Friends of the Lab: Meet Ward Kirschbaum

We have the opportunity to meet and work with some amazing people here at cc-TDI! Over the coming months, we will be highlighting some of these fabulous people so you can get to know them better… like Ward!

Meet Ward

My name is Ward Kirschbaum, and I am a second-year premed undergraduate student studying molecular and cellular biology with a minor in entrepreneurship at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. During the summer of 2017, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a brief, but impactful, six weeks as an intern at cc-TDI. During that time, I worked with Dr. Bharathy, Dr. Keller, and the rest of the cc-TDI team to learn about possible epigenetic targets for rhabdomyosarcoma.

During my time with the team, I learned an innumerable amount about research, the scientific method, and the mechanisms behind rhabdomyosarcoma; however, more importantly, it was remarkable to be a part of an organization affecting the outcome of childhood cancers. Each cc-TDI team member combines the basic lab science of studying pediatric cancers with the very personal and very real experiences of the children and families who are affected by these diseases. They do it in a way that is personal, tangible, and quite touching. I count myself lucky to have been a part of cc-TDI, if only for a short time.

Thanks to my experience at cc-TDI, I have begun work at a lab at my university studying 3D cell culture, and I will be interning this next summer at Oregon Health and Science University, studying the interaction of the immune system and cancer.

I am thankful for the training I received at cc-TDI, and for the invaluable work that Dr. Keller and his team do in understanding and studying pediatric cancers.

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