Grace Hohman is focused. The junior biology student from Champaign is up to the challenges of her major but also has a plan in mind for after she graduates.
“I’ll be applying to M.D./Ph.D. programs,” she said. “Eventually, I want to practice medicine as a pediatrician and do some type of medical research.”
To help in that endeavor, Hohman won a Summer 2024 FIREbird Research Grant and was the youngest awardee of the year. The grant allowed her to work in the lab of Dr. Marjorie Jones, professor of biochemistry at Illinois State University, rather than working a typical summer job for a college student.
FIREbird is an acronym for Faculty-mentored Independent Research Experiences. Administered through the Office of Student Research, FIREbird awards provide undergraduate students with summer funds up to $3,000.
“I got paid, and I got to focus on my research,” Hohman said. “I study the disease Leishmaniasis and the Leishmania parasite.”
After a summer working in the lab, Hohman—with Jones as her mentor—was a presenter at the 2024 University Research Symposium. She presented her poster: “THE Interesting Effects of Tryptamine, Harmine, and Harmaline on Leishmania Tarentolae in a Rocking Environment.”
Hohman explained her research this way: “I take a culture of the Leishmania parasite and add tryptamine into a flask on a lab rocker, which tips the flask back and forth. Rather than the flask being static, the rocking simulates the host cell’s environment.
“We want to create the internal movement of a human cell and replicate in vivo (a living cell), rather than in vitro, which would be a laboratory flask.”
“I had become interested in science in middle school and high school, so as a freshman at ISU, I reached out to multiple professors. Dr. Jones replied and introduced me to her research.”
Grace Hohman
Tryptamines, she said, are a hallucinogenic chemical compound used in religious ceremonies where Leishmaniasis is prevalent, mostly in South America and the tropics.
“Leishmaniasis,” according to Hohman’s research, “is considered a neglected tropical disease affecting millions of people worldwide and is caused by the parasitic protozoan Leishmania.”
Hohman found her way to the research via Jones’ lab, where she works as an undergraduate researcher. She said it’s important to know what effect compounds like Leishmania have on those individuals using them.
“The use of these chemicals can be harmful,” she said.
Hohman grew up with parents who made education their life’s work. Her mother, Dr. Valleri Robinson, M.S. ’96, is associate professor and department head of Theatre Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her father, David Hohman, is a high school math and science educator in Champaign. Grace Hohman discovered her academic interest during those formative years in her hometown.
“I had become interested in science in middle school and high school, so as a freshman at ISU, I reached out to multiple professors,” Hohman said. “Dr. Jones replied and introduced me to her research.”
Jones is proud of the work Hohman has already accomplished.
“Grace is an excellent student who knows how to work hard and to focus on difficult material,” Jones said. “It has been a wonderful experience having her in my research group since she wants to learn and has the skills to do so.”
In February, Hohman was an undergraduate finalist for Illinois State’s Image of Research Competition, and her work was exhibited at University Galleries. This fall, she will present some of her research at the University of Illinois Undergraduate Research Symposium.
“Grace is a motivated, kind, and capable student who is also committed to her future goal of becoming a doctor,” Jones said.
Hohman is active in Medical Brigades ISU, a registered student organization (RSO). Earlier this year, the RSO was chosen as RSO of the month after a making a trip to Panama to volunteer at medical clinics.
Over the summer, Hohman volunteered at a one-week workshop for 12 high school students who came to get experience in the lab. Jones said Hohman was able to connect with the students.
“She worked so well with the high school students that they were very comfortable asking her questions and just chatting in general,” Jones said.
Hohman appreciates all that she is learning from Jones and how her professor keeps her students’ best interests in mind.
“Dr. Jones is a nice person who wants to see her students succeed, and she loves being in the lab and learning,” Hohman said. “She loves seeing the data and the results her students find and loves giving them opportunities.
“She has guided me in the right way. She’s the best mentor I’ve had my whole life.”
