BY SARAH MOON STAFF WRITER
Three Wartburg seniors will be presenting their research about ovarian cancer at the American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting.
Kim Chaffin, Kyle Huegel and Tim McKenna will attend the conference later this month in San Francisco.
Huegel said the group’s research is a good way to gain experience in the laboratory.
“It’s something that helps further our resume for medical school,” Huegel said.
McKenna learned about the opportunity from Huegel at the end of his sophomore year. McKenna became interested in oncology after shadowing an oncologist over the summer.
He said he grew more interested after talking to assistant biochemistry professor Shawn Ellerbroek and learning more about ovarian cancer.
“The work initially was a little confusing, but after taking biochemistry last year, it all began to click and was really fascinating,” McKenna said.
Ellerbroek said Chaffin asked him about doing research for her chemistry class sophomore year.
“I immediately appreciated how quickly she grasped what we were trying to accomplish in lab,” Ellerbroek said.
Then, he paired her up with a student who graduated in 2007 and they went to a conference in Washington, D.C.
Chaffin has spent the past two summers working with a professor from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, Ellerbroek said.
Huegel said the group will present a poster at the meeting to students, people who work with ovarian cancer, people who work with other types of cancer and Ellerbroek’s colleagues.
Ellerbroek said the group’s research focuses on the effects of lysophosphatidic acid.
There’s a positive connection with ovarian cancer progression, he said. Women who have more of the acid have a greater chance of having more advanced cancer.
The meeting will allow the group to see how research is done and how scientists interact with each other.
“They are exposed to the primary research that others will be reading about in their textbooks in years to come,” Ellerbroek said.
Meetings like the one in San Francisco are beneficial for any biology major, because research is an important part of training, Ellerbroek said. Ellerbroek also said it’s rewarding to have someone ask you about your research.
“I think that’s one of the best things that we can do for a Wartburg science student,” Ellerbroek said.
McKenna said he hopes to become better at presenting his research and knowledge with other scientists. Presenting information about ovarian cancer under pressure will be a good experience, McKenna said.
McKenna also said he hopes to learn from the presentations and looks forward to hearing more about ovarian cancer and what scientists have done to discover new information.
“The work here will be cutting edge and will impact the scientific community in the near future,” McKenna said.