December 2015 Science Journal

College News
Climate &
Diversity Corner
Fostering a Close-Knit Academic Community with
the First Year in Science and Engineering Program
The first year of college
can be difficult and confusing
for any new student, but particularly
for those choosing to
study challenging science or
engineering curriculums. But
there is extra support for Penn
State freshmen in STEM majors
in the form of a program
called the First Year in Science
and Engineering (FISE) program.
The program puts first-year
students in science and engineering
majors—from the
Eberly College of Science, the
College of Earth and Mineral
Sciences, and the College of
Engineering—together in a
special on-campus multicultural
housing community where
they can take advantage of inhouse
tutoring and mentoring.
The mentoring takes place
through both resident assistants,
like a traditional oncampus
housing experience,
and special FISE program assistants.
FISE program assistants
are usually former FISE
participants who mentor the
first-year students and help
them get their college experiences
off to a strong start.
“The program assistants
played a significant role in
my transition to Penn State,”
said Bukola Toyobo, a current
FISE program assistant
and biology major. “They were
my role models that year and
helped me set a solid foundation
in my scholarly pursuit for
success. Because they had such
a positive influence on me, I
wanted to do the same and
more for future communities of
the FISE program.”
“The program assistants
helped me tremendously because
I was an out-of-state
student,” said Samantha Fortier,
a biobehavioral health
major who is now also a FISE
program assistant. “They guided
me through the process of
becoming a successful student
and made sure I did not make
that many mistakes.”
Toyobo, Fortier, and their
fellow program assistants plan
programs to help their students
succeed. FISE programs
cover topics ranging from academic
acclimation and leadership
development to planning
Intellectual Property Focus
Research Leading to Practical
Benefits for Society
Breast cancer survival rates have increased steadily
over the last decade. As quoted by the American
Cancer Society, on average, a stunning 100 percent
of patients with stage I breast cancer survive for at
least five years after diagnosis. However, this average
survival rate falls to 72 percent for those with stage
III and 22 percent for those diagnosed with stage IV
breast cancer.
From these statistics, it is obvious that new methods of
treatment are desperately needed to help increase
survival rates of late-stage cancer patients. What
is not readily apparent is the suffering experienced
those who undergo widely used cancer treatments
like chemotherapy and radiation.
Unfortunately, for many cancer types, including
breast cancer, cytotoxic treatments are considered
the best line of defense or are the only option available.
Two Eberly College of Science faculty researchers, Dr.
Yanming Wang and Dr. Gong Chen, seek to change
this bleak reality for the over 1.6 million Americans
diagnosed with cancer last year. Chen and Wang
developed novel intellectual property that includes
a small molecule therapeutic that allows the body to
fight cancer naturally. This exciting intellectual property
is protected under an issued U.S. Patent, granted
to the Penn State Research Foundation on behalf of
the inventors.
—Melissa Long, intellectual property and technology
transfer liaison
What if our body had a natural
switch, that when flipped,
could help reverse cancer
tumor growth?
“This switch exists,” says Wang,
who has been studying the
PAD4 enzyme for over eight
years. While the Wang lab has
discovered how PAD4 can help the body fight bacterial
infection, they have also found this enzyme to be commonly
overexpressed in cancerous tissue. When they
studied it further, Wang and his colleagues discovered
that overabundance of PAD4 results in the silencing of
tumor-suppressor genes, the body’s natural defense
against cancerous cell growth.
In collaboration with Department of Chemistry faculty
member Gong Chen, Wang developed a new small
molecule chemical inhibitor to limit the activity of the
PAD4 enzyme. When this inhibitor was tested in mouse
models, the team discovered it to be very successful
in reversing tumor growth. In fact, the PAD4 inhibitor reduced
tumor size just as effectively as the most common
chemotherapy drug with a 70 percent tumor shrinkage
rate. But unlike this chemotherapy treatment, the PAD4
inhibitor did not alter normal (noncancerous) cell development
and function.
Based on these exciting results, Chen and Wang think
that the PAD4 inhibitor may represent a new potentially
nontoxic chemotherapy treatment that helps the body to
fight cancer naturally. They are currently working to raise
the funding needed in order to move the small molecule
inhibitor into FDA-recognized clinical trials.
Gould
CANCER CELLS Photo Credit:
National Cancer Institute
—Whittney
for STEM research opportunities
and a successful career
fair visit.
Toyobo has a leadership
role in the programs covering
STEM research opportunities
and leadership development.
“The goal of the STEM research
opportunities program
is for students to know what research
looks like in their field
of interest, understand the
process of applying to research
laboratories on campus, and
interacting with graduate students
during lab tours,” Toyobo
explained.
During the leadership program,
FISE students learn to
strengthen five qualities essential
for good leadership:
delegation, confidence, communication,
commitment, and
perseverance.
Toyobo believes these programs
are valuable due to
her own experience as a FISE
student: “FISE is essential in
guiding freshmen on paths of
scholarly pursuits. I can per-
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