PHILADELPHIA (February 11, 2022)—Fox Chase Cancer Center has been awarded a Research Education Program grant that will allow the center to expand the reach of its University of Delaware-Fox Chase Cancer Center Summer Research Fellowship.
“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, PhD, director of Academic Affairs at Fox Chase. “With the funds from this grant, we will be able to expand this existing pilot program from serving four students per summer to 12.”
Research Education Program grants, also known as R25 grants, are typically funded by the National Institutes of Health with the purpose of supporting research education activities that meet specific goals, but Purdy said this particular grant will be funded by the National Cancer Institute. These 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.
The fellowship is a partnership between the University of Delaware and Fox Chase. The idea was hatched during a discussion over coffee by Glenn Rall, PhD, chief academic officer at Fox Chase, and Thomas W. Hofmann, a member of the Fox Chase Board of Directors, a graduate of the University of Delaware, and a member of the university’s President’s Leadership Council.
The pilot program aimed to serve as a way to bring talented students from the University of Delaware to Fox Chase for enhanced summer internships that would provide them not only research training, but also mentoring on creating and giving presentations, reading scientific literature, and developing useful professional networks.
“When we looked at ways to expand the program, the first thing we wanted to do was to reach more students. We wanted to focus on students who were not very far into their college career, because the data supports the fact that students make a decision about their majors closer to their sophomore or junior year,” said Alyssa Leystra, PhD, education coordinator at Fox Chase.
“Many students are switching out of majors that would bring them to a job in cancer research and healthcare around those years, but if they have really immersive, research-centered experiences, they’re more likely to stay in those degrees and go into a career in a related field,” she said.
Through the summer research fellowship, the students are provided with paid, full-time, and immersive summer research opportunities. During the 10-week residential program, research fellows work on unique research projects and hone their laboratory skills. At the culmination of the program, students present the results of their research at a symposium.
This program also provides weekly professional development opportunities for students. Research fellows receive individualized mentorship as they build and expand their professional network on LinkedIn, update resumes, and write cover letters. Simultaneously, students are exposed to a wide diversity of biomedical careers found in a cancer center through a weekly career series. At the end of the fellowship, participants are equipped to pursue numerous STEM professions.
“We have already had some of our ‘alumni’ graduate from college and begin as medical students or graduate students. Students themselves have reported how formative their summer experience was in shaping their next-step decisions,” said Rall.
“I look back at my time at Fox Chase and it inspires me in my current research pursuits,” said Houston Ward, a 2019 Fox Chase Fellow. “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. Fox Chase truly gave me an unmatched and important experience.”
Ward is majoring in biological sciences with a concentration in cellular and molecular biology and minors in business administration and medical humanities. Ward is also an honors degree candidate completing a senior thesis. He expects to graduate from the University of Delaware this spring.
“For me, one of the joys of this program is that I get to know these students quite well,” Rall said. “Many of our previous students—even from four or five years ago—stay in close contact with us and willingly participate in recruitment events for new classes. It’s truly a meaningful way to continue to encourage STEM careers among young professionals.”