Aspiring Scientists Tackle Cancer and Rare Diseases in Prestigious Summer Program

In a display of academic excellence, high school and college students recently presented their research projects at the UPMC Hillman Academy, a prestigious summer program that has been running since 2009. On August 1st, 2025, 84 students, ranging from high school to college, showcased the results of their 8 weeks of intensive work under the guidance of experienced mentors.

One of the students, Zacharias Barron, an incoming first-year at Johns Hopkins University, focused his project on the drug Panobinostat, which is used to treat multiple myeloma. "We're just trying to see the different amounts of that drug; on to the cancer cells, and which is more effective," he explained. Another student, Caelan McCormack, a junior at St. Lawrence University, is attempting to stop the migration of osteosarcoma to the lungs, a common complication for patients with this form of cancer.

Despite the challenges faced during their research, the students were driven by a desire to make a difference. McCormack's motivation stemmed from her father's own battle with osteosarcoma, a rare cancer he had survived. "Knowing that he survived such a rare cancer and knowing that there are so many people that haven't survived it, has really pushed me into wanting to study osteosarcoma," she said.

The UPMC Hillman Academy's project manager, Steven Jones, expressed the program's goal of expanding its reach by recruiting more mentors, which would allow them to support an even greater number of aspiring scientists in the future.