Science / Technology
USC Program Offers STAR Power
- From left, Yureli Lopez, Esosa Agbonwaneten, Jia Yao, Syeda Ahmed, postdoc Ryan Hamilton, Tiffany Lam, Julian Lemus and STAR director Roberta Diaz Brinton
- Photo/Philip Channing
By Kukla Vera on August 3, 2009 8:30 AM
The USC Science Technology and Research (STAR) Program provides an opportunity for seniors at the Bravo Medical Magnet High School to work as an integral part of a USC research team.
Coordinated through the science curriculum at Bravo, the STAR experience counts as a course, allowing the student to spend about 20 hours each week in the lab during the school year. In addition, STAR students do a six-week, full-time stint in the lab over the summer.
“This isn’t a spectator lab experience,” said Roberta Diaz Brinton, holder of the R. Pete Vanderveen Chair in Therapeutic Discovery and Development. “These students are consequential members of the research team - they are mentored and learn how to do what scientists do - including lab techniques and the thinking that is required to solve a problem.”
Brinton, a professor at the USC School of Pharmacy, remembers the first STAR student she had in her lab 20 years ago. “She was much like the students of today, full of awe and packed with potential. Once they finish STAR, they leave empowered.”
Brinton’s first student, Wing Cheung, went on to Caltech and Harvard Medical School and today is a liver transplant surgeon.
This year’s crop of graduates is similarly impressive - heading off to top schools and feeling very enlightened by their STAR experience. In fact, every student who has ever graduated from the STAR program has gone on to college.
Julian Lemus, who is heading to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall to study aerospace engineering, said that he had no idea what was done in a research lab until STAR. That’s hard to imagine when you see him today confidently interacting with others in the lab - from other STAR students to doctoral students, postdocs and the lab director.
“STAR has made me part of where the science happens - you don’t get this from books,” said Tiffany Lam, a 2009 graduate who is heading to Wellesley College in the fall. “My experience in Dr. Brinton’s lab has helped me see the big picture and the role that the day-to-day experimentation has in following a trajectory to the result.”
STAR students have a way of staying connected. The Brinton lab welcomes them back at various times in their career paths. For example, this summer Jimmy To, a STAR student in 2006-07, is doing research while on break from University of California, San Diego.
“It’s like a family here,” To said. “STAR really taught me what science is and really gave me an advantage when I went off to college.” He hopes to ultimately return to USC for his postgraduate degree in pharmacy.
Likewise, STAR alum Syeda Ahmed, currently working in the Brinton lab while contemplating medical school applications, said, “Very few high schoolers ever get to do research at this level. It’s a door opener when you get to college.”
Esosa Agbonwaneten, who is heading to the University of California, Irvine, where she plans to study biological sciences and eventually hopes to be a neurosurgeon, said, “Now I see the complexity of a research project and it has been amazing to apply the science and not just read about it.”
Each year the STAR program places about 25 students in laboratories at the School of Pharmacy, the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the School of Dentistry. Brinton directs the program and Joseph Cocozza coordinates it for Bravo.
The program is supported by a USC Neighborhood Outreach grant funded through the annual Good Neighbors Campaign.
TAGS: community programs, pharmacy, research
Latest Science / Technology stories
- Fasting Weakens Cancer in Mice February 8, 2012 11:40 AM
- Delving Into the Emotion of Gratitude February 1, 2012 12:58 PM
- Tough Assignment for a Top Team January 31, 2012 1:36 PM
-
For Journalists »
-
USC in the News
for 2/10/2012 »-
The Wall Street Journal highlighted the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
KPCC-FM reported that this fall USC will offer Persian language courses for the first time. A $250,000 grant from the Farhang Foundation helped to establish the program. Bruce Zuckerman of the USC Dornsife College said he has many students interested in the Persian language, culture and region. “The Iranian region is one that has great impact on our lives today and has had great impact going back into ancient times,” he said. The story noted that USC and the Farhang Foundation hope to raise more money to create an Iranian studies minor. Payvand also featured the new courses.
American Songwriter ran a Q&A with Christopher Sampson of the USC Thornton School about the school’s Popular Music program, which Sampson founded. He noted that the program has been available as a major in Songwriting since 2009, and has incorporated a diverse range of musical genres. “We have now established a consistent track record of students having professional success to know that the program gets results,” Sampson said. He also highlighted the achievements of Songwriting faculty members Lamont Dozier, Andrea Stolpe and David Poe of the Thornton School.
The Economist featured research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School finding that short periods of fasting could help cancer patients better tolerate chemotherapy, and may even make treatment more effective. The Globe and Mail (Canada) reported that cancerous tumors are essentially energy hogs. “They need to burn lots of energy just to stay alive,” Longo said. The study was also covered by Irish Independent (Ireland), Magyar Tavirati Iroda (Hungary), Anadolu Ajansi (Turkey), Son Haber (Netherlands), Vietnam+ (Vietnam), Turkish Radio and Television (Turkey) and Romania Libera (Romania).
L.A. Weekly featured research by USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, which has developed video games based around physical movement for people recovering from strokes or other injuries. The games develop strength in specific body parts. Traditional video games weren’t right for these patients, said the institute’s Belinda Lange. “Often, the fun parts of the game would only be unlocked after a series of other levels, which our patients often couldn’t achieve,” she said. The games are now being tested with physical therapists in three major clinics.
-
-
Campus News
- Capital Connections
- USC faculty, staff and alumni in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento
- In Print
- New and recent books written or edited by USC faculty and staff
- Family Matters
- Achievements and awards
- Obituaries