Six high school students have a newfound understanding of cancer research after completing the Cancer Center at Illinois’ (CCIL) ResearcHStart program. ResearcHStart is an intensive cancer research experience and partnership between the University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois Chicago, Northwestern University, and Rush University. Students from the Illinois cohort are paired with CCIL members who guide them through developing a cancer-related project.
“It’s important to mentor young trainees who are highly motivated to pursue a career in cancer research,” said CCIL mentor, Chitra Subramanian. “Training young students will help them understand the basic principles of research, enabling them to have a successful career.”
Trainees participated in group activities throughout the summer and presented their final projects at a symposium on August 1. We asked students about their favorite part of the program:
Alina Bijoy
CCIL Mentor: Yang Liu
“The best part of the program would be the connections you make with people, whether it be other participants in the program or with your mentors and others in the lab.”
Kylie Cherry
CCIL Mentor: Andrew Steelman
“My favorite parts of the program have been the people. All of us in the U. of I. cohort have become good friends, and I quite enjoy the other people I work with in my lab. I don’t feel like just an intern — I feel like they’ve accepted me as a part of their lab, and that has made this such a great experience!”
Emily Duong
CCIL Mentor: Chitra Subramanian
“I have learned so many different lab techniques, some by observation and some by practice. My mentors have shown me what kinds of work I could be doing in the future and have inspired me to continue work in laboratory research and pre-med studies.”
Stepheny Ek
CCIL Mentor: Erik Nelson
“I’ve always been interested in biomedical sciences, and my goal is to become a physician. Research always sounded fascinating to explore, but I never got the chance to pursue it prior to this program. ResearcHStart has really opened my eyes to how exciting research can be, and now I am considering it as an additional career path as well.”
Ali Prisecaru
CCIL Mentor: Susan Leggett
“The best part of researcHStart has been the lab work. My small, rural school doesn’t give me many opportunities to do lab work, so the program really appealed to me. I’m definitely going to pursue research in the future!”
Madeline Wicklander
CCIL Mentor: Sayee Anakk
“The best part of the program is getting that hands-on experience and seeing how the labs run. I have also loved the people I have met. The environment in the lab is great and the people here are very encouraging.”
