Oak Ridge Associated Universities 2006 Annual Report

PROFILE
Scholar’s Immunology Research
Contributes to Homeland Security
From Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL),
Erin Steenblock has gathered research experience
at some of the nation’s top laboratories through
the DHS Scholarship and Fellowship Program,
administered by ORISE.
Competing against nearly 2,500 other
undergraduate applicants, Steenblock was one of
50 winners of a DHS scholarship in 2003. She
spent the summer of 2003 interning at LANL
and the summer of 2004 at LLNL when her
scholarship was extended.
After graduating from the University of Iowa in
2005 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical and
biochemical engineering, Steenblock won a DHS
fellowship. An off-campus internship at a DHSaffiliated
facility is a required component of the
DHS Fellowship Program. The fellowship was
extended for the 2006-2007 academic year.
Currently a Yale University doctoral student in
biomedical engineering, Steenblock interned in the
summer of 2006 at LLNL and was part of the
Viral Identification and Characterization Initiative
headed by Dr. Bill Colston. The research involved
developing instruments that can detect known and
unknown viruses from environmental or clinical
samples.
Steenblock said her internship enabled her to
gain insight into the myriad ways that science and
technology are used for homeland defense. “I was
surprised by the enormous amount of biological
research that goes into defending our country,”
she said. “Scientists are a big part of homeland
defense, not only in the creation of devices, but in
making decisions on the acceptable use of those
devices.”
When Steenblock interned at LANL in New
Mexico, she was assigned to a team developing a
cell-based biosensor for detecting pathogens.
Image Information:
Steenblock, as an intern at LLNL, prepares solutions in a
protective hood, which provides a clean environment in
which to conduct experiments on DNA. The technology is
important for biodetection of pathogens.
An underlying theme in her research has been the
development of clinical or diagnostic systems
modeled after the way cells or processes function
in the human body or the environment. At Yale, her
research focuses on drug delivery to the immune
system, ultimately seeking ways to stimulate a host’s
response to cancer.
“We hope to develop a cell-free immunotherapy
system that can be easily tailored to a specific
patient’s disease,” Steenblock explained. “This
system also has applications for detection and
screening of a wide range of disease states.”
Originally from Janesville, Wisconsin, Steenblock
encouraged others to apply for the DHS
Scholarship and Fellowship Program, especially
those interested in science and technology as it
relates to homeland defense. She described the
internship experiences of the DHS program
as providing “access to world-class science and
excellent networking opportunities.”
The DHS Scholarship and Fellowship Program is
designed to support, stimulate, and tap into the
intellectual capital in academia to address current
and future homeland security challenges, while at
the same time educating and inspiring the next
generation of scientists and engineers dedicated to
improving homeland security.
51