Whenever BMCC science faculty members Sarah Salm, Patricia DeLeon and Lauren Goodwin apply for molecular biology research grants, they are often met with skepticism. “Funders can’t believe that a community college could maintain a functional science research laboratory,” says Salm.
To be sure, the tissue culture/molecular biology laboratory they run is very much a rarity – a full-blown research facility operating under the auspices of a community college. But the lab, carved out of an abandoned storage closet four years ago by DeLeon and a student team, is more than functional – it is serving as a center for cutting-edge investigations into the link between diet and disease.
Shedding new light on butyrate
Along the way, there have also been some hard lessons in the realities of research funding. The lab’s inaugural project, a study of the p53 protein and how it suppresses the formation of tumors, was ultimately disbanded when the three colleagues realized they were competing for funding dollars against much larger and more powerful players. “In order to qualify for funding, we would have had to devote far more time and resources and show results much sooner than our teaching loads allow,” says DeLeon. Without missing a beat, they switched to a study of the mechanisms by which butyrate, a chemical produced when the body metabolizes fiber, safeguards the body against colon cancer.
“We know that a high-fiber diet protects against cancer,” DeLeon says. “Our aim is to learn how this happens.” A second, related, study, initiated last semester, is focused on how different omega fatty acids suppress or stimulate cancer growth. And a third project – on the effect of diet on prostate stem cells – is currently being planned.
The work of the lab draws heavily on the efforts of six students, who spend up to 20 hours a week on the projects. This past summer, they were among a group of 12 who received stipends to participate in a five-week program comprising classroom instruction and hands-on involvement in the butyrate study. They continue to work in the lab during the regular school year under the close supervision of the three faculty members. “The students are practicing graduate level techniques,” says Salm. “Their contributions to the projects have been invaluable.”
The importance of support
While funding from major grantmakers such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes for Health remains out of reach for now, there has been support from other sources, including fund from CUNY Compact Program for equipment and two CUNY Collaborative Grants, which fund qualifying projects.
“When we started the lab two years ago, we received tremendous support from the BMCC administration, and that made a big difference – especially in our grant applications,” says DeLeon. “One of the first things you learn about research is that you can’t do it on your own.”
It’s a lesson that hasn’t been lost on DeLeon, Goodwyn and Salm: They are already making plans to help start similar labs at other community colleges. “If we did it, they can too,” she says. “We want to share what we’ve learned.”
