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GSSM Kicks off 2nd Year of International Research Exchange Program
August 31, 2010
Three rising seniors from the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) recently completed the journey of a lifetime. The students─ Griffin Gray Hartmann of Seneca, Mason Youngblood of Hartsville and Nicole Beraho of Irmo─ spent their summer working as interns at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg as part of GSSM's Research Exchange Scholars Program.
In its second year, RESP is an international collaborative among:
• GSSM Foundation
• Johanna Wittum Schule in Pforzheim, Germany, a high school specializing in biotechnology education
• F. Hoffman-La Roche, Ltd., a leading, research-focused, Swiss pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland; and its affiliates Roche Carolina, Inc., in Florence, SC, and Roche Diagnostics GmbH in Mannheim, Germany
• Greenville Hospital System
Academic partners include the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany (DKFZ) and the University of South Carolina.
The program is supported by Roche, continuing as the founding funder, and by the Greenville Hospital System, joining as a sponsor this year. RESP provided six-week internships abroad from June 4 through July 21, with the three GSSM rising seniors traveling to Germany, living with local host families and conducting college-level research in areas including applied microbiology, botany and cyto- and neurophysiology.
Isabelle Fix, Janine Reigert and Susan Vester, three students from Johanna Wittum Schule, traveled to South Carolina in August, where they're residing on GSSM's campus and working as research interns alongside USC professors whose projects cover a broad spectrum of topics in cell and molecular biology.
"We are very excited to extend our groundbreaking international scientific research program for high school students into its second year, thanks to support from Roche and Greenville Hospital System," said Dr. Murray Brockman, GSSM president.
"Our students were especially eager to get started at the German Cancer Research Center in June, and their German counterparts will join world-class research groups here at the University of South Carolina in August. Now we are ready to explore more opportunities in other countries!"
GSSM students have been engaged in scientific research for more than 20 years through the Summer Program for Research Interns (SPRI) --- a graduation requirement for GSSM's rising seniors. This unique, hands-on educational opportunity and capstone experience allows nearly 70 students to spend six weeks in corporate research and development labs, research universities and hospital cancer centers under the direct supervision of established scientists. During the internships, students conduct research on a college graduate level in fields in which they have a specific interest such as cancer research, biomedical experiments or computer science.
Until 2009, students had been paired with university and corporate labs in the United States only and primarily in South Carolina. International research has long been a key objective of GSSM's strategic growth plan.
"As the world gets flatter and we operate in a more global environment, the opportunity to experience different cultures becomes more important," said Dr. Frank Cox, Roche Carolina president and general manager.
"Doing university-level research in another country will be an experience that these students will never forget and should greatly enhance their preparation for the next level in their education."
The investments by the international pharmaceutical leader and Greenville County's prestigious academic health organization support talented students who take active interest in the life sciences, while helping establish an international exchange of young scientists from two important biotechnology areas.
