Valerie Gunchick, MS, G3
Research Mentor: Wei Zheng, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
Thesis Topic: Biliary Tract Cancer Risk Factor and Molecular Signature Identification
Biography
While working towards my BS in Biochemistry at Texas A&M University, I interned at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in a laboratory researching lymphoma. I pursued cancer research after graduating and joined the University of Michigan gastrointestinal oncology research team as the pancreatic and liver cancer biorepository manager.
This position was unique in that it provided clinical experience and research mentorship. I consented over 500 pancreatic and liver cancer patients, supported more than 18 large clinical and translational research projects, and established pancreatic and biliary tract cancer databases encompassing more than 5,100 patients, resulting in the largest retrospective biliary tract cancer dataset with progression-free survival data reported in literature. My primary research assessed biliary tract cancer patients’ progression-free and overall survival comparing systemic and concurrent therapies, as well as an evaluation of the biliary tract cancer intratumoral microbiome. While working full-time, I completed my full-time MS in Clinical Statistical Analysis in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. I also supported international pancreatobiliary targeted and immunotherapy clinical trials as a clinical scientist at a major pharmaceutical company.
My experiences in multiple areas of human research led me to pursue further education and choose cancer epidemiology as the most ideal area of study for my research goals. In the laboratory of Dr. Wei Zheng, I hope to unearth predictors of biliary tract cancer through risk factor and molecular signature identification. These findings will deepen researchers’ and physicians’ understandings of biliary malignancies, hopefully leading to extended survival for patients through reduced and earlier diagnoses.
Why Vanderbilt?
The most persuasive feature of the Vanderbilt program was the infrastructure for high-impact epidemiologic cancer research. I plan to study risk factors and the early identification of cancer which requires many patients’ biospecimens and data — resources that are not available at most institutions, particularly for less common cancers. The program’s quantitative rigor was attractive as I hope to increase my independent statistical and analytic abilities. I also appreciated Vanderbilt’s encouragement of Epidemiology students’ participation in translational research training programs. As a whole, Vanderbilt’s program will help me develop strong skillsets to evaluate complicated research questions throughout my career.