Josh Shandera (left) works in the lab with graduate students Addie Embry and Lloyd Rose.
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Josh Shandera is studying the poxvirus to see how it interacts with its host’s immune system. His work is contributing to research that one day may help develop better vaccines and therapies to counter bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases.

Elizabeth Arriaga is learning about the protein Polo and its role in the degeneration of motor neurons in a model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Her contributions may one day lead to new treatments for ALS.

What is surprising is that Shandera and Arriaga are both high school juniors. They are among nearly 50 promising high school students involved in the UT Health Science Center San Antonio’s Voelcker Biomedical Research Academy.

The academy, supported by the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund, provides a three-year immersive biomedical research education and college preparatory program for San Antonio high school students. The students are involved in seven weeks of hands-on research each summer, plus additional activities throughout the school year.

Research skills
Students in the first year of the academy, like sophomore Ian Alexander Hardy from Johnson High School, learn about various types of research from Health Science Center scientists and participate in hands-on activities that acquaint them with equipment and techniques they will use the following two years in the labs of their mentors.

“It’s been a great experience. I’ve worked with other research programs in the past, but this one is unique in the mentoring process. We get a lot of face time with the faculty, and they show us the practical implications of the research,” Hardy said.

Academically elite, well-rounded students
Irene Chapa, Ph.D., director of the Health Science Center’s Office of Recruitment and Science Outreach, co-directs the program with Sophia Pina, Ph.D., assistant professor and associate dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Chapa explained, “The students in our program are the best of the best. They are all academically elite; however, aside from their academic achievements, they similarly excel in extracurricular activities and understand the importance of community service. These students are eager to acquire scientific knowledge that would otherwise not be available to them in the regular, high school academic setting.”

Voelcker Scholar Josh Shandera (left) is being mentored this summer by Yan Xiang, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology.

Dr. Chapa noted that it is interesting to see the development of the students from one year to the next. “The second-year students demonstrate an incredible understanding of difficult scientific concepts. They comfortably speak the language of science. They are incredibly mature young adults and they have shown a real commitment to their responsibilities as the inaugural class and have willingly and passionately served as peer mentors to this year’s class. They also have shown incredible enthusiasm in their research projects. Many of them are working throughout the school year with their mentors.”

Exposure to research career options
Arriaga, a Burbank High School junior, said, “When I first came to the Voelcker Biomedical Research Academy I had decided that I wanted to go to medical school and that was that. However, this program has opened my eyes to how interesting research can be. So now I’m definitely considering an M.D./Ph.D. program. I also learned a lot about different careers in biomedical science that I’d never even heard of. Biomedical scientists deserve to be in the spotlight more than they are, as they are the people who discover, innovate and allow doctors to provide better care for their patients.”

Looking back on her first year in the program, Arriaga, said, “It was a privilege to be able to dissect a sheep eye and learn all about the parts of the human eye. Meeting some of the leading scientists at the Health Science Center was also quite awesome to say the least. How many programs actually allow high school students to have lunch seminars with today’s leading scientists?”

Now, as a second-year Voelcker Scholar, Arriaga spends the majority of her time in the lab of her mentor, Benjamin Eaton, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Physiology and a member of the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies.

In-depth research experience
Shandera, who attends Central Catholic High School, is in the laboratory of Yan Xiang, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, isolating and purifying DNA and protein associated with the poxvirus. Although smallpox has been eradicated throughout the world, it could possibly be used as a bioterrorism agent, and a related poxvirus, monkey pox, that closely resembles smallpox, is still endemic in parts of Africa. Some poxvirus strain has also been widely used as a vehicle for developing vaccines for cancer and other infectious diseases.

“I’ve learned how important research is and how it is done. Research involves years of work and hurdles that lead to momentous discoveries,” Shandera said. “I’ve learned that researchers are very passionate about what they do.”

Students bring enthusiasm to labs
Shandera's mentor, Dr. Xiang, added, “This has been very interesting and a new experience for me. I’ve never had a high school student in my lab before. Josh reminds me of the times when I was excited about basic molecular experiments. These are considered routine work for us now, but they are actually very exciting.”

At the end of each summer the scholars give a scientific presentation about their findings and receive a $1,000 scholarship. “This program has opened many doors and I’ve found my edge to appeal to the universities of my choice,” Arriaga said.