Author: The Wistar Institute

The effects of COVID-19 have dramatically changed the way we live, learn and work. While many things have come to a standstill, Wistar research has never stopped and even new educational projects have managed to come to fruition. One shining addition to the Institute this summer is the newly constructed, state-of-the-art educational biomedical training suite.

The teaching and training laboratory has been a priority of the Institute to expand and enhance all of Wistar’s educational programs, including the High School Summer Fellowship in Biomedical Research, the Biomedical Technician Training (“BTT”) Program and the Biomedical Research Technician Apprenticeship, as well as exciting new programs with biotechnology and academic collaborators on the horizon.

“Over many years, Wistar’s educational programs for high school and community college students have inspired and trained hundreds of Philadelphia residents for successful careers in the life sciences. Wistar’s new flagship training lab will enable these young and talented scientists to begin their journey in a dedicated, state-of-the-art facility,” said Dr. Brian Keith, Wistar dean of Biomedical Studies. “We could not be more thrilled at how this new space, coupled with a supportive and rigorous teaching environment, will allow Wistar to further enhance and expand its educational mission.”

Step back to less than a year ago, when design plans were approved, and construction bids were in place. Wistar Facilities director Peter Scarpati and his exceptional team were mobilized and integral to moving the vision into a reality and bringing the project over the goal line to completion.

“With less people in the Institute, we were able to get work done that would have normally disrupted activities in the lab,” said Scarpati. “Our team has worked together throughout the pandemic, leaning on each other for help, and has been extremely successful in getting this and other projects accomplished. I am extremely proud of my entire Facilities team for how they have performed during this unprecedented time.”

The successful expansion of dedicated BTT training space was the result of a truly collaborative effort across the entire Institute, with so many players and departments involved in fundraising, planning, building, and equipping the suite. 

This brand-new 1500-square-foot education suite is part of president and CEO Dr. Dario Altieri’s long-term plan for Wistar to play an even larger role training future scientific leadership and making STEM education more accessible and equitable for everyone, especially Wistar’s community in West Philadelphia.

The training laboratory features long, open bench space alongside an instruction area equipped with a white board and smart TV access. Across the hall is a 300-square-foot tissue culture room with three biosafety cabinets, two incubators and one -80°C freezer. This lab was built with full functionality and practicality.

“Even as our lives are in flux, we have been looking at how we can contribute,” said Dario Altieri, Wistar president and CEO. “How do we contribute scientific advancements for the betterment of humankind in the face of a pandemic; how do we keep the Institute and our staff safe; how do we keep training our future workforce to be uniquely educated, highly skilled and sought after; how do we keep rethinking innovative science?”

This ability to contribute creatively and meaningfully under ever-changing circumstances is what our region needs and what those joining the workforce now demand. It’s a role those of us here couldn’t be more excited for Wistar to fill.

The Institute is deeply grateful to the organizations and individual donors that provided critical support to expand Wistar’s on-site training facility. This included grants provided by The McLean Contributionship, the Gray Charitable Trusts, and Office Depot; gifts given in memory of Harold M. Davis, an extraordinary Wistar supporter; and funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, which approved and registered the Biomedical Research Training (BRT) Apprenticeship Program in 2017, the first in the country, and recognized it as the 2019 Outstanding Non-traditional Apprenticeship Program.

“The support received from our philanthropic partners is an investment not just in our Institute but also the region,” said Altieri. “Wistar has been a leader in the education and training of the biomedical workforce for more than twenty years, and now with nearly $1M invested in this brand new training facility, our programs will be able to serve far more students who are seeking rewarding careers in biomedical research and the life sciences. I am very humbled by the generosity received from these organizations that will allow us to further enhance and expand our educational mission going forward.”

When I graduated from medical school, many years ago, I took an oath. An oath to preserve and uphold human life. All human life. What I saw in the horrific, excruciating minutes of the video in Minneapolis made a mockery of that oath, threw it in the filthiest mud, destroyed ideals and brought back the ghost of when humans were property. Property that could be disposed of at one’s whims. With impunity. Without justice.

I came to America as an immigrant thirty-three years ago. I will be eternally grateful for the opportunities that I was given. Maybe that the American dream we see on TV commercials had some truth to it after all. An idea that even immigrants who didn’t go to the right school, who didn’t know anybody, and who spoke with the funky accent, yes, even they could be contributors. Players. But after what I saw in Minneapolis, I wonder where I have been all these years. Was I blind? Did I not see the century-old discrimination, the systematic racial injustice, the staggering violence against our neighbors of color? Their assassination.

Non riesco a respirare. I can’t breathe. That was what Signora Manzoni had said to me as a young doctor In Italy many years ago. She couldn’t breathe because the disease had taken over her lungs. I can’t breathe. Back then, there was nothing I could do. But now, it’s different. Now we have the power. The power to scream from the highest tower that at Wistar, everybody is welcome. That we embrace the world, all of it, with joy and anticipation. The color of your skin, your customs, your language, your religion, all are welcome here. All are cherished. All are safe. All are us.

We are blessed that science doesn’t know borders or flags, doesn’t distinguish among national anthems, doesn’t know hate or discrimination. Doesn’t know racism. We are all the same. We are one. Science has always been a force for change. I know that it will be again now, when change is so desperately needed in our society. And I know that Wistar will continue to do its part, as it has done for over a century, to stand for racial equality, uphold social justice, honor fairness and support inclusiveness for all.

Dario C. Altieri, M.D.

In the middle of the pandemic, Wistar graduate student Kevin Alicea-Torres is living a busy and exciting life, preparing to defend his thesis and graduate with a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from the University of Pennsylvania at the end of the month and starting a prestigious fellowship in science communications in the early summer.

