Narendiran Rajasekaran, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Archana Varadaraj, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Mentoring the Next Generation
NAU cancer researchers Narendiran Rajasekaran and Archana Varadaraj each had strong mentors who guided them through college and inspired them in the lab. Now, they are returning the favor and mentoring the next generation of scientists.
“In every way we can, we try to keep our labs open to students,” said Varadaraj, whose research looks at ways to modify cancer cells so they become less mobile and less likely to invade nearby healthy tissues.
The two—who are married and share lab space but work on separate projects—take part in the Bridges to Baccalaureate program. It’s a 10-week summer session that helps Native American and community college students develop science skills and do hands-on research.
Rajasekaran said he and his wife also work closely with the Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention. The joint effort among NAU, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, and the University of Arizona Cancer Center trains Native American students for careers in cancer-related research and health care.
In turn, Rajasekaran and Varadaraj said, those students can take their knowledge back to their communities to help alleviate health disparities.
“We have a strong pool of talented students that I hope to inspire to come to the lab and learn more about immunotherapy,” said Rajasekaran, whose research examines how to turn viruses into more effective cancer killers.
“Our work really serves two purposes: we can show that these treatments are possible, and our student researchers can help spread the information out into the field.”
Source: Pine Magazine, Spring 2018
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute On Minority Health And Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U54MD012388. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.