VCU news

By Tom Gresham

Fosua Adu-Gyamfi has found a rich assortment of research opportunities as an undergraduate at Virginia Commonwealth University.

A biology major and chemistry minor in the College of Humanities and Sciences, the senior serves as an undergraduate research assistant in the lab of M. Imad Damaj, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the School of Medicine. That work has led to her attendance at some prominent national research conferences. In addition, Adu-Gyamfi’s VCU experience helped provide a springboard to landing a cancer research internship last summer in a genomics lab at the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland.

Adu-Gyamfi, who was born in Ghana and moved to the U.S. at age 12, told VCU News that she did not anticipate enjoying research but has learned to love not only its potential impact but the satisfaction that comes from the intense study of a subject in search of a greater understanding of it.

In two sentences, tell us the focus of your research ... and why it is important/impactful for all of us.

Alcohol use disorder is a condition characterized by excessive consumption of alcohol despite negative consequences. The endocannabinoid system has been shown to have a connection to this condition; therefore, my research is to evaluate the role of Diacylglycerol-beta on alcohol consumption in mice.

What inspired you to pursue this line of research?

I am a biology major who was looking to get involved in research to improve my CV and experience. One fateful day my sophomore year I received an email from Lauren Moncayo, a Ph.D. student who was looking for an undergraduate student to help out. I quickly replied to her and the rest is history. Working in the lab plus getting into the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) program, which provided me extra guidance, has led me to a summer internship at the National Cancer Institute and attending research conferences such as the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists and Research and the Research Society on Alcohol annual conference.

Tell us about a surprise in your research journey.

A surprise in my research journey was finding out how much I have come to love and find fulfillment in the work. I never had an idea what research was or if it was for people that looked like me. However, being involved and expressing my research findings in papers and posters at conferences has made me realize how important research is in advancing our world and making life easier, one question at a time.

Tell us about an obstacle or challenge you had to overcome in your work.

The challenging aspect about my work was balancing it with my classes and other commitments. My entire junior year I was commuting between the Monroe Park Campus and the MCV Campus every day. However, I remembered how much I loved the work so I found ways to overcome that challenge.

Is there a memorable partnership or lesson you've embraced along the way?

Working in Dr. Damaj’s lab has been the best partnership/mentorship experience I could have asked for. From one-on-one interactions to targeting areas where I need to grow to attending conferences such as the one for the Research Society on Alcohol with their support has been nothing short of incredible.

What do you find fulfilling about the research process?

The ability to address complex questions and find answers to those questions is very fulfilling. To go from not knowing anything about something to possibly coming to know everything is incredible

What advice would you offer undergrads to kick-start their own research journeys?

Send that email, try it out and put your heart into what you are able to get your hands on. You don’t know where you can go with what you can get.