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Wednesday April 14, 2021 vol. CXLV no. 36
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U. AFFAIRS
Trevor Noah announced as 2021 Class Day speaker By Katherine Dailey Assistant News Editor
On April 13, the University announced that author and comedian Trevor Noah will be the 2021 Class Day speaker. Class Day, which will take place virtually this year, is presented by members of the graduating class and features student prizes and speeches, as well as a speaker chosen by members of the class. The event was planned by Class Day Chairs Morgan Smith ’21, Michael Wang ’21, and Kamya Yadav ’21. Yadav, an international student from New Delhi, India, was quoted by the University’s announcement, stating, “As an international student, it is rare to see faces who also come from international backgrounds be successful in unconventional career paths. Watching Noah make an impact not just in the world of comedy globally but also in the field of education in South Africa fills me with hope that many of us will go on to make a difference in the multiple places we call home.” In the announcement video posted to the University website and social media, Wang told the Class of 2021, “We’re thrilled to invite Mr. Noah for his unique ability to bring joy to everybody in this highly
stressful and transformative year.” Smith, also in the announcement, said, “Noah is more than impressive for just his humor and wit: he’s gone beyond his calling in service to his community. The work of the Trevor Noah Foundation in increasing accessibility to quality education clearly embodies our values as Princetonians.” Noah has been the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central since 2015 and has released 11 comedy specials that he wrote, produced, and starred in, including his most recent, “Son of Patricia,” which is available on Netflix. He presented in 2019 at Princeton on technology’s role in society, as well as in 2017 on race and identity in the United States. He is also the founder of the Trevor Noah Foundation, which works in providing quality education to South African students. Noah’s memoir, “Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood,” was published in 2016 and describes Noah’s childhood through the end of apartheid and the years following. Noah, as Class Day speaker, will be inducted as an honorary member of the Class of See NEWS for more
“TREVOR NOAH” BY HAYDEN SCHIFF / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
ON CAMPUS
Princeton will be the site of a new cancer research branch By Evelyn Doskoch Head News Editor
The University has partnered with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research to open a new branch at Princeton — one that will specialize in cancer metabolism and how diet impacts our understanding of cancer. Professor of Chemistry Joshua Rabinowitz will serve as branch director, working alongside Associate Director Eileen White and Yibin Kang, principal investigator and founding member of the branch. White is a professor of mo-
lecular biology and biochemistry at Rutgers University while Kang is a molecular biology professor at Princeton. “Ludwig chose Princeton because of our renowned strength in disciplines of critical importance to the study of cancer metabolism, including basic cancer research, metabolomics, genomics, biology, and the computational and physical sciences,” University Provost Deborah Prentice said in Tuesday’s announcement. “This new partnership goes to the heart of what Princeton is all about,” she continued. “It
draws on Princeton’s breadth of excellence in fundamental science to drive real-world breakthroughs at the cutting edge of cancer care.” Rabinowitz, the branch director, spoke with The Daily Princetonian about the science behind his research. “Cancer is in part a metabolic disease, and our metabolism is dictated largely by our activity and diet, yet the potential to prevent or treat cancer by better dietary choices has been underexplored,” he said. “We think there’s the opportunity to make a profound dif-
ference in both the incidence of cancer and the outcomes for cancer patients by understanding the relationship between metabolism, diet, the immune system, and cancer,” he added. The Princeton branch will join nearly a dozen other Ludwig locations, including those at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, and UC San Diego. Research will focus on three central topics: “dietary strategies to prevent and treat cancer; how bodies inadvertently support tumor growth and metas-
ZACHARY SHEVIN / THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN
Frick Chemistry Laboratory, the home of Princeton’s chemistry department.
In Opinion
Senior Columnist Julia Chaffers praises Major League Baseball for moving its All Star Game from Georgia, arguing the state’s new voter law is undemocratic and must be challenged.
In Prospect
In her debut guest submission for The Prospect, Opinion contributing columnist Brigitte Harbers discusses how actively building out a base of conscious hobbies can significantly improve your mental health during a particularly monotonous semester.
In Podcast
tasis; and the interplay between a patient’s metabolism, gut microbiome and anti-cancer immune response.” According to Rabinowitz, there are many interesting possibilities for diet-related cancer research, many of which are already underway. “My lab is currently engaged in a clinical trial testing the combination of ketogenic diets and chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer,” he explained. “Results in mice show that the therapeutic benefits of chemotherapy are augmented three times on a ketogenic diet.” “We’re hoping that we’ll see similar benefits in human patients,” he said. The Ludwig Princeton Branch will work in tandem with RWJ Barnabas Health and the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, as well as other institutions in the tri-state area, to apply research discoveries to clinical practice. White is also Rutgers Cancer Institute’s deputy director and chief scientific officer. “I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Eileen and her lab for many years,” Rabinowitz said. He explained instances when they previously collaborated, including joint work on studying how autophagy — the self-cannibalization of cells, a normal body process that can also promote tumor growth — impacts cancer outcomes. “We will continue to count on her wisdom in understanding the fundamental biology of cancer and her capacity to build exciting new models, and she’ll See NEWS for more
Trevor Noah will be the speaker at Princetion’s Class Day this spring, which is pretty cool if you ask the Daybreak team. Listen to today’s episode of Daybreak to learn about Princeton’s new cancer research center and why the CDC is pausing the use of some COVID-19 vaccines.