Break Throughs: Western Reserve Academy's Cancer Immunology Class Impresses Experts

With incubators injected with carbon dioxide to grow cancer cells, cell culture hoods to create a sterile environment and 16 laptops running 24/7 and two supercomputers analyzing DNA sequences, the cancer research and informatics labs for Western Reserve Academy’s cancer immunology class are impressive, even to industry experts.

“My mentor at the Cleveland Clinic was completely amazed. He said, It’s like you took my lab at the Cleveland Clinic and brought it here,” says faculty master Robert Aguilar, who teaches the class. “I modeled it after what we had over there.”

Aguilar developed the class for the Hudson school while doing doctoral work at the Cleveland Clinic and developing a testicular cancer vaccine at his lab that also developed a breast cancer vaccine, which is in phase 2 clinical trials. Now in its seventh year, three levels of the cancer immunology class have 72 sophomore through senior students, and Aguilar manages 20 student research projects.

The class starts with students learning techniques like manipulating DNA and RNA to extract it in pure quality for analysis and using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system to disable mutated genes and see if they can slow or stop cancer growth. They also learn bioinformatics by running programs to analyze DNA to find mutations statistically associated with a specific form of cancer. Students spend the rest of their time developing collaborative research projects, doing presentations, and as seniors, writing research papers.

One research project is continuing work on a prostate cancer vaccine Aguilar started with colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic.

“What we’re doing is targeting a specific protein that is very highly expressed in prostate cancer cells,” he says. “We train the immune system to seek out and destroy not only this protein but whatever is producing the protein.”

Lab work teaches students valuable life skills.

“You learn a lot of different skills you can apply anywhere, from organizational skills to time management to working in a team to learning how to obtain good information,” Aguilar says.

Some students have gone on to become doctors and researchers. Perhaps the most valuable skills students can gain are a lifelong love of critical thinking and perseverance from doing challenging new experiments and making discoveries.

“It’s research. A lot of it hasn’t been done before. You’re trying new techniques, and so you really have to grow a thick skin and stay consistent,” Aguilar says. “Once they get past that, those aha moments are coming. When experiments do work ... you’re the first one to see it!"