Concrete Findings

For students, Temple’s scientific findings sometimes go unnoticed.

Students at Temple know all about the university’s positive attributes – the best spot to lounge in the sun on Beury Beach, what channels to catch men’s Atlantic 10 Tournament games on and the daily specials at the Draught Horse and Maxi’s. They even know the melodies from the Bell Tower play from a recording.

But what many students, save some science, psychology and pre-med majors, are unaware of is that every day at their university, people are conducting and publishing cutting-edge research that’s on par with that of Ivy League schools – Temple even recently opened a lab formerly located at the University of Pennsylvania – and often recognized throughout the nation.

Some of the most recent notable research conducted at Temple, by the university’s own Dr. Carmen Sapienza in partnership with Penn researchers, found embryos conceived via in vitro fertilization put those people at a higher risk for colon cancer and other medical issues when they reach adulthood.

Along with this important medical research that could have implications for an increasing population in the United States with technological advances involving in vitro fertilization, other Temple labs have been conducting research as well.

At the Institute for Computational Molecular Science, which moved from Penn to Main Campus’ Biology Life Sciences building in August, researchers look at graphic “movies” of everything from how different shampoos work to how anesthesia used in surgical procedures renders patients unconscious.

The myriad labs and research studies going on constantly around Temple, though not highly publicized, are an integral part of the university. They also offer special opportunities to students – a researcher from the Institute for Computational Molecular Science welcomes students interested in working in the lab.

Though scientific research may not be as interesting to some students as a sports game or checking out the newest draughts at the bar, it’s important to recognize the caliber of research done at Temple and make the student population aware of it – so they cannot only have an understanding, but also take advantage of the important opportunities afforded to them.