Summer 2008: Studying the Effects of a Potential New Chemotherapeutic Agent, SAM, on a Breast Cancer Cell Line and on a Yeast Model for Cancer

By Luke Monteagudo

During my summer fellowship, I worked four days a week doing basic science research on the effect of a potential new chemotherapeutic drug, SAM, on a breast cancer cell line and on a yeast model for cancer.

On the fifth day, I had the privilege of shadowing Dr. Peter J. Deckers in the clinic and in the operating room. With Dr. Deckers, I learned much about the disease. But I also met Dr. Deckers’ patients and saw first hand the devastation of a breast cancer diagnosis and how important it is to find new chemotherapeutic options for these patients.

Dr. Deckers, Dr. Caron, and I have formed a collaboration to translate the data generated from several years of basic science research on this new chemotherapeutic drug into clinical research, a perfect example of translational research.

---