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There has been a growing discourse within higher education to engage with Students as Partners (SaP) and to transform institutional culture by harnessing the strength of students and faculty working together. Engaging with SaP offers benefits to both students and faculty, yet there continues to be less research on SaP practices at the macro-degree level. The purpose of this study was to conduct a faculty-wide investigation of student-faculty partnerships within the Faculty of Science at a mid-sized university in Ontario, Canada. Through a mixed methods approach of surveys (n = 178) and semi-structured interviews (n = 10) with undergraduate students, we examined the types of student partnerships occurring within the Faculty of Science as well as gathered insights into students’ perspectives of the benefits and challenges they experience engaging in these partnerships. Collaborating with faculty on research projects, teaching assistantships, and being a student leader in an organization with faculty guidance were considered the most impactful partnerships among participants. Students also reported several social, personal, academic, and career-related benefits as a result of working in partnership with faculty members, while common challenges included barriers to engaging in activities, social barriers, power imbalances, difficult working environments, and personal challenges. By studying the benefits and challenges experienced by students, we provide advances towards creating an engaged learning environment that supports undergraduate student engagement, collaboration, and enhanced student-faculty relationships that in turn support recruitment and retention efforts.

Skin cancers such as melanoma are the most common form of cancer in the world. When treating patients, systemic therapy is traditionally used due to the limited success of radiation therapy and surgery. However, current chemotherapeutics have limited efficacy and high toxicity to healthy cells. Thus, there is a need to discover effective complementary therapies for use alongside standard chemotherapeutics. Natural extracts have been shown to have anti-cancer activity in the past. Lakshmi Taru extract from Simarouba glauca or “Paradise Tree” is one such extract that has been shown to possess anti-cancer activity. In other studies, it has been evaluated to show anti-cancer potential on leukaemic cancer cell lines. However, it has not been investigated for use to treat human melanoma. Thus, for the first time, we characterized Lakshmi Taru extract efficacy in human melanoma cell lines A375 and G361 and its selective induction of apoptosis. In addition, the mechanisms behind its anti-cancer activity were elucidated. Furthermore, the interaction of Lakshmi Taru extract with standard chemotherapeutics such as paclitaxel, cisplatin, and dacarbazine was evaluated, indicating that there is no negative interaction and instead, a slight enhancement of anti-cancer activity. These results indicate that Lakshmi Taru extract has the potential to be used as a selective and efficacious melanoma treatment either alone or in combination with current standards of care. Thus, our study on the use of Lakshmi Taru extract has the potential to build healthier communities by providing scientific evidence of its efficacy in treating one of the most deadly cancers in the world.