Board 412: Undergraduate Research and Innovation Experience in Cancer Diagnosis and Therapeutic Intervention

There is a need for seamless and inexpensive approaches to detect and treat various types of cancer as diagnoses and deaths continue to increase in the United States (1.95 million new cases and 609,820 deaths in 2023), while cost of treatment also remains high ($1.16 trillion annually). The development of sensitive and accurate methods for detection of cancer in the early stages is essential, as ninety percent of all cancer deaths are caused by metastasis of original tumors. It is also necessary to have a diverse source of trained medical professionals and engineers, that will advance such emerging technologies. Organizations with above-average diversity in their teams report higher innovation successes. Unfortunately, there is a minimum uptick in minorities and women representation in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce from 1995 to 2017. The Undergraduate Research and Innovation Experience in Cancer Diagnosis and Therapeutic Intervention, is a summer research experience for undergraduates (REU) that includes research, education, and training activities for thirty students over three years, from underrepresented minority groups. Such groups include African Americans, LatinX, women, students with disabilities and first-generation college students. The goals of this project are to 1) engage undergraduate students to foster innovative research cancer diagnostics to therapeutic intervention; 2) cultivate multidisciplinary research among NJIT faculty; and 3) increase the participation in research by underrepresented minority groups, resulting in participants being co-authors on publications and presenters at scientific conferences. During the 10-week summer program, projects in biomedical engineering, materials science and photonics. Students gain perspective on their -related research career paths through weekly seminars with current doctoral candidates, medical professionals, entrepreneurs and engineers working in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. After their experience in the summer REU, a number of students were able to present their work at multiple conferences, including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting and National Pre-health Conference. In addition, students were able to publish as a co-author with their summer mentor and advisor; become inductees to the National Academy of Inventors; and have continued on to post-undergraduate STEM programs. Through a series of surveys conducted by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness at New Jersey Institute of Technology, participants were largely satisfied with the program and would recommend it to other undergraduates. This REU will continue to strive to: 1) increase the number of undergraduates participating in research projects focused on cancer related research; 2) increase communication of bio-inspired science and engineering to undergraduate peers, faculty and general audience; and 3) diversify the supply of scientists and engineers contributing to American industries and economics as a whole.