Spelman College Student Ariel Harden Plays Integral Role in Cancer Treatment

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Spelman College student Ariel Harden

ATLANTA, GA (08/17/2011)(readMedia)-- Spelman College sophomore and biology major Ariel Harden, C'2014, spent her summer doing something most budding scientists only dream of doing. While interning in a federal lab at the John D. Dingell Veterans Administration Medical Center in Detroit, the Tampa, FL native worked with VA researchers who developed a drug to help treat pancreatic and ovarian cancer. For her part, Harden created the Adeno Associated Virus to inject into mammalian cells for mice testing. Harden and VA scientists later used mice that lacked immune systems to ensure the drug destroyed the virus.

Researchers are now using AAV to deliver a protein to prohibit growth of cancer cells, thus decreasing the size of tumors in patients of ovarian and pancreatic cancer. Harden has since been chosen to travel abroad with VA researchers to teach other scientists about testing and using the drug.

Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a prestigious, highly selective, liberal arts college that prepares women to change the world. Located in Atlanta, Ga., this historically black college boasts an 83 percent graduation rate, and outstanding alumnae such as Children's Defense Fund Founder Marian Wright Edelman; former U.S. Foreign Service Director General Ruth Davis, authors Tina McElroy Ansa and Pearl Cleage; and actress LaTanya Richardson. More than 85 percent of the full-time faculty members have Ph.D.s or other terminal degrees, and the average faculty to student ratio is 9:1. More than 2,100 students attend Spelman. For more information, visit www.spelman.edu.