UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences - a joint venture of UTHealth Houston and MD Anderson.

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

Teaching chemistry helped Emily Peden recognize something about herself: she loved making complex science understandable and personal to others.

That same connection between science and people drew her to genetic counseling. Now back home in Houston as a first-year Genetic Counseling student at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Peden is learning from experts across the Texas Medical Center and developing her own approach to patient care.

She’s also seeing her hometown with fresh eyes after several years away in Colorado.

Read Emily’s story: https://t.co/sVKlqAFp0I

#WeAreGSBS #UTMDAnderson #UTHealthHouston #GeneticCounseling #TexasMedicalCenter

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

Considering graduate training in biomedical science? There’s still time to learn more before you apply.

Meet our Graduate School recruiters at upcoming events and bring your questions about our programs, research opportunities and admissions.

📍 See where you can meet us next: https://t.co/23M4sqT72B

#WeAreGSBS #UTMDAnderson #UTHealthHouston #BiomedicalScience

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

Katy Ayers’ path to a PhD included more than a few unexpected turns — from working to support her family in rural Nebraska to returning to school, studying bioengineering and even growing the world’s largest fungal mycelium boat.

Now a Microbiology and Infectious Diseases PhD student, Ayers studies Candida auris (C. auris), a difficult-to-control fungal pathogen that has become an increasing concern in health care settings.

Her pitch on the research earned her third place in the Pre-candidacy PhD Elevator Pitch Contest at Graduate Student Research Day in July.

🎥 Hear her pitch and how Ayers makes the case for understanding what helps C. auris thrive — then read more about her unconventional path in to science: https://t.co/oMdyOSGmAh

#ElevatorPitch #UTMDAnderson #UTHealthHouston #Microbiology #InfectiousDiseases #WeAreGSBS @MIDatGSBS

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

Phillip Urbanczyk came to graduate school knowing the questions he wanted to explore — and found a mentor who supported his vision.

Phillip is a PhD candidate in the Neuroscience Program at the UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, studying how long-term opioid exposure changes regions of the brain involved in executive function and behavior.

Through mentorship, student leadership, and connections with researchers across the Texas Medical Center and Gulf Coast region, he is finding opportunities to expand his perspective and contribute beyond his own research.

Explore his story and his vision for improving science and shaping academia: https://t.co/4jk6xo5utx

#WeAreGSBS #Neuroscience #BiomedicalScience #UTMDAnderson #UTHealthHouston @NeuroMDAUTH

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

🪔 Happy Diwali!

Cultural traditions from around the world are part of our Graduate School community, including Thursday’s Diwali Lunch hosted by the International Student Association (ISA). Thanks to our ISA leaders for bringing students together to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights, with Indian food, friends and classmates!❤️

#WeAreGSBS #Diwali

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

🌺 Science went tropical at Friday’s Therapeutics and Pharmacology Program Fall Retreat!

Hawaiian shirts and leis set the tone as students shared their research and heard from keynote speaker Carolyn J. Anderson, PhD, University of Tennessee–Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair for Nuclear Medicine: Radiopharmaceutical Therapies.

Congratulations to all of the poster and oral presentation award winners, as well as Anna DeBruine, recipient of the program’s Student Apple Award, and Ali Azhdarinia, PhD, recipient of the Dr. John S. McMurray Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award — and thank you to all of the students who shared their science and organized the event! 🌴🔬

#WeAreGSBS #Therapeutics #Pharmacology #BiomedicalScience @TAPatGSBS

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

🧬 Graduate School students were among the researchers sharing their science at last week’s fourth annual James P. Allison Institute Scientific Symposium, joining the broader cancer immunology and immunotherapy community for a day of new ideas, discussion and discovery.

Congratulations to Immunology PhD students Ricardo Gonzalez-Delgado and Annette Wu, who won awards in the poster competition!

🔬 Gonzalez-Delgado took first place for his research investigating how CCR7+ dendritic cells in tumors promote the accumulation of regulatory T cells, with the goal of identifying ways to reduce immunosuppression and improve cancer immunotherapy. He is mentored by Mauro Di Pilato, PhD.

🔬 Wu earned third place for her research on myeloid targeting antibody conjugates for pancreatic cancer immunotherapy. She is co-mentored by Wen Jiang, PhD; Betty Y.S. Kim, MD, PhD; and Benjamin R. Schrank, MD, PhD. This marks her third consecutive year placing in the symposium’s poster competition.

#WeAreGSBS #Immunology #CancerResearch #CancerImmunotherapy @ImmunologyGSBS

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

🔬 Why do some triple-negative breast cancers respond to chemotherapy while others do not?

For November’s Paper of the Month, UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Science PhD candidate Kate Cho explores research co-authored by Graduate School alumnus Yun Yan, PhD ’25, and published in Nature.

Conducted during Yan’s PhD training in the lab of Nicholas Navin, PhD, at UT MD Anderson, the research maps cancer cells and their surrounding tumor environment, revealing cellular and spatial patterns linked to chemotherapy response.

