By Jared Rhodes, reprinted with permission from “Lab Coats and Lanyards”, the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Trainee Newsletter
Megan Tigue is a fifth-year PhD student in the Cancer Biology program and a seventh-year MD/PhD trainee at Vanderbilt University. She graduated from Colgate University in 2016 and began her training at Vanderbilt in 2019. Megan conducts her research in the laboratory of Dr. Vivian Weiss. She plans to defend her dissertation this spring and will be applying to pediatric research track residency programs.
What led you to pursue the MSTP pathway?
“I became interested in doing biomedical and cancer research at Colgate University and wanted to pursue a PhD. However, I first decided to get more full-time research experience as a postbac at the NIH after graduating, and it was there that I learned about dual MD/PhD training. Working in the NIH Clinical Center, I was able to see first-hand the highly translational research being done by physician scientists, and I realized that was what I wanted to do.”
What is your current research question, and why does this question excite you?
“I am studying macrophages in thyroid cancer. Specifically, I am asking how macrophage phenotypes differ across thyroid cancer subtypes and what other cell types the macrophages may interact with (e.g. fibroblasts, T cells). I am excited about my research because anaplastic thyroid cancer is a highly aggressive cancer, but its immune microenvironment has not been well characterized. Even if my project is a bit niche, the idea of contributing in a meaningful way to advancing scientific knowledge for this disease is really exciting, and I think some of what we learn from this project can hopefully apply more broadly.”
How does your clinical training influence the way you think about your research?
“I think it influences my research a lot, and I know as I get further along in my clinical training, in residency and fellowship, it will influence it even more. The two main ways I think clinical training influences my research are 1) it puts everything I am working on into perspective of a much bigger picture, because the primary reason to do research in the first place is to help patients and 2) it helps me have a better understanding of how to ask and approach research questions, given what is already known clinically and where the biggest gaps are in patient care.”
What has been the biggest challenge of balancing medical and graduate training, and how have you navigated it?
“One of the biggest challenges for me was transitioning from medical school, where my schedule was completely dictated by classes and medical teams, to graduate school, where I was largely in charge of my own schedule and learning.
In medical school you have very discreet packets of information to learn. In graduate school, you are learning how to ask questions to get to information that hasn’t even been thought of yet. The two worlds are just very different in this way, and I think the main key to navigating that for me was giving myself grace when I was overwhelmed and reading broadly, so I could get a sense of the research environment I was joining.
What advice would you give to students considering an MSTP or physician–scientist career?
“It’s a long road with a lot of ups and downs, but if you are passionate about doing research that is directly relevant to the patients that you want to care for, then it can be very rewarding. I would say my biggest piece of advice is to be persistent yet flexible. Graduate school can really beat you down sometimes, but other times, unexpected results and “pitfalls” can lead to really cool discoveries, if you know when to pursue them.”
Looking ahead, what are you most excited about in the next phase of your training or career?
“I’m really excited to enhance my clinical training in residency. I am planning to apply for pediatric residency programs this upcoming year. I am excited for the breadth of experiences that residency provides, and I think it will make me a stronger researcher as well. I don’t know where I will be for that phase of training yet, which is also exciting in its own way too!”
What has been your favorite part of living in Nashville during your training?
“I’ve made some great friends in Nashville, and spending time with them (and my husband Sam) has been my favorite part. We’ve tried a lot of new restaurants, been to concerts, and went climbing/hiking in nearby state parks. All of it has been fun!”