{"id":397,"date":"2011-05-10T19:15:04","date_gmt":"2011-05-10T19:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kerri.web.uri.edu\/wp\/rinsfepscor\/?p=397"},"modified":"2011-05-10T19:15:04","modified_gmt":"2011-05-10T19:15:04","slug":"uri-surf-student-anthony-marcello-uses-personal-tragedy-to-motivate-his-research-this-summer-at-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/2011\/05\/10\/uri-surf-student-anthony-marcello-uses-personal-tragedy-to-motivate-his-research-this-summer-at-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"URI SURF Student, Anthony Marcello, uses personal tragedy to motivate his research this summer at Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PROVIDENCE \u2013 May 10, 2011 \u2013 On the September day in 2009 that Brent Palavra was supposed to start classes in the University of Rhode Island\u2019s Biotechnology Manufacturing Program, his mother died of sepsis. Anthony Marcello\u2019s father died of brain cancer while Anthony was just beginning his second semester in the program.<\/p>\n

During summer internships this year, these students will try to make something positive from their family tragedies by helping to discover how to cure or treat the diseases that killed their parents.<\/p>\n

Palavra, 37, a native of Glocester, worked in construction for 17 years but decided to change careers when the economy took a nosedive and the building industry declined.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been interested in molecular biology since a Junior Achievement class in middle school,\u201d Palavra said. \u201cIt\u2019s all about helping people, pinpointing the disease, finding ways to fight disease, and it\u2019s my way of helping the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

An active member of the Nipmuc Indian tribe and a direct descendant of the first Native American to go to Harvard, Palavra said that diabetes and related illnesses are prevalent in the Native community, and that has helped to focus his career interest.<\/p>\n

He will spend his internship working at ProThera Biologics, an East Providence-based company that is studying a protein that fights inflammation and infection in sepsis and other diseases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I heard that, it really hit home considering that was what my mother died from,\u201d said Palavra, referring to a presentation the company\u2019s chief executive made to his class. \u201cI heard that it was going to be difficult to get an internship there, but it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cranston resident Anthony Marcello, 25, was studying to become a nutritionist when he heard about the URI Biotechnology Manufacturing Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea there were so many biotech companies in the Providence area,\u201d he said, \u201cso I took a chance and I really like it. It really gives you a good perspective on the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program is an intensive bachelor\u2019s degree program that requires a year of coursework in biology, chemistry, physiology, microbiology and laboratory sciences followed by a summer internship at a local biotech company. Most students enter the workforce after the first year and complete their degree as part-time students.<\/p>\n

Marcello said that it\u2019s the frequent speakers and field trips that help to provide the students with connections in the biotechnology industry. \u201cI feel like I know so many companies and can engage in conversation about research and manufacturing and so many other options,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His internship will be with Wayne Bowen, chairman of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology & Biotechnology at Brown University, who studies proteins called sigma receptors that are found throughout the body and bind several classes of psychoactive drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw that he was researching receptors that are found on tumors, including the type of tumor my dad had, I knew this was the internship for me,\u201d Marcello said. \u201cIt will be rewarding contributing to work related to my dad\u2019s illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Brent Palavra, Marcello is attracted to biotechnology research in large part because of its role in improving human health.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be doing something to help people, and that\u2019s what biotechnology is all about,\u201d Marcello said. \u201cI want to be able to look back at what I\u2019ve done and know that I have contributed to humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Media Contact:\u00a0Todd McLeish<\/a>, 401-874-7892<\/p>\n

URI Department of Communications & Marketing photo by Michael Salerno Photography.<\/p>\n

Read original URI press release.
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<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PROVIDENCE \u2013 May 10, 2011 \u2013 On the September day in 2009 that Brent Palavra was supposed to start classes in the University of Rhode Island\u2019s Biotechnology Manufacturing Program, his mother died of sepsis. Anthony Marcello\u2019s father died of brain cancer while Anthony was just beginning his second semester in the program. During summer internships […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":581,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}