Biology major Megan Zakraysek has been awarded an A.J. Palumbo Student Research Grant which will help with her research of cancer and depression. This is what Megan had to say about her research project.
 
“My research project will investigate two illnesses that are very common in our society today, cancer and depression.  Many people receive treatment for both conditions simultaneously, and yet there is little known about the combined impacts of treatment substances.  Specifically, my study will show the effects of a green tea extract, EGCG, and a traditional chemotherapy drug, Fluorouracil, individually and also in combination with one herbal antidepressant, Hypericum perforatum (St. Johns Wort) and the chemotherapeutic agent have on the cancer cells.  When relating this to the traditional practice of medicine, it brings about the questions of should a cancer patient who is undergoing chemotherapy drink green tea?  And if and when a cancer patient is diagnosed with clinical depression, how will the chemotherapeutic agent and the antidepressant react to one another?  Will this combination of the botanical therapy along with the chemotherapy inhibit the growth or will it stimulate the growth of cancer cells?”