Megan Breeden Wachsmann
MS4, MD-Master’s in Clinical Sciences Candidate
The University of Texas at Austin, BS Biochemistry 2004
Past research experiences
Megan’s first experience with research took place during a high school internship that ultimately developed into a 4-year undergraduate research project that explored the inhibition of HIV-1 with aptamer therapy. This work led to her first publication. She then became a research assistant at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory where she was exposed to the immediate impact of research on patient care. During medical school Megan continued to develop her interest in oncology research with a summer project in Dr. James Amatruda’s lab. To broaden her formal research training she has entered the Master’s in Clinical Science program.
Current areas of interest / research
Megan remains extremely interested in oncology research and in the development of novel treatments, particularly in the field of pancreatic cancer. With rigorous laboratory training and the completion of medical school she should be prepared to undertake a career combining both research and clinical care. Currently, Megan is working with Drs. Ellen Vitetta, John Mansour and Rolf Brekken in the Cancer Immunobiology Center on a project titled; “Dual targeting of angiogenesis and tumor cells in a xenograft model of human pancreatic cancer”.
Current Professional Trajectory
Megan has a strong desire to be a clinician-scientist who fully understands both medical practice and rigorous translational/clinical research. She wants to be an oncologist who specializes in pancreatic cancer and develop new therapeutic treatments in animal models and then translate them into patient care
"Personal Words of Wisdom"
These are “borrowed words of wisdom” from Arnold O. Beckman, “Everything in moderation, even moderation”. It is important to remember that no matter what you dream of accomplishing there is even more to experience. Don’t forget to enjoy your life, family and friends. Success, in my mind, is not what you achieve but what you leave behind. ~Megan
Meetings and Abstracts
2011 National Predoctoral Clinical Research Training Program Meeting
Oral: “Dual Targeting of Tumor Cells and Angiogenesis in a Xenograft Model of Human Pancreatic Cancer”
2011American Federation for Medical Research Southern Regional Meeting
Poster: “Characterization of Human Pancreatic Cell Lines for Targeted Therapy in a Xenograft Model of Human Pancreatic Cancer”
49th Annual Medical Student Research Forum 2011
Poster: “Characterization of Human Pancreatic Cell Lines for Targeted Therapy in a Xenograft Model of Human Pancreatic Cancer”
48th Annual Medical Student Research Forum 2010
Poster: “Dual targeting of Angiogenesis and Tumor Cells in a Xenograft Model of Human Pancreatic Cancer”
Publications
1. Rapid clonal shifts in response to kinase therapy in chronic myelogenous leukemia are identified by quantitation mutation assays.
Yin CC, Cortes J, Galbincea J, Reddy N, Breeden M, Jabbour E, Luthra R, Jones D.
Cancer Sci. 2010 Sep;101(9):2005-10. PMID: 20557306
2. Kinase domain point mutations in Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia emerge after therapy with BCR-ABL kinase inhibitors.
Jones D, Thomas D, Yin CC, O'Brien S, Cortes JE, Jabbour E, Breeden M, Giles FJ, Zhao W, Kantarjian HM.
Cancer. 2008 Sep 1;113(5):985-94.
PMID: 18615627 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
3. Splenic marginal zone lymphomas are characterized by loss of interstitial regions of chromosome 7q, 7q31.32 and 7q36.2 that include the protection of telomere 1 (POT1) and sonic hedgehog (SHH) genes.
Vega F, Cho-Vega JH, Lennon PA, Luthra MG, Bailey J, Breeden M, Jones D, Medeiros LJ, Luthra R.
Br J Haematol. 2008 May 19. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 18492102
4. Characteristics and outcomes of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia and T315I mutation following failure of imatinib mesylate therapy.
Jabbour E, Kantarjian H, Jones D, Breeden M, Garcia-Manero G, O'Brien S, Ravandi F, Borthakur G, Cortes J.
Blood. 2008 Jul 1;112(1):53-5. Epub 2008 Apr 10.
5. Dynamics of BCR-ABL kinase domain mutations in chronic myeloid leukemia after sequential treatment with multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Cortes J, Jabbour E, Kantarjian H, Yin CC, Shan J, O'Brien S, Garcia-Manero G, Giles F, Breeden M, Reeves N, Wierda WG, Jones D.
Blood. 2007 Dec 1;110(12):4005-11. Epub 2007 Sep 4. PMID: 17785585
6. Electrospray ionization of nucleic acid aptamer/small molecule complexes for screening aptamer selectivity.
Keller KM, Breeden MM, Zhang J, Ellington AD, Brodbelt JS.
J Mass Spectrom. 2005 Oct;40(10):1327-37. PMID: 16217837
7. Aptamers: prospects in therapeutics and biomedicine.
Yan AC, Bell KM, Breeden MM, Ellington AD.
Front Biosci. 2005 May 1;10:1802-27. Review.PMID: 15769669