Elliot Ensink, D.O., Ph.D., began the next step of his physician-scientist journey May 1 when he graduated from the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s D.O.-Ph.D. Physician-Scientist Training Program.
“Oh, it feels incredible,” Dr. Ensink said of his new alumni status as he prepares to begin his general pediatrics residency at Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich. “It's been a long time and a lot of hard work, and it's nice to see that all come together and be going to my top choice for residency.”
After furthering his training in pediatrics during residency, Dr. Ensink plans to complete a fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology. He was first drawn to oncology due to its focus on cell biology, both how disease can occur and how the body’s natural immune defenses can stop it. The specific dissertation research Dr. Ensink plans to continue focuses on pancreatic cancer.
Cancer cells switch to a different form of metabolism than a regular, healthy cell. One of the ways the cancer cells do this is by switching to an alternative type of pyruvate kinase enzyme that changes how cancer cells use sugar in the body. Dr. Ensink saw an opportunity to exploit this potential vulnerability, using a CRISPR system to delete the preferred pyruvate kinase isoform gene from pancreatic cancer cells.
This caused a different form of the kinase to be produced, which altered the cell’s glucose metabolism. When Dr. Ensink combined this effect with the removal of a critical nutrient (an amino acid called cystine), the cancer cells died at a much more rapid rate.
“We then showed that by inhibiting the pyruvate kinase enzyme and starving the cells of cystine, the cells would die through a process of metabolic deregulation, called ferroptosis. Essentially, the cancer cells accumulate these destructive lipid peroxides that break down the cell,” Dr. Ensink explained. “Our ongoing work now is exploring the exact mechanism on how this occurs and seeing if we can find even more efficient ways to do it, as well as testing in other types of cancers – something like leukemia or neuroblastoma that kids are much more likely to get.”
Through tough times and celebratory milestones, Dr. Ensink is passionate about working with pediatric cancer patients, while supporting their families. “Even when they’re sick, just how resilient they are in the face of pretty severe disease – it’s really remarkable to see,” he said. “And every time I had those opportunities, it just further strengthened my resolve and desire to keep going in this field.”
As a D.O., Dr. Ensink sees osteopathic philosophy – focusing on the body, mind and spirit as a whole, and the body’s inherent ability to regulate and heal itself – play out in how patients can heal from cancer.
“The potential for cancer-causing cells to arise in the body is an ongoing process in all of us, and our body's immune system has incredible potential to eliminate those before they become a problem,” Dr. Ensink said. “We need to help the body's natural immune response to target that cancer and eliminate it before it becomes a problem. I think that's a very osteopathic mindset, and I think it can be put to great use.”
Before he knew the principles of osteopathic medicine, Dr. Ensink had never planned to enter the medical field. Initially, he wanted to focus on bench research but quickly realized that for the clinical and translational work he was interested in, a medical background with access to patients would be crucial.
“I was not pre-med. I really was not intending to go into medicine. I was led that way through different experiences and realized that that's actually what I want to do,” Dr. Ensink recalled. “As soon as I started to get some time working with patients, right away I knew this is definitely what I want to do as the main part of my career.”
After years of hard work, Dr. Ensink encourages other aspiring physician-scientists to be persistent and patient.
“It's hard to do research and to get into medicine, so don't feel down about things not moving fast,” he advised. “But if you're persistent and keep showing that you're interested, people will notice. Don't feel like it's too late to start the process. I had a lot of support from mentors and guidance counselors and was able to stick to it and get great results out of it.”