Dana-Farber's Dr. Jay Bradner Shares His Research With Upper School

On April 25, Dr. Jay Bradner of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute visited Rivers as part of a cancer awareness day organized by Upper School English Teacher Mac Caplan. Dr. Bradner spoke to the Upper School about the groundbreaking research he is doing in the field of cancer research.

 

“I have known Jay for a number of years now, through our squash club, so I was aware of his medical background and knew he was doing some really cutting edge stuff,” Caplan said. “But it wasn’t until he actually came that I realized just how impressive his work is and how important it could be.”

 

Bradner and his group are currently working on a molecule called “JQ1” that works inside the genome of a cancer cell to make it “forget that it is cancer” in order to stop it from replicating. In tests on mice, the molecule has worked well enough to save all the mice treated with it, while all the mice that did not receive the treatment died.

 

Despite the complexity of the chemistry Bradner presented, he was able to make the material accessible to everyone in the audience, no matter their knowledge of biology or genetics.

 

“He framed the whole presentation as a story – the story of the fight against cancer. He gave us a great background with the history, gave us an idea of what is being done now with his research, and gave us a sense of what the future looks like,” Caplan said. “I really appreciated how he was able to make it relevant to our students and what they can do. He put it on them to be the next generation of people fighting these kinds of medical problems.”

 

Bradner also held a question and answer session with a group of students following his presentation. Students asked questions ranging from detailed scientific inquires to questions about the politics of the pharmaceutical industry, each one revealing the students’ ability to think critically about both the scientific and real-world implications of such groundbreaking research.

 

The day also served as a fundraiser for Dana-Farber with students and faculty combining to raise $1,169.50 to help the Cancer Institute and Dr. Bradner continue their battle against a disease that has touched so many lives both in the Rivers community and in the world.

 

Click here to hear Dr. Bradner’s advice to Rivers students.