When he first visited campus, Chase Weizer '22 sensed that he'd have an opportunity at Dickinson to distinguish himself and excel. Now, this biochemistry & molecular biology major is conducting student-faculty cancer research. He's also a tutor, a student-mentor, club-tennis player and tour guide.
Hometown:
Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania.
Major:
Biochemistry & molecular biology, with a minor in Chinese.
Clubs and organizations:
Club tennis, biology department mentor program, chemistry lab (teaching assistant), chemistry and biology departments (peer tutor), Liberty Caps (tour guides) and Delta Sigma Phi.
Honors/scholarships/awards:
Alpha Lambda Delta, Dean’s List, Benjamin Rush Scholarship, Trustee Scholarship, Gamma Sigma Alpha and Order of Omega.
Favorite book:
Daniel X by James Patterson.
Favorite movie:
Back to the Future.
Best thing about my major:
Lots of lab time (I really like working in the lab).
On choosing Dickinson:
I was considering a couple of different small liberal-arts colleges, but Dickinson really stood out, because I didn’t feel like just another number. I now know I was justified in my decision, as I have been afforded a lot of opportunities at Dickinson that I wouldn’t have been offered at other schools, and faculty and staff go out of their way to help students.
Favorite place on campus:
Rector Science Complex.
Favorite Dining Hall food:
Cream of tomato soup.
About my research:
I’m currently doing research with Associate Professor of Biology Mike Roberts that focuses on the study of human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with human leukemic (HL-60) cell lines. We aim to reprogram the HL-60 cell line so that these cells no longer express leukemic phenotypes and undergo programmed cell death through a process known as apoptosis (essentially, we are looking at how the cancer cell can be reprogrammed to become a normal, healthy cell capable of self-destruction). We reprogram the cell line to undergo apoptosis by treating the cell line with a compound known as PMA, which essentially just reverses the leukemic phenotype. Our lab also examines PMA-response genes (roughly 1,257 in total) for the HL-60 cell line to determine which genes are significant in the reprogramming of AML cells. Specifically, I am examining the TGIF1 gene.
Post-Dickinson plans:
Work as a lab technician in a research lab for at least a couple years and go on to graduate school to get my Ph.D.
As I kid, I wanted to be …
… a chocolatier.
Proudest accomplishment so far:
In college, I’ve done well enough academically to qualify for honors in my major. And as treasurer of my fraternity, I have raised enough funds to fund all of our prospective philanthropy events and to serve the chapter for the foreseeable future.
Little-known hobby/talent:
I’ve been playing piano since I was 4 years old.
Most important thing I’ve learned so far:
Get as involved as possible; the more involved you get, the more people you meet, and the more opportunities come your way.
Read more Student Snapshots.
Published August 12, 2021