Need Help Finding Mentor

[reesabp]

Hi Guys,

I am looking for a mentor in molecular biology near Oregon (ie: OHSU). Does anyone have any contacts that might help me? I was working in a molecular biology lab last year, but unfortunately, this year their funding got cut.

Any help would be so appreciated,

THANK YOU!

[donnahardy2]

Hi Reesabp.

Welcome to Science Buddies! It’s great that you are planning to do a science fair project. What topics are you thinking about doing? Before finding a mentor, it’s best to have a topic selected, so that you will know who to ask for help. What did you do in the microbiology lab, and are you interested in continuing that project?

There are hundreds of projects to choose from on this website if you still trying to decide on a topic.

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-f ... deas.shtml

Once you have a project topic, you can use the advice from recent science fair winners to find someone who can help you:

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-f ... tors.shtml

Being close to OHSU should help you find resources if you will be doing a project related to human health; one of the 1725 faculty members might be doing research on your topic and be willing to help you. Also, you might look for public meetings and seminars that you could attend to help you meet people doing research in an area you are interested in. For example, here is a seminar on tumor immunology scheduled for tomorrow afternoon that you might be able to attend. Look on the OHSU website for more opportunities. This sounds like a really interesting topic to me.

http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/school ... events.cfm

Please note that it’s probably best, not to ask someone directly to be your mentor; you need to find someone who is doing research in your area and write to them and ask questions, or ask to meet with them.

Good luck!


Donna Hardy

[reesabp]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, last year I did a project where I computationally designed an intramolecular chaperone to inhibit the protease Furin. I had designed one in silico, and I had planned to synthesize the protein this year and work on it in the lab I had last year. However, the funding fell through and I was unable to continue. I would like to work on something in the field of cancer biology. However, I have emailed some researchers asking to set up a meeting and they said that they would be unable to support a high school student. . Any ideas?

Thanks again,
-R

[VSegarra]

Hello Reesabp,
It is wonderful to see your enthusiasm for research! Would you be willing to work in a lab on a volunteer basis? If so, when you e-mail researchers, do you highlight this fact? They might be more inclined to take you on for a research experience if you volunteer your time. Also, you might offer to have some of your teachers send them letters of reference. Along those lines, it might help to describe to them why you are interested in cancer biology (and in that particular lab or professor) and what are you looking to obtain from the research experience. Hope this helps. If you need help or would like feedback while writing the e-mail, we are here to help!
Veronica

[reesabp]

Thanks for your reply...here is what I had send some prospective mentors:

Hello Dr. _________,

I am (name) , currently a sophomore at (school name). Last year, I worked on a computational protein design project in Dr. (old mentor’s) lab at the Department of Molecular Biochemistry at OHSU. Unfortunately, Dr. (old mentor’s) lab was unable to support any high school students this year, so I am searching for a new opportunity. I definitely will put in the time required to understand the background needed and learn your lab’s procedures. May I speak with you about any opportunities you may know of or be able to provide?

Thank you for your time,
(name)
(contact info)


Anything I should add? By the way, I have redacted some personal info.

[donnahardy2]

Hi Reesabp,

Veronica has given you a really good suggestion about volunteering your time. And, you letter is a very good introduction, however it does sound like you are looking for a paid position. To get an invitation to work in a lab, you could try the following:

1. Go to the list of faculty members at OHSU and identify those that are doing cancer biology research. Here’s an example:

Here’s the list of faculty members:

http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/school ... /index.cfm

Here’s one faculty member and a description of his lab and area of research:

http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/research/centers ... kerlab.cfm

Here’s a list of publications from this lab:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=turker ms

2. Take some time to read about the research and read of couple of recent papers. Then you can write a specific letter expressing interest in one or more of the research projects and offer to help with one of the projects for your science fair project.

You can include a list of techniques that you may have learned about in your previous lab that would be useful in the new lab. If you have a letter of recommendation from your previous lab, then include that with your request.

Here is a history of the grant funding for this researcher. Please notice that the grant levels have decreased in recent years, and this is a very common problem with researchers these days.

http://www.experts.scival.com/ohsu/expe ... &u_id=1797

3. Repeat this process for other faculty members.

You should also look for project ideas that you can do in your high school laboratory as a back-up plan.

Donna Hardy

[reesabp]

Hi,

Thanks for the replay! You have been really helpful. I was wondering, what wording should be changed to make it sound like I am not looking for a paid opportunity, but rather a volunteer, research opportunity?