Now a postdoctoral researcher in the Navin Lab, Yan continues to pursue research with the potential to address clinical challenges and improve patient care.

Read Cho’s look at Yan's research and its potential impact: https://t.co/tieRW6C9Yo

#WeAreGSBS #UTMDAnderson #UTHealthHouston #PaperOfTheMonth #BreastCancerResearch

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

🧬 Exploring what’s possible with advanced single-cell data analysis and agentic AI.

Alongside presentations from 10x Genomics trainers, Graduate School PhD students Cole Ruoff and Fabiola Ester Lujan brought two different research questions to a recent advanced single-cell data analysis and agentic AI workshop hosted by the Association of Science Communication in collaboration with the Biomedical Data and AI-Driven Decision Sciences Program and 10x Genomics.

Ruoff shared his work using single-cell RNA sequencing to investigate tumor heterogeneity in metastatic prostate cancer and its relationship to clinical progression. Lujan presented research examining how CAMKK2 may influence the tumor immune microenvironment and drive prostate cancer progression.

Their research spotlights put the workshop’s tools into context, showing how single-cell approaches can help researchers examine cancer at greater depth.

Thank you to 10x Genomics for partnering with us to create this opportunity for Graduate School PhD students to learn from peers and experts and apply new approaches to their research.

#WeAreGSBS #CancerResearch #SingleCell

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

We’re grateful to Graduate School alumna BethLynn Maxwell, PhD ’80, JD, and Stephen Reed for their generosity and commitment to creating opportunities for the next generation of scientists and innovators.

#BiomedicalScience #UTHealthHouston #UTMDAnderson

[UTHealth Houston @UTHealthHouston]

What becomes possible when curiosity has room to grow?
Inspired by their own experiences, BethLynn Maxwell, PhD ’80, JD, and Stephen Reed are creating opportunities for graduate students and faculty researchers at UTHealth Houston.
Read their story: https://t.co/GT3G4kcGsL

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

What do current students wish they had known before their graduate school interviews?

Find out tomorrow during our final Discover Biomedicine session this season, as Graduate School students share firsthand perspectives on the interview experience and Associate Dean of Graduate Education Cherilynn R. Shadding, PhD, offers guidance on what to expect, how to prepare, and how to make the most of your interview.

Join us tomorrow at 3 p.m. and bring your questions!

🔗 Register: https://t.co/23M4sqT72B

#WeAreGSBS #DiscoverBiomedicine #UTMDAnderson #UTHealthHouston

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

🎃 Halloween, but make it MicroBOOology.

We’re spotlighting one of the Graduate School’s Halloween traditions with the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Program, where this year’s “Mutant Mayhem” theme brought out some seriously creative entries in their annual costume and door-decorating contests.

Congratulations to the contest winners — and thanks to everyone who brought “Mutant Mayhem” to life! 🕷️🧫

#WeAreGSBS #MicroBOOology #Microbiology #InfectiousDiseases @MIDatGSBS

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

🌊 Earlier this month, the Molecular and Translational Biology Program took science to the Boardwalk for their Fall Retreat at Kemah.

Student and faculty talks put research in the spotlight, while interactive breakout groups brought both together to exchange perspectives on publishing and grant writing, career paths, navigating the first year, and troubleshooting experiments.

The program community and first-year students also heard from keynote speaker Kristin Eckel-Mahan, PhD, program director and recipient of the 2026 John P. McGovern Award for Outstanding Teaching — with time to enjoy the Boardwalk and connect beyond the science.🧬

#WeAreGSBS #MolecularBiology #TranslationalResearch @MTBatGSBS

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

We’re grateful to Karin Loftin, PhD ’79, for creating new opportunities for students to build their expertise in immunology and microbiology while pursuing the scientific questions that interest them.

#WeAreGSBS #UTMDAnderson #UTHealthHouston #BiomedicalSciences #Microbiology #Immunology

[UTHealth Houston @UTHealthHouston]

Where can a passion for scientific discovery lead?
Karin Loftin, PhD ’79, followed her curiosity throughout her career. Now, she is helping the next generation of scientists explore those same curiosities and find answers of their own.
🔗: https://t.co/aTG6NOWCuk

[UT MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School @MDA_UTHGrad]

Physics first led Zeph Kaffey, PhD ‘26, to astrophysics and the study of quasars. But she wanted to use what she knew to make a more direct impact on people — a realization that led her to the Medical Physics Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Kaffey found opportunities to grow beyond her research — taking on leadership roles, helping shape the student experience, and building a strong and supportive community alongside her peers.

Now a 2026 Medical Physics PhD alumna, Kaffey is continuing her training through a clinical residency at the University of California San Diego, where she is building expertise in radiation oncology physics and taking on an increasingly direct role in patient care.

Read more about Kaffey’s path from graduate school to clinical residency: https://t.co/RKIa8RzLIL

#WeAreGSBS #UTMDAnderson #UTHealthHouston #MedicalPhysics #TMC #TexasMedicalCenter