Through its outreach education program, the Masonic Cancer Center is training the cancer researchers of tomorrow and helping people in the community learn more about cancer.

High school senior Sarah Bruemmer wants to "figure things out." That's why she spent the summer elongating DNA strands and examining protein antibodies in the laboratories of the Masonic Cancer Center.

Bruemmer, who won a competitive research internship, learned about pediatric leukemia — a longterm research interest of Cancer Center director, John Kersey, M.D. Cancer recently hit home for Bruemmer when a friend was diagnosed with four tumors. Always interested in science, her friend's diagnosis made Bruemmer realize the importance of cancer research, she says.

In the laboratory, Kersey and other cancer researchers showed Bruemmer the research ropes. She became acquainted with laboratory procedures and equipment and is now able to recognize healthy and diseased lymph nodes in mice. "I've learned that research means doing things over and over," she says, "and that things don't always go the way researchers want."

Bruemmer is one of many students to benefit from the Masonic Cancer Center's outreach and education mission. "It's extremely important to not only get the word out that cancer is a problem, but that something can be done about it," says Kersey. As a result, the Masonic Cancer Center is dedicated to educating people about risky behaviors, such as smoking, as well as talking to students about career opportunities in cancer research and care.

"Students often don't know what the opportunities are," explains Kersey. "Granted, it's a long road from high school to becoming a cancer researcher or physician, but the road can be fun and the work is extremely rewarding."

Cancer researcher Christopher Pennell, Ph.D., agrees. In his additional role as educational outreach coordinator, Pennell drives the center's efforts to bring cancer biology and education into community schools. Depending on the schools' needs, Pennell's team either visits the schools or the classes come to the Masonic Cancer Center.

"We set up an interchange of ideas and also provide small tutorials or experiments that can be conducted in the classroom," he says. "Giving students hands-on experience is important. The science is fun and it's more fun if you do it rather than just get lectured about it."

A big hit is a collection of tumors shown to students. "You can talk about what a tumor is, and it's kind of abstract, but if you have an organ with normal tissue and then there's this ball of something that's obviously not supposed to be there, then they can really see and recognize it's a tumor," says Pennell. "Students also examine a smoker's lung, which looks charred. That's a powerful way to learn."

Some students, like Bruemmer, have the opportunity to experience cancer research firsthand. Tucker LeBien, Ph.D., deputy director of the Masonic Cancer Center and associate director for basic sciences, brings high school students and their teachers into the Masonic Cancer Center's state-of-the-art laboratories. Recently, he hosted 20 students from St. Paul's Arlington High School to participate in several different laboratory exercises. For example, using a 12-headed microscope, LeBien and the students examined normal and cancerous tissues.

"I was extremely impressed with their interest in science and the intelligent questions they asked," he says. LeBien wants students to experience how accessible laboratory research can be. "They're often surprised that researchers aren't always older, formal and aloof — that they can be young and work in casual clothes," he says. "It's important for their self-confidence to recognize that researchers look just like they do."

LeBien has seen that interacting with researchers in the laboratory "is a defining moment for some of the students." He adds that if just one student goes on to become a full-time scientist, the program is a success.

Promoting the importance of tomorrow's research scientists is a goal of Yoji Shimizu, Ph.D., director of graduate studies for the Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology (MICaB) Ph.D. graduate program. "Everyone knows about medical school," he says, "but many aren't aware of graduate school and what it means to obtain a Ph.D."

Shimizu, who also leads the Masonic Cancer Center's Immunology Research Program, is concerned about the shrinking pool of qualified scientists who will discover future breakthroughs in cancer research and care. "The pace of progress in research is dependent on good quality students who are interested in research as a career. They're the ones who will be the future principal investigators and cancer center directors," he says.

The MICaB program provides interdisciplinary research opportunities necessary for cancer biologyresearch. "We look at everything viruses, the immune system and genetics and how gene mutations lead to cancer, as well as clinical issues," he says. "Researchers need to be able to put different elements together, but be able to focus, too."

The Masonic Cancer Center's outreach mission extends beyond academic walls to the general public. Cancer nurse and director of outreach education for the Masonic Cancer Center, Marva Bohen, R.N., is in charge of a free information phone line that members of the public can call to receive answers to questions on all aspects of cancer — from cancer terms to the latest available clinical trials. She also attends community health fairs and teaches other outreach professionals.

Bohen stresses the importance of involving all aspects of the community in cancer education. "Our mission is inclusive — we try to foster a presence in the communities and also involve different communities in the Masonic Cancer Center," she says. This is not an easy or a short-term process, she adds. "We build trust by supporting community initiatives and being willing to provide resources and information."

But in order to be truly inclusive, she says, it's important that cancer researchers and physicians eventually come from all communities. "This is a long-term goal of the Masonic Cancer Center," she adds.

Bohen is particularly interested in addressing health disparities. Marva Bohen, R.N. She works with American Indian communities in Minnesota that have an 88 percent higher risk of death from cancer than other American Indian communities in the United States.

"We don't understand all of the reasons for this," she says, "but it is still important to alert American Indians in Minnesota to this disparity."

 One of the best ways to decrease mortality from cancer is early detection, she says, noting: "If a community is not aware of a disparity, it can't do much to change the situation."

As for high school student Sarah Bruemmer, she now has a greater awareness of her research interests.

"Talking about DNA gives me a chill up my spine — this is definitely something I want to do," she says about research at the Masonic Cancer Center.

 

 

 

 

 

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This story was originally published in the Masonic Cancer Center 2005 Annual Report.