TrainingSummer Research Program
Summer 2009 Highlights
Summer 2009 marked the beginning of the IU Simon Cancer Center's Summer Research Program (IUSCCSRP) and the IUPUI Center for Research and Learning (CRL) collaboration.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, the IUSCCRP aims to increase the number of high school and undergraduate students from less represented populations pursuing biomedical and behavioral science careers by providing positive and meaningful firsthand exposure to these fields.
The 2009 summer program reflected diversity in the participant’s educational backgrounds as well as in their research areas. The IUSCCSRP hosted 16 students from seven different Indiana high schools and five different universities. The scholars worked with faculty mentors on the IUPUI campus during their summer vacations in an intense interactive research experience. Throughout the summer, students also had the opportunity to participate in enrichment activities sponsored by CRL. Such activities included weekly seminars on topics including Financial Planning for College Students and Living in a Diverse Society.
The 2009 IUSCCRP scholars and mentors included:
Israel Aguilera-Laina, an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis student presented, TAMOXIFEN-TARGETED PATHWAY-MERGING NETWORK REVEALS POTENTIAL PATHWAYS FOR BREAST-CANCER TREATMENT, under the mentorship of Jake Chen, Ph.D.
Taiwo Ajumobi, a DePauw University student presented, BINDING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AMOTAND RAS ACTIVATION FACTORS A, B, C, under the mentorship of Clark Wells, Ph.D.
Saba-Na Imah Berhane, a Charles A. Tindley Early College student presented, EFFECTS OF LENALIDOMIDE ON CD20 EXPRESSION IN RAJI LYMPHOMA CELLS, under the mentorship of Shivani Srivastava, M.B.B.S.
Ratanya Bowens, a Ben Davis High School student presented, SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS OF AN ON-LINE COMMUNITY OF CANCER SURVIVORS, under the mentorship of David Haggstrom, M.D.
Jordan Davis, a Charles A. Tindley Early College student presented, THE ASSOCIATION OF GENETIC VARIATION IN THE VEGF POMOTER WITH PATIENT RESPONSE TO THE RANIBISUMAB IN PATIENTS WITH AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION, under the mentorship of Bryan Schneider, M.D.
Tahvia Jenkins, a North Central High School student presented, REDUCTION OF THE PROTEIN C-FLIP IN MYELOMA CELLS, under the mentorship of Attaya Suvannasankha, M.D.
Christian Lola, a Lawrence North High School student presented, NEW PET CANCER IMAGING AGENTS, under the mentorship of Qi-Huang Zheng, Ph.D.
Julie Loza, a Kouts High School student presented, BASELINE ANTIDEPRESSANT AND ANALGESIC USE IN CANCER PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION AND/OR PAIN ENROLLED IN TELECARE CANCER SUPTOM MANAGEMENT STUDY, under the mentorship of Kurt Kroenke, M.D.
Hasan Mukhtar, an Indiana University Bloomington student presented, DE NOVO CANCER INCIDENCE IN ELDERLY LIVER TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS RECEIVING INDUCTION IMMUNOSUPPRESSION, under the mentorship of Richard Mangus, M.D.
Shelby Mullin, an Indiana University Bloomington student presented, TGF BETA EFFECTS ON TISSUE TRANSGLUTAMINASE, under the mentorship of Daniela Matei, M.D.
Oluwaranti Ositelu, a Culver Military Academy student presented, EFFECTS OF RESVERATROL ON MUTANT BRCA1 BREAST CANCER CELLS, under the mentorship of Brittney-Shea Herbert, Ph.D.
Jasmine Page, an Indiana University Bloomington student presented, THE IMPACT OF HYPOXIA-INDUCED CERAMIDS ON THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CELLULAR MEMBRANES, under the mentorship of Mircea Ivan, M.D., Ph.D.
Gabriel Rangel, a Purdue University Lafayette student presented, DMAPT AS AN X-RAY SENSITIZATION TREATMENT TO P53 NULL PROSTATE CANCER CELLS, under the mentorship of Marc Mendonca, Ph.D.
Theodore Timothy, a Harvard University student worked under the mentorship of Lindsey Mayo, Ph.D.
Matthew Wilcox, a Pike High School student worked under the mentorship of George Sandusky, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Logan Witt, an Indiana University Bloomington student presented, EVALUATION OF ENOTHELIAL PROGENITOR CELLS (EPCS) WITH CD34 IN MELANOMA XENOGRAFT MODEL, under the mentorship of George Sandusky, D.V.M., Ph.D.