July 9, 2019, Filed Under: 2019, cancer, learning, researchLectures at Dell Medical School LIVESTRONG Cancer Institute During one of our first meetings of the summer, we were asked by our program supervisor to explain the differences between school and work, and to decide which of the two this REU fell under. We get paid, which feels like work, but we are also here to learn, which almost makes it seem as if we never left college for summer vacation. This program cannot be constrained to either school or work entirely, and I don’t believe that any of our future careers will be so easily classified either. As researchers, it is in our job description to learn, and that is what this summer is about. A lecture on Cancer Imaging at the Health Discovery Building Auditorium at the Dell Medical School UT Austin is home to many summer research opportunities, one of which is the LIVESTRONG Cancer Institute Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) in the Dell Medical School, and runs nearly the same timeline as our own program. Over the past week and a half, we have attended three of their cancer lectures, where we have learned about experimental models, clinical trials, and cancer imaging. Each lecture, though early in the morning, was entertaining, interactive, and taught us something new about a different aspect of cancer. It is refreshing to see how these lecturers, all adults and well established in their field, are constantly trying to learn new things and see the world from different perspectives. Though the content itself is complex, each lecturer is able to explain their research in a professional, yet understandable fashion. Similarly, as each of us become more comfortable in our own lab, we are better able to explain our work to each other. Science is most useful when it can be shared, and I am hopeful that the communication skills we learn here, both by presenting to each other and listening to lectures, will enable us to make sure science is more readily accessible to all. -Maggie Cook, Arizona State University
July 4, 2019, Filed Under: 2019, cancer, reflectionsReflection on Reading Emperor of All Maladies The Emperor of All Maladies is a biography of the unraveling mystery of cancer in the search for a cure. In the opening of the book, I found alarming statistics the author gives us. Only in the United States, “one in three women and one in two men will develop cancer during their lifetime”. Siddhartha Mukherjee, has interesting storytelling that immerses you in the mind of cancer patients, physicians and researchers, giving historical context as we move along the different approach and discoveries in the war against cancer. When reading the book, the definition and history of cancer is built. At the beginning, Dr. Sidney Farber, a pediatric pathologist, decided from the basement of the Children’s Hospital to look at cancer from a new perspective, starting from the building blocks of the cells. An approach that seems basic in today’s research, but revolutionary at this point in history. The building of our understanding came from developing and trying many treatments over the years. The Emperor of the Maladies explains the history of breast cancer treatments starting from the mastectomy to radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and target therapy. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee, background is my working space in Dr. Pengyu Ren’s Computational Biomolecular Engineering Lab Today, we are still fighting the same war. When Mukherjee describes the search of the most favorable cocktail of chemicals for an anticancer drug, he states that, “the fundamental biology of cancer was so poorly understood that defining such molecular targets was virtually inconceivable in the 1960s.” Working in a molecular dynamics laboratory has given me the opportunity to learn about the new technologies resources that we have today. To understand how a molecule can affect a cell, an organ, and ultimately a person’s life. I feel encouraged in my everyday work of programming and mathematical formulas to see further and feel a sense of responsibility of being part of this fight in history to cure cancer. -Angelica Marquez, University of Texas at El Paso
June 30, 2019, Filed Under: 2019, austin, funKayaking Its hard to believe that four weeks have passed, and our summer is nearly halfway over. While our responsibility and understanding in the lab have grown, we have also grown much closer as a group. In the first blog post Mia remarked on how amazing it was how quickly our group grew together, and the sentiment certainly still applies. I always find it surprising that I’ve known these people for just four weeks. My siblings always spoke highly of their REU experiences, how they never had time to miss being home for the summer because they were always busy having fun with their peers, and I could not agree more. Those of us who work in the same part of campus meet up for lunch every day, and the entire group meets up to eat dinner every night. When we aren’t in lab, we can often be found playing cards in the lounge, watching “The Bachelorette,” in somebody’s room, or trying to decide how we want to spend our evening. Not all of our adventures are contained within our residence hall. Recently a small group of us (myself included) ventured out to Bass Concert hall to catch one of the last showings of Hamilton before the company left Austin, and then took a trip to the famous Amy’s Ice Cream. A yearly tradition of the BME program is to spend a morning kayaking and paddle boarding. Deciding to embrace the cohesiveness of our group that Dr. Suggs had commented on, we took a trip to a local thrift store after dinner and all purchased Hawaiian shirts to wear while we were on the water. We arrived at the boat rental at 9:00 and were greeted by Margo, who presented us with breakfast tacos to eat before we departed. As a North Easterner, I had never heard of a breakfast taco before coming to Austin, and while I was skeptical at first, I have fully embraced them as a breakfast staple. When we first left the docks, some of us were slightly unstable and fell off our paddle boards, but before long, we were cruising around the river. After some time paddling and swimming, we encountered a rope swing, and all took turns swinging into the river before paddling back to the docks. After stopping for lunch on the way back, we parted ways to nap and recuperate before taking a late-night trip to Kerby Lane for pancakes. Eating Rudy’s breakfast tacos before kayaking Getting ready to head out on the water from The Rowing Dock! On the water! Jaime in her kayak! Jubin, Michael, and Angelica (left to right) After all this time, I’m still amazed that we never run out of stuff to talk about and can’t wait for everything we have planned for the next several weeks, from a Mamma Mia movie night to a square-dancing trip. -Simon Blanchard, Villanova University.