Thanks,

Reese

[VSegarra]

Hi!
Your using the phrase "unable to support any high school students" when you refer to your old lab might give the impression that this was a paid position. Therefore one might be inclined to assume you are looking for another paid position.

Try this when describing your previous research position:

Last year, I worked as a volunteer research student on a computational protein design project in Dr. (old mentor’s) lab at the Department of Molecular Biochemistry at OHSU.

Also, just say you are searching for a new oportunity to do research on a volunteer-basis. No need to mention the other lab was not able to support you. Avoid the word "support", one might think support=paid.

Another comment: The note you wrote as it stands now looks like a note that you could send to any researcher by just changing the name. You need to tailor the note to be specific for a particular research lab. Follow Donna Hardy's advice to do this, she has given you some really good tips.

Also do you have a resume? You should also attach it to the e-mail. In your resume you could have a list of science courses you have already taken. You could also have a sentence or to describing what you did/accomplished during your last research experience.

Hope this helps!
Veronica

[reesabp]

Hi,

Thank you to everyone who has helped me so far. So I decided to call some possible mentors at the Providence Cancer Research Center in Oregon.

However, before I do so, I want to make sure I understand some of the research the possible mentors are involved in. Here is an abstract of an article that a possible mentor wrote:


The provision of T cell co-stimulation via members of the TNFR super-family, including OX40 (CD134) and 4-1BB (CD137), provides critical signals that promote T cell survival and differentiation. Recent studies have demonstrated that ligation of OX40 can augment T cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity in pre-clinical models and more importantly, OX40 agonists are under clinical development for cancer immunotherapy. OX40 is of particular interest as a therapeutic target as it is not expressed on naïve T cells but rather, is transiently up-regulated following TCR stimulation. Although TCR engagement is necessary for inducing OX40 expression, the downstream signals that regulate OX40 itself remain unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that OX40 expression is regulated through a TCR and common gamma chain cytokine-dependent signaling cascade that requires JAK3-mediated activation of the downstream transcription factors STAT3 and STAT5. Furthermore, combined treatment with an agonist anti-OX40 mAb and IL-2 augmented tumor immunotherapy against multiple tumor types. Dual therapy was also able to restore the function of anergic tumor-reactive CD8 T cells in mice with long-term well-established (>5 wks) tumors, leading to increased survival of the tumor-bearing hosts. Together, these data reveal the ability of TCR/common gamma chain cytokine signaling to regulate OX40 expression and demonstrate a novel means of augmenting cancer immunotherapy by providing dual anti-OX40/common gamma chain cytokine-directed therapy.



I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me decipher this abstract, or point me toward some resources that could possible help?

Thanks
- Reese

[donnahardy2]

Hi Reese,

This is excellent! You have located a researcher who is studying what you are interested in doing.

This is an abstract describing research to understand molecular basis of cancer therapy. In cancer therapy, it is helpful to promote a strong immune response in the patient to help destroy tumor cells. Here are some basic facts that will help you understand what is going on in this type of study.

T-cells are white blood cells that originate in the thymus gland and are involved in cellular immunity. An immune response to foreign antigens is important to help the body fight infections and cancer/tumors.

Tumor necrosis factor of TNF is a cyotokine or small signaling protein of the immune system that stimulates inflammation and fever in the body and can result in the death of cancer cells. Inflammation is part of the body’s immune response to foreign antigens such as viruses, bacteria, and cancer/tumor cells.

TNFR or tumor necrosis factor receptor is a molecular structure on the surface of cells that, when activated, can cause the stimulation of a wide variety of intracellular biological processes such as apoptosis (cell death). This link includes a basic explanation of TNFR:

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/TNFRSF1A

CD134 OX40 is a member of the TNFR receptor family that is expressed 1-3 days after stimulation by an antigen and helps prevent t-cells from dying, thereby prolonging the immune response to whatever antigen is invading the body.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD134

CD137 is another member of the TNFR receptor family that is expressed on certain cells and stimulates inflammation to help eliminate tumor cells.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD137

TCR, or T-cell receptor are proteins that help activate T-cells and stimulates the proliferation of T-cells. This would help increase the immune response to tumors.

OXO agonists are therapeutic agents that increase the production of cytokines. Here is a recent paper on this subject from authors at the Portland Medical Center.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19786544

IL-2 or interleukin-2 is another cytokine or signaling molecule of the immune system that regulates white blood cells and is part of the body’s response to infections and tumors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interleukin_2

CD8, or Cytotoxic T cells are a type of white blood cell that kills cancer cells and other damages cells, such as those infected with viruses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytotoxic_T_cell

In this study, the authors used mice with tumors and treated them with a combination of an antibody to OXO and with IL-2. Before therapy, the critical CD8 immune cells were not functioning (anergic), but the combination of therapy stimulated the activity of the CD8 cells increased the survival of the mice.

