Author:  Chris Sikich

Seminar: Cancer Biology and Technology

Cancer is not a topic taught with much depth in high school biology. This unit opens up what students know about cancer from personal experience to examine cancer from many fronts. They first do this by examining cancer through a model organism: the fruit fly. With authentic research on genetically enhanced flies with cancer, students will determine if diet choices impact cancer survival. The second part of the unit goes into the cellular mechanism of signaling to see how two different proteins, when mutated, can short circuit a cell into becoming cancerous. The third part of the unit looks at evolution and cancer by examining how organisms besides humans get cancer. While showing our relatedness, there is the question of how extensive the reach of natural selection is on cancer and how animal size potentially plays a role in cancer occurrence. The final part of the curriculum takes the well-informed cancer scientist into the reality of healthcare disparities and how inequitable cancer diagnosis, treatment and survival is rampant. This ends with students using their voices to make a call to action to their communities about the necessity for cancer healthcare equity.