Petra Dahms

PhD Candidate at @CUAnschutz @CUCancerBio
Lyons Lab || Studying epithelial invasion during mammary gland morphogenesis

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

Recently published a review in @Mammary_journal on lymphatic vasculature during mammary gland development. Check it out! https://t.co/9biEcQqNpx

[Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia @Mammary_journal]

📢Check out the latest review by @PetraDahms & @tracirlyons on lymphangiogenic factors and lymphatic remodeling events during #mammarygland morphogenesis and how they connect to #lympatics in #breastcancer. https://t.co/48SlLxru3N

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

"We can scan these histology slides onto the computer to then annotate and analyze the tumors. I then wrapped up my afternoon in lab gathering this data." #BestYouCANB #CANBStudentTakeover @PetraDahms

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

"This afternoon I spent some time looking at histology slides under the microscope. These slides contain tumor tissues stained for different molecules. The ones I looked at today are stained for E-cad, a cell adhesion marker." #BestYouCANB #CANBStudentTakeover @PetraDahms

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

"I also love watching hockey! Here I am at a game rooting for the Colorado @Avalanche." #BestYouCANB #CANBStudentTakeover @PetraDahms

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

"When I'm not in lab, I enjoy hiking in the Colorado rocks with my dog, Beverly. Here we are at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs." #BestYouCANB #CANBStudentTakeover @PetraDahms

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

"Next I had lab meeting with @LyonsPrideCU. We get to share our data from the week and brainstorm for future experiments." #BestYouCANB #CANBStudentTakeover @PetraDahms

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

"Started my day off with some tissue culture. I grow breast cancer cells to use in experiments where we test different treatments and drugs to see how they change the way the cancer cells act." #BestYouCANB #CANBStudentTakeover @PetraDahms

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

"Our lab is interested in a molecule known as semaphorin7a, which we have demonstrated promotes cell motility and invasion in breast cancer and during mammary morphogenesis." #BestYouCANB #CANBStudentTakeover @PetraDahms

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

@CUCancerBio "As a student in @tracirlyons lab, my research focuses on breast cancer progression and how cancerous epithelial cells can signal to the microenvironment to promote invasion and metastasis." #BestYouCANB #CANBStudentTakeover @PetraDahms

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

Head over to @CUCancerBio to see my student takeover!

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

Hi everyone! My name is Petra Dahms and I am a 4th year @CUCancerBio graduate student! I'll be doing a twitter takeover today so stay tuned to see what I get up to in lab and hear a bit about my research!

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

@Its_PhoebeC You got this!! You're going to do great!!

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

@kristineileen7 Thank you, Kristin 😭❤️

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

@karliswenson Thank you, Karli!!

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

Congrats to @PetraDahms in Dr. Traci Lyons' lab for passing her comprehensive exam and advancing to PhD candidacy! Great work!!

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

I will be at the CANB Info Session for the Biomed Expo this Friday at 12pm! Come by and learn about our amazing program at @CUAnschutz and meet some of the awesome faculty and students in @CUCancerBio! #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #ScienceTwitter #phdlife #STEMeducation

[CU Anschutz Cancer Biology Graduate Program @CUCancerBio]

Join our Cancer Biology Virtual Information Session this Friday 10/22 at 12pm MT! Registration and more below:

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

@karliswenson It definitely still seems very nerdy to me to be so into science, and agreed that I feel like I'm bragging about my grades or my academic ranking, just like in high school. Fingers crossed that it gets better from here. I'm glad that I'm not alone!!

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

Lately I've been hyper-aware about how pretentious it sounds to tell non-research people that I do cancer biology research. It has been making me want to belittle the importance of what I study, or even lie about my choice in career, when I know I shouldn't.

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

@karliswenson Okay I think you are spot on. Higher education is definitely a privilege, and I feel this way mostly when I'm talking with family or friends who never had education beyond high school.

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

My questions are, do men in research have this problem? Is this part of my imposter syndrome or something different? Is there any other way to word what I do that doesn't come across as pretentious? Or should I not worry about it because it's literally just in my own head lol

[Petra Dahms @PetraDahms]

Why do I want to not tell people that I do cancer biology research, when 1) it is literally my job? and 2) it IS important? I'm tired of feeling like I have to minimize myself and my accomplishments just so I don't accidentally come across as "better than".