Ava Grace Cummings
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Durham, North Carolina
Effects of Tirasemtiv and Urtica dioica on dstac Gene Knockdown in Drosophila melanogaster
Ava created a model organism of STAC3 disorder.
This rare genetic condition was formerly called Native American myopathy.
Ava Grace Cummings, 18, of Smithfield, developed a model of STAC3 disorder in fruit flies to test treatments for her Regeneron Science Talent Search medicine and health project. STAC3 disorder is a rare genetic muscular condition formerly called Native American myopathy. Seeing her friends and family in the Lumbee Tribe struggle with it, Ava felt driven to raise awareness about the disease and the need for new treatments.
She successfully created a strain of fruit fly that doesn’t express the dstac gene, mimicking the disorder. Then, she tested the experimental drug Tirasemtiv and an herbal extract of the common nettle (Urtica dioica) in her flies. She found that treatment with both the drug and herb, as well as the herb alone, led to adult flies that climbed better and larvae that traveled further. Ava believes that Indigenous remedies are worth studying to treat muscle weakness.
Ava, the child of Jason and Synora Cummings, attends the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (Durham, NC).
Beyond the Project
Ava is president and founder of her school’s Natives Rising chapter. As a member of the Lumbee and Coharie tribes, she is passionate about her Native American roots. She also plays piano, is a member of her school soccer team and is a resident life advisor.
FUN FACTS: Ava draws inspiration from simple things: the smell of rain on her porch and thrifted pearls.
