Dr. Linda Chelico is leading research into enzymes and how they relate to HIV and cancer. (Submitted/Dr. Linda Chelico)

By Cam Lee

Melfort Native Leading Research

From MUCC to microbiology: Dr. Linda Chelico working on HIV, cancer research projects

Jan 24, 2020 | 12:11 PM

The start of some potentially ground breaking research all began with a Grade 12 project at the high school in Melfort.

Dr. Linda Chelico is now a biochemist at the University of Saskatchewan, and her interest in the field stems from a science project while she was in Grade 12 at Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate (MUCC).

“We got to pick our own topic and so I was actually reading a whole bunch of National Geographic magazines and I found this one article about using microorganisms to degrade toxic substances and waste,” Dr. Chelico told northeastNOW. “I did a science project on that and then I decided I wanted to be a microbiology major.”

Dr. Chelico entered into the College of Agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan to do research about using microorganisms as fertilizer or pesticides in order to use fewer chemicals.

From there, she switched to health sciences.

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“I just really got interested in the fact that microorganisms in the environment have to sustain a lot of damage to their genetic information,” Dr. Chelico said.

She found a researcher at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles whose research program focused on how organisms deal with damage to their genetic information, specifically their DNA. And how sometimes it can be used as a benefit for the organisms to evolve and deal with challenges.

Dr. Chelico spent five years at USC for her post-doctoral fellowship, but returned to Saskatchewan in 2009 to be closer to home, and for an opportunity to run her own lab.

Last year, she was awarded over $1.6 million for two Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) projects.

Dr. Chelico’s team is looking at how a family of enzymes interact with HIV, and how they can cause mutations and cancer cells.

She began studying enzymes and the immune system when she was at USC.

“There [are] actually special enzymes in many different organisms that can actually change the sequence of your DNA, and that was a huge surprise when they were discovered because people thought…our genetic information should be so stable, why is it changing,” she said. “But it’s changing for that reason – sometimes in the immune system we need to evolve in a moment when there’s a new pathogen and the immune system hasn’t seen it before and it needs to adapt to be able to make antibodies and attack it.”

Her work in HIV research showed some of the enzymes aren’t just modifying human DNA and the immune system to make it better, but they can also modify the genetic information of the virus to make it non-functional.

“I’m studying how these enzymes actually suppress the replication of HIV by making its genetic information non-functional,” Dr. Chelico said.

She said most HIV in people with the virus is non-functional, but the virus replicates so fast that the immune system can’t keep up. Her research is looking at how they can make the enzymes more efficient in suppressing the virus.

According to Dr. Chelico, the enzymes are a good defence, but they also come at a bit of a cost.

“If they access the wrong DNA in the wrong place [and] the wrong time, they can change our genetic information and that can lead to cancer,” Dr. Chelico said. “[Cancer is essentially] a cell that has malfunctioned in its genetic code and it’s not following any of the rules, it’s growing too much, it’s growing in places where it shouldn’t be growing.”

Dr. Chelico said the enzymes are important because the body is sustaining them despite the negative function they can have. They are looking at the possibility of detecting the bad activity of the enzymes early to be able to treat cancer and stop it before the cell becomes too dysregulated.

“It was a big dream of mine to work on these [kinds] of negative, off-target effects of these enzymes,” Dr. Chelico said. She said she was excited to expand the HIV program through the funding.

Dr. Chelico said she hopes her career serves as inspiration to budding scientists in smaller communities, and also to women who want to get into the field.

Dr. Harold Bull, the professor who teaches the entry level microbiology course at the U of S makes students do a research project, which can include interviewing a scientist. Dr. Chelico is often interviewed for these presentations, and several female students have indicated that they have been inspired by her role.

She said she has also been asked about balancing work and life away from the lab.

“It’s not just about the science, it’s really about training the students as well, and…inspiring them,” Dr. Chelico said. “I think that’s been a really unexpected and enjoyable part of my job.”

It’s amazing to think Dr. Chelico’s career path all began with a Grade 12 project at MUCC.

“It started as something so simple in having a good advisor telling me ‘you should go into a microbiology program’. Back then, we were just learning what DNA was in Grade 12, now science has advanced a lot more,” Dr. Chelico said.

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cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974