Cancer Researcher on Magazine Cover

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Paul Adams, professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

As the search for a way to cure cancer continues, many researchers are following the trail to stop the deadly disease. Paul Adams, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Arkansas, is one of the researchers tracking down the mechanisms that cause cancer. His work has earned him the cover story, “Arkansas Scientist Trying to Tackle Cancer with Biochemistry,” in the summer 2012 issue of African American Perspectives-Northeast Arkansas.

Adams’ research focuses on Ras proteins, which have been identified in nearly one-third of cancer cell types. He believes that these proteins have unique structural aspects, which, in part, may play a role in causing cells to continue growing, a behavior that is a hallmark of cancer cells. By creating chemical differences in different parts of the protein, Adams and his team hope to learn more about how the proteins work and affect the cells. That information can then be used to help design drugs that target the specific protein and stop the cancerous behavior.

Following his undergraduate studies in biochemistry at Louisiana State University, Adams earned a doctorate in biophysical chemistry from Case Western Reserve University and held a National Science Foundation Fellowship from 2003-2006 as a postdoctoral researcher at the department of molecular medicine at Cornell University. In 2007, he joined the University of Arkansas and has received more than $1,450,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and the Arkansas Biosciences Institute.