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High school students dive into research by Steven Zimmerman Of The Post and Courier While her friends work as baby sitters, waitresses or sales clerks, Sarah Cain dissects mice, examines lung samples and organizes genome data on a computer.   It’s all part of a scientific research internship focusing on the effects of missing genes on the development of lung cancer in mice. Sarah is one of a handful of rising high school seniors in South Carolina who are taking their summer jobs to a whole new level.   “On my first day, I walked into the lab and my mentor said, ‘I expect nothing of you but to be perfect,’ so there is a lot of pressure to do well,” said Sarah.   Each summer, the S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics in Hartsville sponsors its Summer Program for Research Interns.   Students such as Sarah pair up with mentors at universities and research institutions around the state and participate in a six-week research internship in an area of science that interests them.   For most, the internship is not optional. The Governor’s School requires its students to participate the summer before senior year. But it also opens up the program to other students from schools across the state. Sarah, for example, goes to Summerville High School. In all, almost 80 teenagers participate each summer.   “We consider this internship a capstone learning experience,” said Randall LaCross, director of outreach and research at the Governor’s School. “It is an opportunity to expose students to the whole arena of scientific research.”   Around 80 percent of participating students do research at MUSC, the College of Charleston, the University of South Carolina or Clemson University. The remaining students intern at smaller schools such as Newberry and Winthrop or at a dedicated laboratory, such as the Savannah River Ecology Lab.   “We’ve been very fortunate to identify scientists who share the vision we do, which is to expose these bright kids to scientific research and turn them on to the world of science and mathematics,” said LaCross. Students provide a list of their interests, and are matched up with research projects that fit their preferences.   LaCross said that although they try their best to match students with their interests, the bottom line is that the research experience is important no matter what the topic.   This year, 15 students in the program are interning at MUSC. Five of these students are local residents and commute from home every day, but the other 10 students are living in dormitories on the College of Charleston campus.   Students are scattered around in different departments, from neuroscience to immunology and pediatric medicine. Students might spend upward of 40 hours a week working in the lab.   “There are many safety precautions, and we ensure that the students are supervised at all times,” said Debby Shumaker of the College of Graduate Studies at MUSC. “The projects they work on are usually related to the faculty’s ongoing research, and it is patterned so that the students can complete all the work themselves.”   Students work with a mentor who is engaged in ongoing research, as well as MUSC graduate students while in the lab. Students are required to keep detailed notes about their work that are compiled into a report at the end of the six-week period. Along with lab work, interns must do a great deal of research and reading to understand their projects.   “We take lab courses at the Governor’s School, but we follow the protocol precisely, and there is always someone watching over your shoulder,” said Sara Khalil, 16, of Dillon, who is working with alternative RNA splicing. “At MUSC, the work is more professional, they are there to guide you, but you have to watch out for yourself. It’s not all in the textbook.” Even though their internships require an incredible amount of time and work, students agree that it is a fun and valuable experience.   “It’s a great chance to see if you like this sort of research,” adds Jonathan Hill, 17, of Spartanburg, who is spending his internship in the pharmaceuticals department working with enzymes. “It’s an opportunity that not many students get to experience. It’s a fun environment, but there is a lot work and a lot of weight in science.”   Students return to school in the fall for their senior year of high school and begin the difficult college application process. But thanks to their internships, these teens have a better idea of what they want to study.   “A few students in my lab said they didn’t get this sort of experience until they were in graduate school,” said Katelyn Barzee, 16, of Spartanburg, who is studying a gene linked to obesity. “It has taught me to explore new things and be sure to give your greatest effort in all your endeavors.” Internship better than beach by Tina Mao Senior at Porter-Gaud High School It’s an absolutely perfect day for the beach—clear skies, warm and sunny and without much humidity. Yet, as I write this during my lunch break in the air-conditioned library at the Medical University of South Carolina, looking out the window and people-watching, I have no complaints.   For six weeks this summer, I am working in a lab of MUSC’s neurosciences department. While I attend Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, I was given this opportunity through the S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics 2006 Summer Program for Research Interns. The Governor’s School requires its students to do the internship, but also selects a handful of students from other schools to participate each year.   This program gives teenagers from across the state a valuable opportunity to experience research firsthand.   Since Day One, everything has been a matter of learning—and learning quickly. From understanding the methods used in my experiment to knowing by heart how to read the molecular weight of a protein against the standard weight marker, the lab has become increasingly comfortable and familiar to me, something I know will aid me in future situations should I pursue a medical career.   Essentially, I am researching human malignant glioblastoma cells and their response to phytic acid. As glioblastoma, the most aggressive and widespread of brain tumors, remains without any effective treatment, new methods are needed to combat this devastating cancer.   We used corn-derived phytic acid (IP6), also known as inositol hexaphosphate, to induce a programmed cell death in human glioblastoma cells U87MG and found exactly how the cell was inducing its own death by checking for protein activation.   IP6 has been shown to significantly control cellular proliferation in other cancers, such as those of the breast, colon and prostate, but has not yet been tested in the treatment of human glioblastoma. It’s very possible that IP6 would both inhibit cell growth and cause the U87MG cells to self-destruct, an exciting possibility since there haven’t been any major advancements in the treatment of glioblastoma for some time.   Some of my peers may disagree, but I am more than happy to have this opportunity to conduct such fascinating research. How many 17-year-olds have the chance to test malignant brain tumor cells with what could be a potentially novel treatment? If the price is to trade my bikini for a lab coat and a bottle of sunscreen for a flask to culture the U87MG cells in, I’ll gladly pay up.   Besides, the beach can wait for the weekends. Editor’s note: This article ran July 18 in The Post and Courier and has been reprinted with permission.   Friday, July 28, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.