Students & Scientists Environmental
Click here to view our three outstanding High School students, who dedicated a month this summer to conduct scientific research at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
STUDENTS AND SCIENTISTS ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INTERN PROGRAM By Lisa Kratter – Coordinator Working in conjunction with Walt Whitman High School, Commack High
School, and Northport High School, HBCAC is able to offer our program
to some of the brightest In Newton, Massachusetts, at Silent Spring Institute, world-renowned
scientist, Dr. Julia Brody, will work with students to analyze “Everyday
exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds.” Additionally,
it is our pleasure to afford our students the opportunity to work
under the tutelage of world leading scientists, Drs. Jose and Irma
Russo, at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Within their laboratory,
significant Our program would not have achieved such widespread recognition were it not for our past students’ boundless dedication to understanding environmental triggers which disrupt our endocrine system, causing life-threatening abnormalities, as well as utilizing their newly found knowledge to further educate peer groups and the community at large.
Thank you to Supervisor, Frank Petrone, and Town Council members
Susan Berland, Glenda Jackson, Stuart Besen, and Mark Cuthbertson,
for lending your support,
Zachary Rotter This year’s BCERC conference was both an interesting and exhilarating experience. To be able to see ongoing research which has yet to be
Graduating High School, Class of 2010
Emily Lopes
Being involved in the BCERC was an amazing experience. The disciplines
of the principle investigators varied and added to the strength
of the breast cancer project. At this year’s conference held
in Birmingham, Alabama, researchers presented and shared in their
own field of science (epidemiology, genetics or lifestyle) their
individual accomplishment in Breast Cancer causation. The conference
was a collaboration of their work. It allowed scientists to be critical
of each other’s work and provide further College acceptance – Cornell University, Fall 2009
Shirou Wu
The BCERC conference emphasized the concept that the understanding
of environmental influences on health is indisposably crucial to
the medical community. As mere high school students at a professional
and informative research conference, the more esoteric research
was sometimes difficult to sift through. However, it College Acceptance – Brown University, Fall 2009
In keeping with the overall arching philosophy of the PITC platform, this outstanding program encourages participants at every level to make important contributions with great results. Giving students an opportunity to get excited about science – to experience how science matters and the differences environmental research can make furthers this message in real time to the all important “next generation”. When husband and wife research team, Dr.’s Jose & Irma Russo of the prestigious Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia were approached with the research program concept, the answer was clear. Fox Chase Cancer Center was formed in 1974 and is one of the nation’s first comprehensive cancer centers. Research is conducted in more than 80 laboratories by a staff of more than 325 physicians and scientists. About 170 clinical trials of new prevention, diagnostic and treatment techniques are under way at any one time with almost 800 new patients a year participating in treatment studies. With a Nobel Prize winning research facility ready to host a 4 week full hands-on breast cancer laboratory research internship, the search for the perfect student began. A key player in the fast tracking of this unique program was the administration of Walt Whitman High School. Whitman had significantly expanded its Science Research Program in recent years with the goal to provide students with interesting and comprehensive research experiences. They responded with a particularly interested and motivated student, Tehreem Rehman, a Whitman junior. “I had initially learned about the internship through my science teacher. I have had a passion for science since I was about eleven years old and throughout high school was always eager to get hands on experience in a laboratory setting,” comments Ms. Rehman, who worked daily during the month long program in a Fox Chase laboratory supervised by two staff mentors. “What was especially appealing about this particular program was that the internship would enable me to assist in an experiment investigating a common pollutant and its effect on the development of breast cancer. I have always felt the reason behind rising rates of cancer was somehow interrelated with the environment and getting the opportunity to aid in research that coincided with my own personal beliefs was truly phenomenal” she proudly explained. Ms. Rehman put the knowledge and experience she gained at the Fox Chase Cancer Center into an 18 page PowerPoint presentation which was presented to the laboratory staff on her final day in the program. She also conducted an in-depth personal interview with her mentors, renowned cancer researchers, Dr.’s Jose and Irma Russo and co-presented to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) at their annual BCERC National Science Conference in November. “I learned more than I would have ever
expected in my fours weeks at Fox Chase” says Ms. Rehman.
“I realized that it is truly imperative for our nation to
encourage more students to pursue a career in science research.
And most importantly, I became so much more aware about the suspected
causes of breast cancer and the extent of the detrimental effects
of the pollutants in our environment.”
Also visit the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences website at: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/careers/research/summers/index.cfm to learn more about their internship program Summers of Discovery. |
