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HATTIESBURG – After earning her high school
diploma in just three years, Mary Jia Guo embarked on an early
admission last fall to the University of Southern Mississippi.
Now a sophomore at Southern Miss, the New Jersey native has
conquered another feat by becoming one of a select few from
across the world to acquire a research grant award from Sigma
Xi, an international honorary scientific research society.
It was Guo's first time applying for a grant of any kind. The
$300 award, issued by the Sigma Xi Committee on Grants-in-Aid
of Research, will aid Guo in her studies on the diagnosis of
various cancers.
During her research, Guo will first assay sera from patients
battling breast, pancreatic, gastric, colorectal, hepatic, pulmonary
and blood cancers; patients with non-malignant diseases; and
healthy individuals. She will then analyze the predictive values
for the antigen, beta 2-microglobulin, as a diagnostic indicator
of disease for each individual cancer. Finally, Guo will compare
the effectiveness of the beta 2-microglobulin antigen with the
results of 14 other cancer antigens previously obtained on the
same sera. Her findings could prove vital in increasing the
survival rate of people fighting cancer and other diseases across
the United States.
Sigma Xi's grant committee awards up to $1,000 annually to
students to support their research projects. Funds are distributed
on case-by-case study. Committee members say the research program
is highly competitive with only approximately 20 percent of
the applicants receiving any level of funding, many of whom
are graduate students.
"Mary's receipt of this award is quite an honor,"
said medical technology professor Margot Hall. "Mary has
an inquisitive mind, a delightful personality and an incredibly
strong work ethic. She genuinely gets excited about her courses
and the hands-on work in the lab. Her questions show an appreciation
of science and scientific implications that are beyond her age
and her beginning college status," she said.
To learn more about Southern Miss' Department of Medical Technology,
please call 601.266.4908.
About The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi, founded in 1910, is
a comprehensive doctoral and research-extensive university fulfilling
its mission of being a leading university in engaging and empowering
individuals to transform lives and communities. In a tradition
of leadership for student development, Southern Miss is educating
a 21st century work force providing intellectual capital, cultural
enrichment and innovation to Mississippi and the world. Southern
Miss is located in Hattiesburg, Miss., with an additional campus
and teaching and research sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast;
further information is found at www.usm.edu .
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Last updated:
01/25/06 |
