Lab lessons

Casey Woodward first discovered “the wonder” of the laboratory during a summer research program at Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute.

Woodward is one of 70 local high school juniors who have participated in the seven-week program, started by local high school teacher Andrea Allio 10 years ago. In fact, Woodward returned to Winship each summer during her undergraduate years to work with Emory oncologist Mary Jo Lechowicz, her mentor and the program’s current organizer.

“My family didn’t have much of a medical background, and getting to work as part of the medical community was really valuable,” says Woodward, currently a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania. “It helped me understand how much we know and how much we don’t.”

The program’s faculty consider the students as full members of the lab team. They engage in hands-on