A Trine University biomedical engineering major took part in a research project this
summer that may one day help the fight against brain cancer in children.
Robin Furnish, a senior from Vevay, Indiana, served in a 10-week Research Experience
for Undergraduates (REU) at the Phoenix lab in the University of Cincinnati’s James
L. Winkle College of Pharmacy and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Directed by Timothy Phoenix, Ph.D., the lab researches the diversity of brain tumors
– now the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children – and seeks to develop
new tools and therapies to combat the disease.
Furnish said she found the REU through an online search and was drawn by the university
and hospital’s reputation, as well as the opportunities available.
In the lab, she sectioned and stained brain samples from lab animals that had DNA
inserted from pediatric high grade glioma (HGG), the deadliest pediatric brain tumor.
These samples were compared to healthy tissue to determine the differences on a cellular
level.
“The end goal of the lab's work is to develop accurate animal models for pre-clinical
trials and to further our knowledge of disease pathology,” she said.
At the conclusion of the REU, she presented a poster on her project to two judges,
with the public and other REU participants in attendance.
“My poster covered background information on my project along with the methods and
results we obtained,” she said. “I enjoyed the opportunity to present information
over my project and share the knowledge I acquired through the program!”
“I believe my summer undergraduate research experience helped prepare me for my senior
design project this year,” she said. “I feel I have a better understanding of the
planning and execution of a research project.”
She said her work at the lab has inspired her to continue her education into pharmaceutical
development or neuroscience.
“I hope to obtain my doctoral degree and complete a postdoctoral study to qualify
for either a senior scientist position or a professorship running an academic research
lab,” she said. “Further, I hope to focus my studies and career on treatments for
neurological disease or cancer.”
