Page 7 - The Hormel Institute 2024 Annual Report

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Assistant Professor
Background and Experience
I am a registered dietitian with a MS in Clinical Nutrition from Rush University Medical Center and a PhD in Human Nutrition from Cornell University. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Cancer Prevention and Control at Northwestern University. Prior to arriving at HI, I was an Assistant Professor at a small liberal arts college with a secondary faculty position at Northwestern University.
I am trained in clinical nutrition, physiology, nutrition epidemiology, and biochemistry. I began my research program 4 years ago, with a focus on applying my training to develop technology-assisted diet interventions.
Why I Chose The Hormel Institute
The call to add to the Institute’s growing biomedical research team was partic- ularly interesting to me as I use nutrition informatics to develop personalized nutrition interventions across the cancer care continuum. I work parallel to biological sciences; I believe that effective and scalable precision nutrition interventions should merge concepts related to behavior, informatics, and biological outcomes.
HI also provides researchers with the flexibility to pursue their research interests. They have major partnerships in clinical, academic, and industry settings, and there are several resources to support their faculty when conducting research. I value the dedication of the administrative staff and grants office as they have
been instrumental in supporting research operations.
Outreach to the community was also something that I wanted from my next place of employment. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to talk to the community and learn about what they want and need regarding nutrition resources. HI has a very well-run Community Outreach and Education department which has been instrumental in introducing research to the community and assisting with human research studies.
Assistant Professor
Background and Experience
I grew up in Byron, Minnesota, graduating
in 1999. I completed my undergraduate
and doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where I worked with Dr. David Largaespada on in vivo genetic screens to identify driver genes and therapeutic targets for various pediatric cancers (nerves, blood, and bone), publishing in top journals, including a first-author paper in Nature Genetics. In 2013, I began postdoctoral research with Professor Gilbertson at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, studying resting membrane potential’s role in pediatric brain tumors
and earning the Garwood Named Fellow-
ship. I was awarded a Marie Sklodowská-Curie Individual Fellowship in 2015 which allowed me to continue with Professor Gilbertson at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, where I discovered that a single ion channel, NALCN, regulates epithelial cell dissemination, fundamentally reshaping our under- standing of metastasis and resulting in three patents on metastasis detection, anti-metastatic therapies, and cellular therapies. In February 2024, I joined the HI faculty to lead an independent team studying metastatic disease origins and advancing diagnostics and treatments to prevent cancer progression.
Why I Chose The Hormel Institute
Our main reason for returning to the U.S. after nearly nine years in the U.K. was to reconnect with family, especially for our four-year-old daughter to grow up near relatives in Byron, the Twin Cities, and Fairmont. With this goal in mind,
I sought a university in the Midwest that aligned with both my personal and professional aspirations, ultimately choosing The Hormel Institute. The Institute offered proximity to family and a rare opportunity to lead cutting-edge research in cancer metastasis, advancing curative treatments while fostering public understanding of cancer and nurturing future scientists. The Institute’s strong partnership with the Austin community, particularly in supporting STEM education, resonated deeply with my vision for impactful cancer research and education. Supported by both The Hormel Institute and the Hormel Foundation, the decision was clear—it was only a matter of how soon I could start!