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Unexpected findings
Lisa Martorano, OMS III, discovers a penchant for research and a surprising potential danger in sunscreen

By Nick Piotrowicz

It’s a hot, sunny day without a cloud in sight. But before you race outside, don’t forget to lather on the sun block—right?

According to Lisa Martorano, OMS III, award-winning presenter at the eighth annual OU-COM Research Day last fall, some sunscreens may actually harm human skin cells.

Martorano’s research project on free zinc levels in commercial sunscreens, conducted alongside Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences Yang Li, Ph.D., won her first place in the medical student research competition at the March 2010 American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) Conference in Las Vegas. She also won a Basic Science Award at OU-COM’s Eighth Annual Research Day in September.

According to Martorano’s findings, zinc oxide causes higher rates of cell death when it comes into contact with UV light. She wanted to find out if harmful free radicals were generated, which would determine the safety of zinc oxide sunscreens.

“We wanted to see if we had increased free radical levels,” Martorano says. “So we cultured our skin cells again, we applied [the zinc] medium and saw that we had reactive oxygen species generation. That finding adds to the theory that zinc is increasing cell death and that it’s generating free radicals.”

These findings may be troubling, but the study is in early stages and, as Martorano points out, most over-the-counter sunscreens do not contain zinc oxides. Li will continue this research, but first he and Martorano hope to publish a co-authored paper on the work they conducted together.

Next year Martorano begins clinical rotations, where she hopes to gain experience with clinical studies. “I would love the opportunity to interact with patients while conducting research,” she says.

Martorano admits that the idea of conducting student medical research was intimidating at first, and she credits the faculty, staff and research programming at OU-COM with changing her mind.

“There was great teamwork in the lab and everyone was willing to offer support,” she says. “Now I think doing research is imperative; it helps medical students and doctors stay connected with health trends and appreciate study design and results in a field driven by research.”

Martorano is open to integrating clinical research into her practice. But either way, she expects her research experience at OU-COM to improve her clinical skills.

“Research showed me that when things go wrong, you cannot get frustrated and you cannot give up. You have to sit back and analyze what you did and how you can do it better. Then you execute a new plan,” she said.

“Likewise, there are going to be times as a doctor when you don’t understand what’s wrong with your patient,” she added. “Research really puts you in the mindset to be an investigator.”


Electromagnetic device stimulates student research

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