7/15/2021 Cancer Center at Illinois
Written by Cancer Center at Illinois
MechSE graduate student Bashar Emon was one of four Illinois students who recently received a Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) Graduate Cancer Scholarship to pursue cancer research projects under the mentorship of CCIL scientists.
“A core mission of the Cancer Center at Illinois is to mobilize and inspire students across campus to pursue careers in cancer research,” Rex Gaskins, CCIL’s Associate Director for Education, said. “Not only do CCIL scholarships accelerate cancer discoveries at Illinois, but they provide students with real-world laboratory experience on exceptional, interdisciplinary teams.”
For Emon, a PhD candidate in theoretical and applied mechanics, the CCIL scholarship will fund a project to study the simultaneous biophysical and biochemical cellular interactions in 3D cancer models. He will be working with his advisor, MechSE Professor Taher Saif; Rohit Bhargava, CCIL Director and professor of bioengineering; and Kannanganattu Prasanth, professor of cell and developmental biology.
Emon will continue his studies in tumor stiffness and whether stimulation encourages growth production of cancer cells. He had also recently won a Beckman Institute Graduate Fellowship for his work to develop a new tool to study biological processes in space and time, in both their physical and chemical components.
The other honorees of the Graduate Cancer Scholarship include Sarah Gardner (biochemistry), Yoon Jeong (bioengineering), and You Jin Song (cellular and developmental biology).
The scholarship funds will support projects starting in Fall 2021 through Spring 2022. The Cancer Center at Illinois Graduate Cancer Scholarship Program (GCSP) provides graduate students in CCIL member labs with experience preparing research proposals for supporting high-quality collaborative research conducted by those students.