Students join the American Cancer Society in the fight against cancer
Selected Illinois students are trading in their bathing suit and sun block for a lab coat and test tubes. Three juniors, Audra Storm, attending Illinois Valley Central High School, Morgan Timm, attending Richwoods High School, and Thompson Zhuang, attending Eureka High School will spend their summer conducting cancer research. Interested in pursuing a career in science, all students will get an early start with the American Cancer Society’s Summer High School Research Program.
The Society’s Illinois Division gives a diverse group of high school students the chance to spend eight weeks working with cancer experts in the state’s top research facilities, including the University of Illinois – Peoria. Of the hundreds of applicants, only 34 high school juniors were chosen to intern this summer with society-funded researchers and assist in hands-on work.
The program has produced 169 alumni, all who are attending or have attended college. Currently in its eighth year, the internship promotes bridging many of Illinois’ finest students into the future of science, specifically in fields related to cancer.
“The Society is committed to nurturing the potential and interests of all future scientific and medical leaders,” said Dr. K. Thomas Robbins, First Vice President, American Cancer Society-IL Division Board of Directors/Chair, Research Advisory Committee. “This internship is a great opportunity for students to develop skills around cancer research, something that most students typically do not experience until graduate school.”
During the research program, students are assigned an individual, limited and achievable project to research four days per week. On the fifth day, students typically attend lectures and present updates of their research. At the end of the summer, students will also present a collective report of their overall findings.
For more than 60 years, the American Cancer Society has funded research and training of health professionals to investigate the causes, prevention, and early detection of cancer, as well as new treatments, cancer survivorship, and end of life support for patients and their families.