Hopkinton Resident Awarded Stem Cell Institute Internship

Stephanie Hadley, a resident of Hopkinton, a graduate of Hopkinton High School, and now a senior at Harvard University, is one of forty undergraduate students accepted into the 2014 Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) Internship Program, which provides participants with a challenging summer research experience in a cutting-edge stem cell science laboratory.

Hadley is spending ten weeks, from June 9 to Aug.15, in the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology laboratory of HSCI Co-director Doug Melton, PhD, known for his leadership in the stem cell field and research on type 1 diabetes. Hadley’s project this summer is to help increase the function of human embryonic stem cell-derived pancreatic beta cells in the laboratory so that they may someday be transplanted into diabetes patients.

“The internship experience has been very challenging but extremely rewarding,” Hadley said. “I’ve loved being able to collaborate with other researchers in the lab while also having my own project to focus on, and everybody has been so helpful with sharing ideas, techniques, and expertise.”

“I’ve learned a lot about stem cell therapies, the potential they have to treat all kinds of diseases, and how difficult it is to perfect these therapies so that they can actually be used clinically,” she added.

Over the course of the program, interns participate in a stem cell seminar series, a career pathways presentation, and a weekly stem cell companion course. They present their summer research findings, both orally and in poster format, at an end-of-program symposium.

“This program represents an exciting opportunity for undergraduates to gain hands-on experience in stem cell research while working in an HSCI laboratory under the supervision of an experienced researcher,” said HSCI Internship Program co-director M. William Lensch, PhD.

The Harvard Stem Cell Institute gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following sponsors for the 2014 HSCI Internship Program: Biogen Idec, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine, Loughborough University (UK), Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.