This research has obvious applications in understanding the immune response to cancer and for human therapy. You need just one experiment for your science project.

Veronica has given you some excellent suggestions for approaching a prospective mentor. The idea for a resume is a very good idea.

Another possibility is to write to one of the researchers in this lab and explain your interest in the study of molecular signaling and cancer research and ask for a meeting so you can ask some additional questions. What questions would you ask about this research that would demonstrate your understanding and interest in this topic?

Do you have any questions about my explanation?

Donna Hardy

[reesabp]

Thank you SO MUCH!!!

Anyways..I read the article. I don't know what to ask the mentor, and not sound "stupid"! I want to come across as intellectual. I don't know how to go about calling this possible mentor.

What should I say? How do I talk, and what do I ask?

Any help would be helpful!

As always -- Thank you so much,

Reese

[VSegarra]

Hi Reese,
You mentioned you read the article. Did you understand it? If you did understand it- try to think about what kinds of ideas you can test next to follow up on the work they presented on the paper. What experiments could you do next? Maybe that lab has started moving in that direction and you can inquire about those possibilities when you talk to the researcher.

Regarding contacting the researchers, you might find e-mailing them is a lot less intimidating. You can edit what you write and you can make sure it reflects what you really mean. Why don't you try to e-mail these researchers first?

Hope this helps,
Veronica

[donnahardy2]

Hi Reese,

Veronica has a really good suggestion. Why don't you just e-mail the researcher and ask for a meeting? If you can arrange something, you can work on a list of questions that you can ask at that time.

This subject is very complex biochemistry and I did my best to simplify the information, but I know you haven't had much chemistry yet, so understanding how a new chemotherapy works by controlling a complex metabolic pathway is not easy to understand. And there are so many acronyms used that it sounds like a foreign language. So please do ask questions if there's something that you don't understand about the paper and I'll try to explain again.

Donna Hardy

[reesabp]

What is the name of the pathway used?

Also, did CD8 kill the cancer cells or did it just increase the life-span?

I know that antigen to OX40 and IL-2 were used as therapeutic mechanisms to cause the proliferation of CD8, which increased the survival rate of the mice.

As far as the email goes—the reason I have not sent one is because the other mentors I sent them to did not even reply. So if the mentors arent communicating via email, I thought it might be better to call?

Maybe there is a certain way to draft an email that will cause the mentors to be more willing to respond?

Just for your information, I do have a few teacher references that I could also email with? I just am wondeirng if it is worth emailing or not?

Thanks again for your help.

Reese

...Also... my research coordinator at my high school is wanting people to tell him is mentors by next week! I have gotten an extension, but not for many days extra. I just thought I would put this out there, just to give you (EXTREMELY HELPFUL PEOPLE!) an idea of my timeline. Thanks (again ) !

[donnahardy2]

Hi Reese,

Good questions. The therapy described in this paper helped regulate cytokines, which are small proteins that send intracellular signals. The end result was increased survival of the CD8 cells, which have the ability to kill cancer cells. The survival of the mice increased presumably because their immune system function was improved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine

However, from the paper, I’m not sure about the exact pathway that helped the CD8 cells, and this would be a good topic for conversation with one of the authors of the paper.

One of the best ways to get a response would be a personal referral. Can the researcher whose funding was cut suggest anyone else for you to contact. You could start your e-mail with, “Dr. X suggested that I contact you.” Does your teacher have any suggestions of anyone else to contact?

Many people don’t respond to unsolicited e-mails, so don’t take this personally. Try sending your e-mail requests to someone else in the lab in addition to the primary investigator. Some of the other graduate students, post-docs, and research technicians might have a little more time and may be able to give you a helpful referral.

Try not to ask directly for a position. Just mention that you have read a couple of papers and that you are interested in learning more, and ask for an opportunity to meet the researcher. This would give an opening to discuss the possibility of doing a science fair project in the lab.

So, keep sending e-mails, and resend them to individuals who have not responded if it has been a week since the last time you sent the e-mail. You only need one or two responses. I’m sure there is someone available to help you.

You do have a tight timeline, so just in case, you need to think of a back-up plan for a science project that you can do on your own.

Donna Hardy