More Than Just a Brainy Teen
SHERMAN OAKS — The lead name on a research paper submitted to the prestigious Endocrine Society was not familiar to Dr. Lorraine Fitzpatrick. But she admired the work.
The paper suggested that a natural protein, neuregulin, might play a role in stimulating brain cells to reproduce.
“If we could figure out how to make brain cells divide,” said Fitzpatrick, of the Mayo Clinic and a consultant to the Endocrine Society, “it could mean a great deal in working with brain injuries of all kinds--strokes, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injuries.”
The research paper, submitted to the society from a UCLA laboratory, stops far short of being able to prove that a method for brain cell reproduction has been found. But it suggests that neuregulin could play a significant role in finding a way to produce new cells to replace those that have been injured.
The lead researcher on the paper was identified only as C. Pietras. Fitzpatrick had no way of knowing Pietras didn’t fit the usual profile of a working scientist. Indeed, Pietras’ presence at the society’s upcoming annual meeting, where he will discuss his findings, is likely to raise some eyebrows.
Christopher Pietras is 17 years old.
When he began this research project, he had just finished his junior year in high school in Studio City. He still lives with his parents in Sherman Oaks.
When told Pietras’ age, Fitzpatrick paused a second and blurted out, “This does my heart good!”
Then she laughed. “The fact that there are students willing to take on a challenge like this, well, all I can say is that it’s very refreshing.
“Who is this kid?”
He is a tall, lanky, affable guy who does not fit another stereotype--that of the nerd who spends too much time in windowless rooms. Currently in his senior year at the private Harvard-Westlake High School, Pietras is taking advanced courses in psychology and studio art, and he’s the top student in the jujitsu class. His grade point average for the year is 4.4--more than the usual maximum of 4 because he earns extra points by taking advanced placement classes.
He’s also trained in shiatsu massage, an outgrowth of his interest in Asian martial arts.
“This is a super smart kid,” said Dr. Mark Pegram, a researcher at the Jonsson Cancer Center at UCLA, where Pietras did his research. “But he’s also such a nice guy, so easygoing.”
If all the adulation Pietras has earned is going to his head, he certainly doesn’t show it. “This has been so much fun,” Pietras said, flashing the smile.
It all started because Pietras wanted to determine if the alleged healing benefits of shiatsu could be scientifically proved.
“I wanted to see if acupressure works on the molecular level,” he said. “I’ve been seriously training in shiatsu since the 10th grade. My sensei and I talked about the possibility of proving its effects, scientifically.”
His sensei, or teacher, is Stephen Copping. At Harvard-Westlake, known for its high academic standards and superb facilities, Copping has taught martial arts and related subjects for 12 years.
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Pietras readily admitted that he had connections far beyond those of the average student wanting to dabble in science. Both his parents are doctors and researchers associated with the UCLA Medical Center. Pegram is a good friend of his family and made sure that Pietras got placed in Pegram’s own lab as an assistant.
Pietras was trying to devise ways of doing his shiatsu tests when he and Pegram began talking about recent studies that showed certain brain cells might be able to reproduce. Pegram suggested it would be interesting to see if one of the body’s known growth factors had an effect on these cells.
They decided to use neuregulin, a natural protein that occurs in the human body, “partly because we had some around,” Pegram said. Pietras began by culturing human nerve cells and searching for those known as neuron precursors--young cells thought to be the best candidates for reproducing.
With the cells established, it was time to add some neuregulin. Pietras and Pegram were looking for two results. The first was to see if the protein affected the cells’ neurites, tendril-like outgrowths that enable cells to communicate with one another.
He was able to show that the cells treated with neuregulin had larger and more extended neurites, suggesting that they could relate more readily to other cells.
Then he tested for DNA synthesis, the process a cell uses to duplicate itself.
It would take further, complex experimentation--yet to be carried out--to show that these treated cells would actually divide. Therefore, Pietras’ findings, Pegram stressed, were intriguing but not in the breakthrough category. In a statement issued by UCLA describing the experiment, Pegram cautioned, “This is very important to understand--until Chris or another scientist takes that all-important next step of finding a biochemical signal to make neurons divide, Chris’ work must be considered preliminary.
Pietras hopes that when he spreads the news of his findings at the Endocrine Society’s meeting next month in Minneapolis, a scientist will find it intriguing enough to expand on the work.
Meanwhile, Pietras is getting ready for college at UC Berkeley, where he plans to take a number of science courses.
