stay in the Albany area because of third passion: rowing. He has rowed, coached and competed in local and national regattas with a group based at the Hudson River鈥檚 Albany Rowing Center since he was 13. He considered pursuing his undergraduate degree somewhere with a Division I crew team but did not like the cutthroat vibe of those programs.
So he focused on finding a research-intensive school in the Capital Region. Knowing ACPHS as a pharmacy college, he was surprised to learn about research opportunities here. Once he arrived, Dr. Singh鈥檚 lab was another auspicious discovery, a perfect fit for his dual interests.
鈥淚n this lab, we have two focuses. One focus we鈥檙e looking at is cure strategies for HIV,鈥� Thompson said, describing that as pure scientific research with an important potential application. 鈥淎nd then the other, we actually look at HIV-associated neuroinflammation鈥� 鈥� managing the symptoms of a disease.
Thompson began working in the Singh Lab the first semester of his sophomore year, delayed from an earlier start by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in his first year. He has spent 15-20 hours a week there ever since, taking on progressively more complicated tasks. This semester, much of that consistent, methodical work bore fruit, as he published a scientific article and made presentations to regional and national audiences, including at conferences of the American Society of Virology and the Eastern New York Student Chapter of the American Society of Microbiology (pictured above).
Dr. Singh counts mentoring Thompson and witnessing his progression from a 鈥渃urious young student to a published young scientist鈥� as one of the most satisfying aspects of his own job over the last several years.
鈥淒ue to his brilliance, hard work, collaborative skills, leadership, and quick learning abilities, he rapidly emerged as a strong pillar to my research program and has immensely contributed to the research output as well as training of several undergraduate and graduate students in my lab,鈥� Dr. Singh said.
In addition to the work itself, Thompson was drawn to the lab by the collegiality of Dr. Singh and other researchers there, as well as collaborations with adjacent labs run by Associate Professors Binshan Shi and Timothy LaRocca. He acknowledged the collaborative nature of the research in his symposium talk.
He does not regret his decision to stay in the Albany area. He has found a community of like-minded health and science students at 糖心vlog, where a commuter student like him can easily blend with classmates who live in dorms or off-campus apartments.
And he still gets to row, six days a week. Some chilly, gray mornings, he trudges through the intense physical workout that starts his day. But other times, the morning rhythm is miraculous, as he glides through calm waters that reflect the sunrise鈥檚 transition from blue-violet to yellow and the occasional bald eagle flies overhead.
鈥淛ust like in the lab,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ometimes your experiments aren鈥檛 working. But you鈥檙e in awe those moments when everything comes together nicely.鈥�
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