School of Medicine

LOUISIANA CANCER RESEARCH CONSORTIUM SUMMER RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS

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Twenty-eight high school, college and medical students participated in an eight-week summer program funded by the National Cancer Institute and the Louisiana Gene Therapy Consortium. The Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium Summer Internship Program is in its fourth year at LSU Health Sciences Center. The goal of this program is to cultivate an interest among Louisiana students in research careers, as well as learning of research opportunities available in their home state. It is hoped that long-term, this program will bring back the best and brightest students to Louisiana for graduate and medical schools.

The students were matched with researchers at 28 laboratories located at LSU Health Sciences Center, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, Children's Hospital, and Oschner Clinic. The students' match with a mentor was based on research interests.

The program also includes a weekly Summer Research Lecture Series that brings researchers from all over the United States to speak to participants about the latest findings and new technologies in cancer and gene therapy research. The summer program culminates in the student poster presentations.

Twenty-eight students participated in this year's program as compared to 34 last year. Of the 28 students, eight are in high school, 15 are college students, and five are in medical school. The students were mainly New Orleans residents, but attend schools throughout the United States during the academic year. Most of the students attending local schools were from Tulane, LSU, and Southern Universities. Out-of-state schools attended by our students during the academic year included the University of Richmond, Millsaps College, Georgia Tech, College of Charleston, and Harvard University.

Dr. Paula Gregory is the principal investigator and Dr. Fern Tsien is the coordinator of the program. For more information, call 568-2463.