Summer High School Research Program Newsletter 3rd Issue (November 2009)

1. THE BUZZ Volume 1,
Issue 3
E-news for the Summer High School
November 2009
Research Program Fellows
ating
Interested in particip Great American Smoke Out (GASO)
in GASO?
November 19, 2009
Contact Tyharrie Hill
at thill@cancer.org As the official sponsor of
Research shows that smok-
Using 2 or more of these
312-279-7392 or birthdays, the American
ers are most successful in
measures to help you
your regional office Cancer Society marks the quit works better than
34th Great American kicking the habit when they using any one of them
We have posters, have some means of sup-
fliers and information Smokeout on November
port, such as:
alone. For example,
for you to use at your 19 by encouraging smok- some people use a pre-
event! ers to use the date to • nicotine replacement scription medicine along
make a plan to quit, or products with nicotine replace-
to plan in advance and ment. Other people may
• counseling
quit smoking that day. By use as many as 3 or 4 of
Arlington Heights doing so, smokers will be • stop-smoking groups the other measures listed
Region
taking an important step • telephone smoking ces- above.
towards a healthier life – sation hotlines
847-368-1166 Smokers who want to
one that can lead to re-
Batavia Region
ducing cancer risk and cre- • prescription medicine to quit can call the Ameri-
630-879-9009 ating more birthdays. In lessen cravings can Cancer Society Quit
Champaign Region many towns and commu- For Life® Program oper-
• guide books
217-356-9076 nities, local volunteers sup- ated and managed by
Chicago Region port quitters, publicize the • encouragement and sup- Free & Clear® at 1-800-
event, and press for laws port from friends and 227-2345 for tobacco
312-372-0471
that control tobacco use family members cessation and coaching
DuPage Region
and discourage teenagers services that can help
630-932-1411
from starting. increase their chances of
Evanston Region quitting for good.
847-328-5147
Peoria Region
Ideas on incorporating GASO activities within
309-688-3488
your high school or college
Riverside Region
708-484-8541 Get Involved!!
Springfield Region
-Hold a contest for the best -Ask the school newspaper -Invite College or High
217-523-4503
stop smoking creation: i.e., to cover tobacco issues, in- school athletes, cheerlead-
Tinley Park Region poster, essay, song, home cluding health effects and ers or band members to
video the cost of using tobacco speak to elementary school
708-633-7770 students about the effects
-Utilize school sporting -Work with local and/or cam- of smoking
events as a platform to pus TV or radio stations to
share anti-tobacco GASO sponsor a public service an-
messaging such as, GASO nouncement
basketball tournament

2. Summer High School Research
Program Student Highlights
Qadija Qadri the University of Chicago its applications to the
Medical Center. Under real world, two con-
While many are enjoy- Dr. Rifat Hasina, Qadija cepts that greatly
ing their summer off, a learned about the mo- impacted her deci-
group of high school lecular basics of esophag- sion to consider a
students are working eal cancer and ways to career in the biologi-
day in and day out at treat it. She investigated cal/medical sciences.
several university labo- the influence of EphB4
ratories throughout the gene amplification on
Tyharrie Hill state of Illinois. Among protein levels of expres-
Health Initiatives Research Manager them is Qadija Qadri, a sion in esophageal tumor
American Cancer Society senior attending North- tissue. Since the labora-
Illinois Division, Inc. side College Prepara- tory needs to coincide
225 N. Michigan Ave. tory High School. By with the clinic, the goal
Chicago, IL 60601 participating in the of the project is to ulti-
American Cancer Soci- mately develop a drug
Phone: 312-279-7392 ety Summer High
Fax: 312-641-6588
targeting EphB4 to treat
School Research Pro- esophageal cancer pa-
E-mail: tyharrie.hill@cancer.org gram, she was able to tients.
get a first-person view
of work done in a mo- At school, Qadija is part
lecular biology labora- of the Spanish Honors
cancer.org tory, and learned the Society and is the treas-
ways of applying sci- urer of the Red Cross
Illinoiscancerhelp.org ence to the population. Club. Both clubs raise
money to donate to or-
The concept of apply- ganizations which help
ing science to the those in need. Experience
population, known as under Dr. Ravi Salgia and
translational research, is Dr. Rifat Hasina enabled
the core of Dr. Ravi Qadija to establish a solid
Salgia’s laboratories at link between science and
Thank you to our Aakash Bavishi
Volunteers at This past summer Aakash
worked in Dr. Benevolenskaya's
Making Strides lab at the University of Illinois
Chicago. The lab was investigat-
ing the role of the tumor sup-
pressor retinoblastoma protein
(pRB) in the SAOS Cell Line.
RBP2 is an prB interactor which
Marissa Suchyta acts as an inhibitor of differen-
and Friends tiation. RBP2 may maintain cells
in an undifferentiated state,
which is necessary for tumor His main hobbies are playing basket-
growth. ball and tennis with his friends.
He is active in a wide variety of Aakash says he is definitely interested
activities. He is the captain of in science, specifically medicine, as a
Scholastic Bowl and a member career. “This opportunity provided by
of the Math Team and Student ACS allows me to develop research
Congress Debate Team, he vol- skills and gain exposure to the medical
unteer 4 hours a week at St. field. I am very humbled by this oppor-
Alexius Medical Center, lead tunity in cancer research. Any break-
our STAND anti-genocide coali- through to do cancer research would
tion, and helps the local library have a direct, tangible effect for thou-
as a student trustee on the sands of people. It would be tremen-
board. He is also a member of dous to one day aid in that break-
Nathan Ahlgrim and friend along the school tennis team. through.”
with Lakshmi Sundaresan
Not Pictured: Sara Kochanny & Samuel Mendez