Lena Zewdu Feleke
Martin Luther King Jr. High School
Nashville, Tennessee
Impact of Transcriptional Elements on SLC3A1 Transgene Expression for Type A Cystinuria Gene Therapy
Lena searched for a better way to deliver gene therapy into kidney cells. Her research focused on different plasmid constructs containing the SLC3A1 gene, a genetic cause of kidney stones.
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Lena Zewdu Feleke, 17, of Antioch, explored how to deliver genetic therapy to kidney cells for her Regeneron Science Talent Search cellular and molecular biology project. She focused on cystinuria, which causes kidney stones due to excess cystine in the urine. Lena knew broken SLC3A1 genes cause Type A cystinuria and designed a gene therapy to fix it. Using a viral vector, she delivered a working gene to the kidney cells. The small, single-stranded DNA vector held the correct SLC3A1 gene and small snippets of DNA that acted as instructions for when and how much to express the gene.
She tested multiple variations of these instructions and saw that the DNA entered the cells but didn’t increase the protein above control levels. Lena was inspired to take on this project after witnessing her uncle’s struggle with kidney disease. Her work is a step forward in kidney cell gene therapy.
Lena, the child of Zewdu Feleke and Amy Abebe, attends Martin Luther King Jr. High School (Nashville). She does research at the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt. Lena was both an intern and a mentor in the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation’s Exposures program. She volunteers at her local Ethiopian Community Association in Nashville and speaks fluent Amharic.
Beyond the Project
Lena is co-captain of the Science Olympiad club and state president of the Tennessee Technology Student Association. She’s a founding member and current secretary of her school’s HOSA-Future Health Professionals chapter, which promotes medical careers.
FUN FACTS: Lena’s favorite song is an Ethiopian nursery rhyme about the sun and the hope it brings. Its message resonates with her name, which means “light,” inspiring her to share positivity and hope with others.
