Loreen Fournier, a senior from Belmont, New Hampshire, will graduate in May 2007 with a degree in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. Knowing little about cancer, she went to work in Dr. Laudano's research lab and became fascinated with the complexity of the disease: “Cancer is not one single pathway leading to a certain condition. . . Now I understand why cancer research takes so long.” She has come to “appreciate how complex your body's regulatory system is, and what can happen when just a part of that system becomes defective.” She credits Dr. Laudano with giving her confidence and making research an enjoyable experience: “I have been lucky to work in a lab where the primary investigator is especially interested in teaching and helping—and not just in getting results.” She knows now that her goal of attending medical school is reachable and that the medical research she wants to do has a huge impact on the lives of many.
Dr. Andrew Laudano is an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of New Hampshire. As a graduate student
his doctoral work on the mechanisms of blood clotting pointed him toward further research on its connection with cancer. However, his
advisor recommended he focus directly on cancer, which led to his current research. During his twenty years at UNH, Dr.Laudano has mentored
many “outstanding students.” He notes that today's students are more independent: “They want to be self-sufficient and
don't ask me for help every step of the way as they used to.” This can be upsetting some times, such as when Loreen, because of time
constraints, went ahead with a transfection procedure he had not yet taught her. “Fortunately, all transfections went very well, and
the new cell lines developed have been very valuable to my current work.” For him, the most important and exciting part of the
experiments like the one Loreen participated in is the clinical potential for breast cancer patients who do not respond to estrogen blocking
drugs.
Read Loreen Fournier's commentary, Research Experience Outside the Lab >>
