MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Shape: Three parts: informative background, how-to procedure, informative and how-to-use databases

Beginning: Hook audience with statistics about the low survival rate of patients with acute myeloid leukemia in combination with the general issue of concern that acute myeloid leukemia is an unmet medical need. Preview this document (background, procedure, databases), state the general concern of patients with certain mutations being resistance to treatments, and discuss how this document will be helpful for personalized medicine for cancer patients.

Middle: Background information on FLT3 mutations and FLT3 inhibitors (scientific literature sources), laboratory procedures for the assay developed to validate a FLT3 F691L mutation in a sample, and databases that are useful for evaluating the clinical significance of mutations.
1. Background information will be brief, familiarize the audience with the specific mutation, and also emphasize the key components that are necessary for this procedure to be applicable.
2. Laboratory procedure section will have a cell counting procedure, an IC50 procedure, and a brief general sanger sequencing procedure/background on how it works.
3. Each database will have a short-individualized section about their benefits and then a brief conclusion of how they work together.

End: Remind audience of the importance of detecting mutations that are linked to patients being resistant to certain drug treatments. Suggest additional readings on acute myeloid leukemia mutations that confer resistance to drugs.

Logos: Citing information, data, and statistics from peer-reviewed scientific journal articles (F691L mutation’s ability to confer resistance, other mutations associated with resistance). Maybe include the findings/graphs and analysis from when I performed this project.

Pathos: Semi-detached, but invoking an emotional response from the shocking statistics presented at the beginning to demonstrate the need for these types of laboratory manuals and assays in the cancer research world (improve cancer patient treatment).

Ethos: Information from peer-reviewed scientific journal articles written by well-established researchers at well-known institutions. My own experience carrying out research and the procedures in Dr. Lapidus’s Translational Core Lab at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine. Databases created, curated, and updated by experts/researchers in the field.

Structure: I will be mainly dividing complex information into reasonable parts while also illustrating a concept and hopefully at the end providing a little joy to other researchers and interns.

Goal: To provide beginner researchers a guide on developing an assay to detect and evaluate the significance of specific mutations. To provide more advanced researchers with an example laboratory manual that can be adapted to fit other mutations and/or other cancers.

C, good to remind with this logos-pathos face: you are looking at research for one of the 'bad" leukemia types. Many people are conditioned to think that l. can be treated and is one of the good cancers.

You have a good plan and as long as you make your PI and lab happy, then I am happy.