Taking Aim at Childhood Cancer

Gail M. Seigel, Ph.D., FARVO Research Professor.

Join us and take aim at killing cancer cells, an ideal opportunity for students interested in biomedical research and/or medical school. 

Project is Not Currently Available

This project is not being offered for the current term. Please check back next semester for updates.

Project description

Almost everyone knows someone who has had cancer, been treated for it, only to have the cancer return later with devastating consequences. Our work involves personalized medicine designed to kill cancer cells while sparing the normal surrounding cells. Our project targets retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eye that affects children. We work with the Pharmacy School and City University of New York to identify new targets for therapy in human tumors, test these targeted drugs in cancer cells and take beautiful fluorescent microscopic images of our work. You will learn techniques such as how to grow cells in culture, fluorescent cell and tissue staining, and microscopy. 

Project outcome

Successful completion of the project will result in an abstract that can be presented internally at UB and may also involve co-authorship on presentations at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, as well as any peer-reviewed publications that involve this work. In addition, the student can list this experience on a resume and obtain letters of reference from me for future opportunities in education, research, and employment. 

Project details

Timing, eligibility and other details
Length of commitment Any time commitment is OK 
Start time Anytime
In-person, remote, or hybrid? In-Person Project 
Level of collaboration Individual student project 
Benefits Academic credit 
Who is eligible All undergraduate students who have some lab experience, reliability, and initiative preferred 

Core partners

  • UB Pharmacy School
  • City University of New York

Project mentor

Gail Seigel

Research Professor

Communicative Disorders and Sciences

Phone: (585) 281-3059

Email: gseigel@buffalo.edu

Start the project

  1. Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
  2. After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.) 
Start the Digital Badge

Preparation activities

Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. After you’re approved to begin the project, your mentor will send the relevant materials. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase. 

Articles to Read:

Keywords

Cancer, Microscopy, Pathology, Ophthalmology, Eye, Drug Development