When Sihem Nadour made the trip to the United States three years ago from her home country of Algeria, she had never heard the name Montgomery County Community College spoken together, let alone considered studying there.

Yet the now 23-year-old Biotechnology major, who lives in Lansdale, is being celebrated for her work in MCCC’s labs. Nadour’s research was recently published in the “Journal of Advanced Technological Education,” and she presented her work in a poster at the 2024 National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technology Education Principal Investigators conference in Washington, D.C.

“This is the first time I’ve ever done something like it. It was fun; I was excited,” she said. “It’s good stuff.”

In Algeria, Nadour studied computer science for two years but never finished her program there, because she wasn’t interested in working behind a computer all day, every day. Once in the U.S., she followed her sister’s path and enrolled at MCCC but decided to look for a different study path.

“I was limited at that time. I didn’t know what biotech was,” she said. “What you could do with it or what work you could get. When I chose biotech it was quite lucky. I like doing things in the lab, but I didn’t know biotech would open so many doors for me.”  

As English is not Nadour’s first language, her first science classes at MCCC were difficult.

“I had to learn my English and learn my classes,” she said.

Yet the exposure to so many possible fields of study really enticed her to stick with it, and she found a knack for the subject. Her good work caught the eye of Biotechnology Professor Margaret Bryans, who suggested she enroll in the biotechnology internship course in Spring 2024. Sihem was also a recipient of the MCCC Biotechnology Scholarship funded by the Dentinger Foundation.

The two studied the NISTCHO cell line which is a genetically modified Chinese Hamster Ovary cell line to produce a monoclonal antibody named cNISTmAb, which targets the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

“The study was to assess the stability of the NISTCHO cell line to ensure the consistency of cNISTmAb production over an extended period of time,” she said. “It’s developed by scientists from the National Institute of Standard and Technology and Millipore Sigma. It provides a reference material for the biopharmaceutical industry, as well as a resource for biomanufacturing training and educational programs.”

“It is necessary for biotherapeutic research and development,” she continued. “The findings are important for the biopharmaceutical companies that will utilize NISTCHO as a reference cell line in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell development, as well as educational training programs that will use NISTCHO cells.”   

Nadour and Bryans submitted a research paper documenting the results gathered from the project and it was published in the Journal of Advanced Technological Education. Nadour was then invited to the capital to present in the student poster section of the NSF conference, featuring other students from higher education institutions nationwide.  Conference attendees who reviewed her poster were very curious about her work.

“They wanted to understand what the poster was about,” said Nadour. “What are those cells and what were the results? They were happy with what I explained.”

Nadour credits Bryans for seeing something in her that she didn’t initially see in herself when she first came to MCCC.

“She helped me realize what I want and realize that I’m passionate about this nature,” said Nadour. “I’m grateful to her.”

Last summer, Nadour was selected to attend the Biomedical Training Technician program at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. A global leader in biomedical research, Wistar offers specialized expertise in cancer, immunology, infectious disease, and vaccine development, according to its website.

Wistar places students into two five-week-long experiences in industrial and academic labs. Nadour’s industrial experience was in a lab where they were trying to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Her academic lab experience was in Jefferson University, where they were studying chemotherapy resistance in pediatric leukemia.

Nadour said MCCC prepared her to feel completely comfortable with the material the program covered.

“I was equipped from working and studying here,” said. “It was really helpful. I knew almost everything in the training. I knew it and it was easy to do.”

Nadour plans to transfer to Thomas Jefferson University to complete a one-year bachelor’s or two-year master’s degree program, though she’s keeping her options open for the future beyond that. She’s grateful for all she’s learned during her time at MCCC because it’s opened a world of possibilities.

“In biotechnology, knowledge is highly transferable,” she said. “Whatever you learn in one area of biotech, you can apply across various fields within the discipline. The expertise gained in cell culture methods from medical biotechnology could be extended into fields such as pharmaceutical development, regenerative medicine, cancer research and so on.”