New Partnership with Columbia University Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center Gives LaGuardia Community College Students Clinical Research Experience

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (August 6, 2024) — Through a new partnership with the Columbia University Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), LaGuardia Community College/CUNY (LAGCC) students have opportunities for internships designed to launch them into future careers in clinical research. The program aims to provide LaGuardia students with real-world experience and professional development, while helping HICCC build a pipeline of experienced research professionals from diverse backgrounds.

“I’m grateful to HICCC for recognizing our students’ talents and giving them such a special opportunity to continue to learn and grow as part of a world-class research institution,” said Dr. Billie Gastic Rosado, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at LAGCC.

Marilyn Skony Stamm, emeritus board member and honorary director of the LaGuardia Community College Foundation and a member of HICCC’s Cancer Advisory Council, expressed excitement about this new partnership. “Having worked with LaGuardia students for over 15 years I can vouch that they are extremely bright, determined, ambitious and resilient,” she said. “What they often lack are the opportunities to participate in paid internship programs that lead to good job opportunities. That’s what we’re trying to correct.”

“An important initiative at Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) and HICCC is to develop deep partnerships with our communities, and we are hopeful that this program will become a long-lasting partnership between the HICCC and LAGCC,” said Sandra Ryeom, Ph.D., associate director of HICCC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office, associate dean of postdoctoral affairs at VP&S, and principal investigator of the Ryeom Lab. “We have a lot to learn from these students and their life experiences and look forward to bi-directional teaching and learning between faculty, staff and trainees at HICCC and LAGCC students.”

Two LaGuardia Biology majors, Jonathan Machado and Suborna Singha, were selected for the inaugural 10-week internship program at HICCC’s Clinical Protocol and Data Management (CPDM) office. Their internships, observing faculty and staff across different units and getting a first-hand look at how research from basic science to public health is conducted at the renowned cancer center, began in June.

Jonathan, 32, is a former professional chef who worked in several kitchens from 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge to K455 Boys and Girls High School. After the pandemic, Jonathan traded in his chef coat for a lab coat. “Seeing so many hotels and restaurants close down and hearing so much information about COVID, I started to become more interested in the science side of things,” he said. “I had a whole new vision of how it works, I even started seeing cooking as chemistry.”

At LaGuardia, Jonathan is president of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) International Honors Society, editorial chief of the Honors Student Advisory Committee, and an ASAP student. He participated in a research project with LaGuardia Professor Richa Gupta (Natural Sciences) who specializes in infectious diseases, looking into subvariants of SARS-Cov-2.

Jonathan applied to the LaGuardia–HICCC program following years of interest in research and science. “I’ve always loved experimenting, creating new things, and solving problems,” he said.

When asked what he is most looking forward to this summer, Jonathan mentions his eagerness to learn more about the origin of cancer cells and the relation to nutrition. “I feel like nutrition and wellness play a big part in many health issues, I think this experience will help me understand the science side and combine my past experience working with nutrition.”

After graduating from LaGuardia, Jonathan plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree and then a medical degree.

Suborna, 18, credits a LaGuardia professor’s presentation about their cancer research and how chemotherapy works, for sparking her interest in working in a scientific laboratory. “When I told [my professor] about this opportunity at Columbia, he immediately said ‘go for it’,” she said. “I couldn’t believe that I, a LaGuardia student, had an opportunity to work at Columbia University. HICCC seems like a great place to start building the foundational skills needed to advance in this field.”

Suborna, who moved to the U.S. four years ago from Bangladesh, treats every step of her educational journey as an opportunity to learn as much as possible from those around her. She’s an ASAP student who plans to earn a bachelor’s degree upon earning her LaGuardia degree.

“Jonathan and Suborna are exceptionally motivated students, and I look forward to how their professional aspirations are transformed by this experience, under the mentorship of HICCC staff,” said Dr. Rosado.

“This program provides economic mobility and opportunities for these incredibly talented individuals within the field of health sciences,” said Ms. Skony Stamm. “Their passion for the medical field is contagious, which is something Sandra and I both experienced when visiting campus.”

Upon successful completion of the HICCC internship and graduating from LAGCC with their associate degrees, Jonathan and Suborna will be eligible to apply for a new full-time position at HICCC, designated annually for LAGCC interns, as a research study assistant. The research study assistant will receive professional development, and attend workshops about pathways to bachelor’s degrees, growth opportunities within CPDM and other HICCC healthcare careers and educational opportunities, through HICCC’s DEI and Cancer Research Training and Education (CRTEC) offices.

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LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 associate degrees and academic certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to prepare New Yorkers for transfer to senior colleges and rewarding jobs and careers. An institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of the underserved. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students from Queens, NYC and beyond.

The Columbia University Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center is the home for cancer research and patient care at Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The HICCC is one of only 57 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States, a designation it has maintained since 1979. The HICCC has more than 260 members across six schools at Columbia University with more than $35 million in National Cancer Institute funding and over $120 million in cancer grants.

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