Jan. 2, 2003

Lafayette softball head coach John Wong describes Erin Allison as one of the hardest working members of his squad. A two-year starter at third base, Allison was voted a co-captain this season and will be looked upon to help lead the Leopards in their rebuilding effort.

While Wong expects production on the field, Allison has already been showing hard work in the classroom.

The senior from Brewster, Pa. has been exploring potential avenues of cancer treatment this fall at Lafayette.

Allison, a biology major, is participating in an intensive research project led by Robert Kurt, assistant professor of biology. Her laboratory work focuses on anti-tumor immunity.

A leading cancer researcher, Kurt has received National Science Foundation and Department of Defense grants totaling more than $350,000 since 2001. Allison and several other Lafayette students conducting research with him shared their findings this year at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science.

"I am very glad to be working with Dr. Kurt for a second year," she says. "He is a very personable individual with an extensive knowledge of immunology and all related aspects. He is more than qualified to guide us through our research project, in effect allowing us to gain valuable research experience. In addition to serving as the mentor for the independent study, he has been more than helpful in giving advice on graduate school."

Kurt says that experiments earlier this year aimed to make cancer cells stop producing chemokines, proteins found in many of the body's cells that play a pivotal role in the maturation of the immune system and the initiation and maintenance of an immune response.

"Because of their key role in the immune response, the aberrant expression of chemokines can have a profound effect on the ability of T cells (immune cells) to respond to antigen (substances that form antibodies)," says Kurt.

"For tumor immunity, T cells are critical because they have the ability to kill tumor cells without destroying normal tissues," he explains. "Furthermore, once T cell immunity has been established and the threat to your body has been removed, you are left with immunological memory. This means that if the tumor comes back, your body is already prepared to handle it.

"We have found that several breast cancer cell lines produced chemokines capable of recruiting T cells. However, instead of increasing anti-tumor immunity, the tumor-derived chemokines may have prevented an effective immune response by desensitizing T-cell chemokine receptors."

Due to the unexpected outcome of the experiments, Allison and two other students are verifying those results and making sure there was no technical error.

"They're really learning what science is like -- when experiments don't work as expected," says Kurt. "The hypothesis is not always correct, but scientists have to take the data and figure out what it's telling them."

"It is always challenging to do research that has never been done before," adds Kurt. "Because we are not quite sure why the tumor cells produce the chemokine KC, we are not sure if it is possible to block KC production. For instance, if the tumor cells need the KC they produce to help them grow, then blocking KC production may block tumor cell growth. As a result, failure to create a tumor cell that cannot produce KC may be due to technical errors or the inability of tumor cells to grow without KC.

"They're doing very well. It's frustrating, but that's science. It's opening our eyes to something new." Allison hopes to create a carrier that will block production of the chemokine, called KC, from the cancer cells. She decided to pursue independent research after taking Kurt's Immunology class during her sophomore year.

"I became interested in the opportunity to study a topic related to cancer research," she says. "The mixture of studying immunology and aspects of cancer seemed a perfect combination for me.I plan to ultimately do cancer research through and following graduate school, and the experience of working with Dr. Kurt is both useful and valuable."

"I am excited to explore these aspects of biology because often we are studying areas that have not been researched extensively," adds Allison, who is also a teaching assistant for Kurt's immunology labs. "I also become excited to do research related to cancer because any advances in the field may help diagnose individuals."

"Erin is a great student to have in the classroom and laboratory," says Kurt. "One of her great qualities is that she is bothered when experiments do not turn out as expected or when she does not completely understand a concept that she has to teach. This tells me that she has a genuine interest in her research and in the education of her students."

Lafayette provides a good academic environment for research, notes Allison.

"The main advantage is the intimate atmosphere, which has allowed us to work closely with Dr. Kurt and interact with him in a way that enables us to ask many questions and explore many ideas...I am very pleased with the research I have been able to do at Lafayette."