The LSU Health Foundation is pleased to announce that The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation made a grant of $100,000 in April 2021 for an exciting project to support high school students to intern in the research laboratories at LSU Health Sciences Center.

E. F. Hunter, the President of the Brown Foundation, presented the check to Henry Miller, the chairman of the Health Foundation board. “We are excited to support New Orleans high school students who might have an interest in STEM research as a future career. The students will each have mentors who guide their work and introduce them to cutting edge science projects in LSU labs,” said Mr. Hunter.

Students will be drawn at first from two local high schools: St, Augustine Catholic High School and Warren Easton Senior High School. Most of the students will be placed in the laboratory of Dr. Dennis Paul, Professor of Pharmacology where Dr. Kelly Sherman will be their primary mentor and supervisor.

Dr. Paul and his research partner, Dr. Harry Gould, have discovered a novel approach to treating advanced cancers without the terrible side effects of current treatments. This grant will also allow them to hire additional lab staff to carry their research forward while at the same time making it possible for them to share with the students the journey of discovering and refining a new medical treatment.

Dr. Sherman expressed her gratitude for the grant. “I have wanted to do a mentoring project like this for a long time. I am so excited to be able to introduce the students to our work and to help them to develop the skills that they will need for successful careers in science.”

The first students will begin their internship this summer.

For more information, contact Dr. Kelly Sherman at ksherm@lsuhsc.edu 516-295-4549.