In April, a group of UNMC graduate students and undergraduate students from the University of Nebraska at Omaha — along with UNMC’s Joyce Solheim, Ph.D., professor, Eppley Institute, Maurice Godfrey, Ph.D., professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute, and Regina Robbins, Ph.D., of UNO’s Native American Studies Department — traveled to South Sioux City, Neb., for the first Cancer Biology & You Day.
Nearly 100 students, mostly Native Americans, attended the event. The UNMC and UNO students led small groups of high school students through a morning activity about breast cancer and an afternoon activity on skin cancer. Students learned through hands-on lessons about cancer biology, breast cancer inheritance and other risk factors, as well as experimental design and skin cancer prevention.
The high school students were asked to design an experiment with a control group and a variable group. After completion of their experiment, each group made an infographic to illustrate what they had learned, and what they felt was most important about the prevention of skin cancer.
The high school students told organizers that they enjoyed the event and had benefitted from the hands-on nature of the lessons.
“The people that conducted the activities are inspirational,” one student said.
The event was part of the YES! (Youth Enjoy Science) Grant through the National Institutes of Health. Designed to get more high school and undergraduate students into careers in the field of cancer medicine, YES! allows students with Native American ancestry to participate in cancer research in laboratories at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
These experiences include summer research projects or — for Omaha residents — working on research projects that can be accomplished part-time during the school year. All students receive payment for their participation. For some undergraduate students, financial support for housing, food and travel to Omaha may be available in the summer.