Award-winning student motivated to thwart chronic conditions

Nirsanka Roy, a graduate student working with Petra Fromme’s lab at the Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery, has been awarded the Graduate and Professional Students Association Outstanding Research Award. Roy is studying proteins, called ZIP transporters, that are responsible for regulating zinc levels in the body — a process linked to conditions such as heart disease, fatty liver disease and cancer.

Roy’s introduction to the field of medicine came from his grandfather, who was a doctor and diagnosed with cancer when Roy was a child.

"Seeing him pass away made me even more determined to contribute something to the world out there so that no other kid has to lose their loved ones like that,” Roy said.

While completing his master’s degree in India, Roy worked on a project that identified a class of transmembrane proteins with specific architecture essential to human function.

“My medically relevant research has a direct application to generating drugs for cancer, heart diseases and many more. My research is my way of fulfilling the promise I made to myself about giving something back to society as a whole by helping people with chronic conditions lead a better life that they deserve,” he said.

His passion led him to apply to ASU with the intention to join Fromme’s lab, known for her groundbreaking work in structural biology and crystallography.

For Roy, receiving the award was both a confidence boost and a validation of his research. “When I was applying for these awards, I had no hopes from it, to be completely honest, because I thought there are (other) very big players in this,” he said. “But when I got it, I thought, okay, my work is being recognized.”

Fromme says Roy possesses a level of competency she has never seen before in first-year doctoral candidates.  

“He has also managed to cultivate strong professional relationships among his laboratory peers in my group and also engaged in mentoring undergraduate students,” she said.

Beyond his research, Roy mentors undergraduate and high school students in the lab. Having transitioned from a computational background to hands-on lab work, he now helps train young scientists in research settings.  

“Within six months, I went from a computational guy to a wet lab guy,” he said. “I became independent — I didn’t need any more supervision.”  

Roy’s mentoring efforts also led to him being named an Outstanding Mentor Award by the Graduate and Professional Students Association, receiving a $750 prize.

Looking ahead, Roy hopes his findings will pave the way for new biomedical treatments and inspire future scientists. He says passion for your research is the ultimate key to succeeding in your field.

“If you love your project and wake up excited to work on it, you are set,” he said. “That passion will drive you forward.”