Undergraduate Institution: University of Iowa

Research mentor(s): Michael Petronek, PhD & Andrean Simons-Burnett, PhD (Radiation Oncology)
Research topic: Adaptive Iron Response Element Binding in Glioblastoma Multiforme Cells

Background: My hometown is West Des Moines, Iowa

Growing up, I didn't know that I wanted to study medicine, but I've always known that I wanted to help people. Instead, my interest in the medical field came from seeing the experiences my friends and family had, both positive and negative, and knowing that was what I was supposed to do. In my junior year at college, I started working in the Petronek lab, where I fell in love with the research side because I appreciated seeing and being part of the conception and design stages of treatments.

In the future, I would love to be a pediatrician researching pediatric cancer. I hope to get accepted into the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the University of Iowa next year. 

Outside of research, I enjoy working on puzzles, going on long walks, and thrifting. I also spend lots of my free time adorning and spoiling my three cats. 

Publication(s):
"Vector-induced ferritin overexpression limits cell motility by controlling cell stiffness in glioblastoma cells"
Joan N. Whittier ^{a 1}, Sophia C. Heller ^{a 1}, Akalanka Ekanayake ^b, Stephenson B. Owusu ^a, Alexei V. Tivanski ^b, Michael S. Petronek ^a