Just a few years ago, he would have never thought days like these were in his future. What his parents modeled for him was quite different. When Kevin was 14, he got a job in a bakery to earn extra money while in high school. “I loved music, especially reggaeton, but I didn’t have a good singing voice, so I won trophies in lip syncing just for fun,” said Kevin recalling how science was not in his life’s plan. “I didn’t know about college and careers beyond that.”

Luckily for him, his 11th grade girlfriend had a different mindset and was preparing for college. Following her to college exposed Kevin to the idea of pursuing higher education as an alternative path. He worked hard to improve his grades and was accepted into college. Though he started as a business administration student, he soon discovered an interest in science and had the opportunity to attend research seminars and cultivate that passion.

Kevin’s own dad was battling prostate cancer and this personal adversity inspired him to join a cancer research lab where he was supported by the McNair Scholars Program, a federal scholarship at the University of Puerto Rico. Later, with the help of the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) program of the National Institutes of Health, Kevin would transition to the University of Pennsylvania for his postbaccalaureate, which helped him improve his curriculum, learn English and gain more lab experience in a pancreatic cancer research lab.

“At Penn, I was lucky to find a large community, a lot of support and great mentors who really cared about me and were invested in my career,” said Kevin. “They helped me overcome my fear of not being good enough, of being different because of my background and my winding path to science.”

Kevin was then accepted into the Penn graduate program and chose to conduct his research in the former Wistar lab of Dr. Dmitry Gabrilovich because it was a great fit for his scientific interests. His project focuses on the regulation of immune suppressive cells by type 1 interferons in cancer.

“I was a little afraid of leaving the Penn community and joining a Wistar lab, because it was outside of the environment I knew well and where I had an established community,” said Kevin. “But the lab turned out to be a very good choice. Besides the outstanding scientific caliber of the lab, I loved the international environment and that almost everyone had a foreign accent: French, Italian, Indian, Chinese… I also had an outstanding mentor in Filippo Veglia, a former postdoc who was my direct supervisor.”

Mentors were critical in shaping Kevin’s path and helping him understand his calling in science.

One in particular is Dr. Arnaldo Díaz, director of Penn’s Office of Research and Diversity Training, who became a role model and helped Kevin realize the ways a scientist can have an impact on other people’s lives and give back to the community, besides doing research.

“I realized that minorities, just like me, and many others have no access to career development support, especially in science,” said Kevin. “And I learned there are other professional options that can be pursued. My personal journey, finding inspiration in science and pursuing higher education, inspired me to help other students, especially from underrepresented backgrounds, find their paths.”

“I had my first experiences working with student organizations in college and I was very passionate about it. Working with Arnaldo, I became involved with the student community at Penn and helped start a local chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) in 2016.”

For his work with SACNAS that ‘has made our community stronger and more welcoming for all students’, Kevin was recently honored with The President’s and Provost’s Honor for Developing New Initiatives in Graduate & Professional Student Life at the University of Pennsylvania. This award is presented to graduate or professional students, upon their graduation from Penn, who have acted as catalysts to enhance graduate and professional student life at Penn.

While serving as president of the SACNAS chapter, Kevin met Enrique Lin Shiao, president of another student organization, and together they had the vision of starting a podcast for Latin American science students.

“Caminos en Ciencia is another way of serving the community,” said Kevin. “We interview Latin American scientists in the U.S. and ask them to share with our audience how they developed their career, how they got to where they are, the challenging aspects of their journey, for example language barriers and lack of mentorship, and how they overcame them. And the podcast is fully in Spanish because we want to create as strong a connection as possible between our hosts and aspiring future scientists.”

Throughout graduate school, Kevin worked with dedication to further his cancer research in the lab at Wistar and at the same time to advance his community-building vision through his work with SACNAS and Caminos en Ciencia. He progressively realized he wanted to follow in Dr. Diaz’s steps and apply his scientific training to work for retention and recruitment of underrepresented students in STEM while also maintaining his motivation to help cure cancer.

“Balancing these two aspects was a challenge but I’m happy I was able to carry both my interests forward,” he said. “I’m still very passionate about my research project and I’m very excited that we were able to submit my results for publication in a prestigious journal.”

His outreach activity and the podcast experience also gave him a taste of what science communication is about. “I realized there is a huge need for Spanish-speaking science communicators to serve the Latino population.”

So, he looked for training opportunities and applied to the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows Program, a 10-week summer program that places science students and postdoctoral fellows at media organizations nationwide to sharpen their ability to communicate scientific issues to the general public.

“I’m truly honored to join this year’s AAAS Fellows and grateful to my mentors and the people who supported me.”

What’s next? After receiving his Ph.D. at Wistar, Kevin will temporarily move back to Puerto Rico to complete his AAAS fellowship at the newspaper El Nuevo Día writing science stories. “I am beyond excited to go back home for a while,” he said.

“After that, I don’t know what the future will hold, but I would love to serve as a mentor and guide the next generation of scientists,” said Kevin. “While I will always be impassioned about cancer immunology, I have discovered an interest in the human aspects of science: communications, student recruitment and retention, and creating a support system for underrepresented trainees. And I see myself as a good fit for that.”

Kevin shows us how Ph.D. scientists with research experience can explore different horizons and put their training to use in fields beyond academia. There is no such thing as one degree, one path.

If you were wondering, Kevin got married and has a daughter with his high school sweetheart, who first inspired him to go to college and get exposed to all the opportunities that go along with a higher education in science.