| Science novices hunt for cancer
by Steven Schultz
Trenton Central High School student Yamilette Boone released a tiny drop
of liquid onto a microscope plate and dozens of bone cancer cells drifted
into view on a little television monitor.
"That's perfect!" said Princeton graduate student Chris Milburn
as three other high school students watched closely.
A few cells stuck to a sliver of titanium-coated silicon that, under the
microscope, looked like a diving board, but was really thinner than a human
hair. It was a mini triumph. Coaxing cancer cells to stick to the little
springboards has been a major challenge in the lab of Professor of Mechanical
Engineering Wole
Soboyejo.
Soboyejo and his students believe that their cell-attracting levers
may lead to a powerful new approach for detecting cancer. For the Trenton-area
students, the microscope experiment was part of three weeks of intensive
science education with the Princeton University Materials Academy and
the Mercer County Community College Upward Bound program.
The program brings 16 high school students to the Princeton campus, where
they learn primary concepts in math and science and simultaneously apply
that knowledge in ongoing research projects. |
|
Princeton graduate student Chris Milburn (left)
shows a tube containing a cluster of cancer cells to Trenton High School
students Anthony Harris and Mary Umoh, who are among 16 students participating
in the Princeton University Materials Academy outreach program. The Princeton
Center for Complex Materials is conducting the hands-on learning course
in collaboration with the Mercer County Community College Upward Bound
program.
photo: Ruth Stevens |
"This is the real thing," said Daniel
Steinberg, the education outreach director for the Princeton
Center for Complex Materials. "This technique that Professor
Soboyejo and his students are working on hasn’t been perfected yet.
It's as cutting edge as it gets."
"A lot of the things they are witnessing are techniques we just
figured out in the last couple months, or are just figuring out now,"
said Steven Mwenifumbo, another graduate student in Soboyejo's lab.
For the students, the immediacy is very appealing. "I like the hands-on
experience," said Anthony Harris of Trenton Central High School.
"I think we learn better visually. And we've never done any of this
before, so it's really cool to see it. Our teachers don't even do this."
It also is a chance to spend time with scientists and get a feel for life
in a laboratory. "I like going into a real lab and meeting people
from different backgrounds and seeing what the researchers do," said
Shanah Orie of Trenton Central High School. Boone said the program is
helping her focus on her goal of pursuing a career in forensic science.
In addition to spending time in the lab, students devote part of their
day to hands-on lessons designed to bring them up to speed on core concepts
they need in order to understand the research. Steinberg developed these
activities in partnership with Pete Gange, a Middlesex High School science
teacher who helps manage the program and assists the Princeton faculty
members in presenting their research on a high school level.
In Soboyejo's cancer research project, for example, the goal is to detect
the presence of a single cancer cell. The researchers expose the tiny
silicon lever to cells from a tissue sample and then gently vibrate the
lever. If a cancer cell has stuck, the lever will resonate with a different
frequency than it would if no cells were attached. So one morning the
students learned about resonance by wiggling thin plastic rulers and attaching
clips to see how the motion changed. Another morning they learned about
graphing by shooting marbles from a catapult and plotting the distance
versus the tension on the rubber band.
"It's really working out," said Gange. "I am very impressed
by what they know now compared to two weeks ago."
This is the first year that the Princeton Center for Complex Materials
has worked with the Upward Bound program. "It's been a great relationship,"
said Don Davis, who directs Upward Bound at Mercer County Community College.
"The students come back excited every day."
In addition to working with the Upward Bound students, the Princeton University
Materials Academy outreach program also hosted 15 students from Middlesex
High School who spent a week working on similar projects. The program
ends Aug. 14 when the Upward Bound students deliver PowerPoint presentations
to report on their research. |
