A Wolfson School for Advanced Studies student had an opportunity to intern at the Mayo Clinic this summer through its Science Program for the Advancement of Research Knowledge (SPARK) mentorship program.
Abram Caccam, a senior in the Wolfson IB program, worked under Dr. Eduardo Chini in his Cancer Biology Research lab. The intensive hands-on laboratory experience enabled Caccam to study how the transmembrane glycoprotein CD 38 levels in lymphomas and leukemias affect chemotherapy treatment response.
In addition to performing laboratory techniques such as flow cytometry and cell viability assays, he was able to conduct the entire scientific process, from formulating a hypothesis and conducting experiments to analyzing the results.
Caccam is the president of his school’s Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Club and the first Wolfson student ever to be accepted into the SPARK program, which provides students with exposure to the real world of scientific inquiry.
