A summer program
that allows University of Delaware undergraduates to immerse themselves
in research at a top cancer center will soon offer students additional
opportunities.
The partnership between UD and Fox Chase Cancer Center in
Philadelphia began as a pilot program in 2017, with summer fellowships
available to four students each year. Beginning in 2023, the number of
students taking part will increase to 12.
The expansion is made possible by a Research Education Program grant
funded by the National Cancer Institute, whose goals include fostering a
better understanding of biomedical, behavioral and clinical research
and its implications, as well as enhancing the training of a workforce
to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.
Fox Chase Cancer Center was awarded the grant earlier this year.
“The goal of this program is really to allow students who may not
even consider a career in STEM the opportunity to see what it’s like to
have a hands-on experience in a lab and possibly change their career
trajectory,” said Amanda Purdy, director of academic affairs at Fox
Chase.
Four students have been selected for the 2022 summer program, in
which they will live together and work in research labs at the cancer
center. Recruitment for the first 12-student cohort will begin at UD
during the 2022-2023 academic year for the summer 2023 session.
This year’s UD-Fox Chase Summer Fellows are Jhon Pasamonte, Andres
Haendel-Gonzalez, Zach Elman and Gabriela Krochta. The students range
from freshman to senior, all in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The fellowship program was designed as a way to bring talented UD
students to Fox Chase to participate in focused research training as
well as mentoring and professional development as they explore possible
careers in science or medicine.
During the 10-week residential program, the fellows work on unique
research projects and hone their laboratory skills. At the end of the
program, they present the results of their research at a symposium.
The idea for the program came from informal discussions between Glenn
Rall, chief academic officer at Fox Chase, and Thomas W. Hofmann, a UD
alumnus who is also a member of the Fox Chase Board of Directors and the
University’s President’s Leadership Council.
The program, a collaboration of the College of Arts and Sciences’
NUCLEUS academic-support program and Fox Chase, is funded by the
University, Fox Chase and Hofmann, who earned his bachelor’s degree from
the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics in 1973. He has
generously supported NUCLEUS, allowing students to pursue a variety of
undergraduate research and internship opportunities.
Many former UD-Fox Chase research fellows have gone on to graduate school and careers in the medical field.
“I look back at my time at Fox Chase and it inspires me in my current
research pursuits,” said Houston Ward, a 2019 fellow who expects to
graduate from UD this month with an honors degree in biological
sciences. Ward concentrated his studies in cellular and molecular
biology, with minors in business administration and medical humanities.
“I met the best mentors and amazing friends, learned valuable skills,
worked on intriguing projects and gained a deep respect and
appreciation for the research field,” he said of the summer program.
“Fox Chase truly gave me an unmatched and important experience.”
Article by Ann Manser, with information from Fox Chase Media Relations; photo by Kathy F. Atkinson
Published May 31, 2022