A decades old epidemic inspires UC doctoral student’s journey into science

Matthew de Gannes’ path in the sciences began as a youth listening to his father.

The elder de Gannes was a medical representative for a pharmaceutical company, and his son was intrigued when his father discussed therapeutics that were being tried to help stem the HIV/AIDS pandemic that swept the globe during the 1980s and early 1990s.

“I remember asking, ‘Why is it taking so long to find a cure for HIV?’” says de Gannes, a 32-year-old native of Trinidad. “My father did a lot of work in Latin America and the Caribbean, and I learned a lot about health, science and the impact of disease on patients from him.”

That interest in scientific discovery led to de Gannes earning a bachelor’s degree in biology at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania and a master’s in environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His journey will hit a high note this week when de Gannes is awarded a doctoral degree in environmental genetics and molecular toxicology by the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

De Gannes is one of 38 students in the College of Medicine who will earn degrees during the virtual 2020 fall commencement ceremonies set for Dec. 11 and 12. The college will grant 14 doctoral, 23 master’s and one bachelor’s degree. UC is awarding a total of 2,457 degrees to 2,348 students during fall commencement. Some UC programs allow students to earn dual degrees.

“I am thrilled, and I am still in the process of denial but after this week maybe it will be real,” says de Gannes. “There have been a lot of twists and turns on this journey, but it’s been quite rewarding at the same time.”

De Gannes says his interest in cardiovascular research brought him to Cincinnati and ultimately to the lab of Alvaro Puga, PhD, professor in UC Department of Environmental Health and Public Sciences. The Puga Laboratory investigates the complex relationships existing among genes, the environment and disease outcomes. 

“I didn’t know too much about Cincinnati before coming here, but I have grown fond of the city, says de Gannes, whose family remains in his hometown of Diego Martin, Trinidad. “It's a city with a village-like culture.”

De Gannes joined the Puga Lab in 2015 and started a project investigating the influence of dioxin, a purely anthropogenic compound, meaning a substance originating from human activity, produced as a byproduct of industrial processes, on congenital heart abnormalities and heart disease. He found that dioxin influenced DNA activity and is implicated in several key ways that are suspected to impact cardiovascular remodeling, development, function and disease.

“Dioxin is not produced for commercial purposes and is clearly a byproduct,” says de Gannes.  “It got a lot of press during the Vietnam War because it is a byproduct of [the herbicide] Agent Orange. Even to this day we are finding dioxin in the serum samples of veterans.”

There is no doubt that dioxin is harmful, but de Gannes’ research suggests it might in small quantities affect a well-known pathway that plays a role in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure, one of the leading causes of cardiac-related deaths in the United States.

“Dioxin interestingly altered pathways that might have therapeutic implications for alleviating heart failure,” says de Gannes. “We could focus on this disease that is killing so many Americans by studying pathways that might target these areas.”

While at UC, de Gannes excelled in the lab but also found time for activities that proved just as valuable. He was active in the Health Sciences Graduation Association serving as a former president and vice president, served on the Dean’s Council as a graduate student representative and was a co-pioneer in the development of Project: Citizen Science, founded by a colleague of his at UC. De Gannes received both the Graduate Student Award for Exemplary Initiative and the Graduate Student Award for Exemplary Service in Life Sciences in 2018. 

Puga says he foresees an exceptional career for de Gannes whichever field he chooses.

“Matthew showed an outstanding level of performance, consistently facilitating the smooth and effective research operation of my laboratory,” says Puga. “He went beyond simple good laboratory practices to design and execute experimental protocols with little or no supervision.

“In the process, he became a very productive lab member, publishing several articles in the area of cardiac transcriptomics and epigenetics, where he developed his doctoral thesis,” says Puga. “He has a brilliant and inquisitive mind with excellent organizational skills and a very solid and rigorous ethical approach to all areas of his work.”

A month before graduation de Gannes started a job at Medpace in Cincinnati as a clinical research associate.

“Ultimately, at the end of the day I hope to be in a position of influence to support policy making initiatives impacting research, clinical trials, health care costs and other areas,” says de Gannes. “Affordability of healthcare is a critical issue impacting so many people.”

Featured image of graduation cap by Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand.