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The Biology Department at Chestnut Hill College has signed an articulation agreement for an Immersive Undergraduate Research Program with Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC), according to Joe Kulkosky, Ph.D., professor and chair of the department.
According to the agreement outline, the program will offer qualified CHC science students a chance to learn about all aspects of research science, including high-profile bench research, and receive training in communicating what they have learned in various venues, such as the SEPCHE Honor’s Conference and the national meeting hosted by Sigma Zeta National Honor Society for the Natural Sciences among others.
One goal of the program is publication of student research in peer-reviewed science journals.
“Qualified students would spend 15 months in the program, with two summers of research and a minimum of 10 hours per week at Fox Chase,” says Kulkosky.
Two CHC students had previously conducted high-profile research with funding made through Fox Chase Cancer Center and grants as well as private donor support is being pursued for continued funding, he adds.
In addition, the program has an education exchange component through which Fox Chase Cancer Center graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and others will share their research and expertise with CHC science students. A benefit of this exchange is exposure of CHC undergraduate students to a large base of research scientists with varying fields of research expertise that would complement the departmental course offerings as well as give the FCCC representatives the chance to gain valuable experience in education.
“CHC has had a long relationship with Fox Chase Cancer Center,” explains Kulkosky. “The Biology Department's Biomedical Seminar Series, headed by Dr. Lakshmi Atchison, has been an ongoing conduit for FCCC Principal Investigators to offer lectures to our faculty and students.”
Recently, two CHC students who were involved in research experiences at FCCC have graduated and are going on to prestigious programs, thanks in part to their research experience at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Kelsey Haugh ’14 entered the doctoral Biomedical Sciences Program at Yale University last fall, and Kelly Dunlevy '15 will enter the doctoral Molecular Epigenetics Program at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.
“There is no doubt that the research experience for these students at FCCC catches the attention of such high-profile institutions,” Kulkosky adds.