LITTLE ROCK – A team of researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently became the first to identify a new model for studying viruses.

Courtney Wilkins, a doctoral student in the microbiology and immunology program in the UAMS Graduate School, was lead author of the paper on that accomplishment, which will be printed in the Aug. 18 edition of Nature. It is believed to be the first time a UAMS graduate student was lead author of a paper published in the international weekly science journal.

The scientists found a virus that would replicate and trigger an antiviral defense mechanism in a microscopic worm. This antiviral defense mechanism in the worm is similar to one in mammals, including humans, meaning it could be a useful model for future study of host-virus interactions. Studying animal models is a step in the research process that can lead to new medical treatments.

“This is a wonderful scientific success, cemented by publication in one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals,” said Robert McGehee, dean of the UAMS Graduate School and an associate professor of pediatrics, physiology and biophysics, and pathology in the UAMS College of Medicine. “It is an almost singular achievement for a graduate student to be lead author on a study published in Nature and to my knowledge this is the first time a UAMS graduate student has done so.”

Wilkins was joined in the study by Marie Chow, Ph.D., a professor of microbiology and immunology in the UAMS College of Medicine; Khaled Machaca, Ph.D., an associate professor of physiology in the UAMS College of Medicine; Steve C. Moore, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biology at Harding University in Searcy; Michael A. Whitt, Ph.D., a professor of molecular sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center; and Ryan Dishongh, a graduate student in the microbiology and immunology program at UAMS.

“This is a great piece of work by Courtney and the rest of the team,” said Chow, who is also Wilkins’ graduate advisor and served as lead correspondent for the paper along with Machaca. “They went down a lot of blind alleys in the course of their research, but their tenacity was rewarded with the results and now the recognition.”

The 25-year old Wilkins, who said she knew at 15 that she wanted to study microbiology, said she was pleased with the achievement. The Jacksonville native credited her high school biology teacher and some summer research programs for cultivating her interest in microbiology.

Wilkins received her bachelor of science degree in 2001 from the University of Arkansas before joining the microbiology and immunology program at UAMS to pursue her doctorate.

The microscopic worm used in the study, Caenorhabditis elegans has been used as a model to study cell biology, including the genetic process known as RNA interference (RNAi). It had been thought that RNAi also served as a defense mechanism against viruses. This function of RNAi couldn’t be studied before now because scientists didn’t know of any virus that would replicate in the worm.

The UAMS team showed that a mammalian pathogen, the vesicular stomatitis virus, could replicate and infect worm cells. In addition, the researchers identified the activation of RNAi as an antiviral defense mechanism against the virus.

The study results suggest the worm could be used as a model for the study of host-virus interactions, including the antiviral properties of RNAi. Having such a model, Chow said, could provide a method for researching new medical treatments for viruses in humans.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has more than 2,200 students and 660 residents and is the state’s largest public employer with almost 9,000 employees. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.3 billion a year.

UAMS centers of excellence are the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute.