We all have friends and family members whose lives have been affected by cancer. Cancer therapy has made many strides, but we still need to do much better. As a researcher in the field of biology, I have learned how intricate and complex the human body is.

First, you need to know how biology works when in good health, before you can understand what is different in a disease and, then, how to treat it. As a graduate student in the Netherlands, I was intrigued by the therapies available for the treatment of cancer. However, when I learned about the long-term side effects that can occur, I knew this was where I wanted to focus my research.

After graduation, it took me to UAMS and the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute where I could continue this work. Our long-term goal is to find effective cancer treatments that have minimal side effects. This is of course not an easy task and it requires collaborations with clinicians and scientists from many other disciplines, which makes the work even more rewarding. I am so glad to see how much science has progressed and enjoy working with many wonderful people at UAMS.

Marjan Boerma, Ph.D.
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My name is Jesus Delgado-Calle, Ph.D.. I am a basic scientist at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. I always knew I wanted to work in health care. Growing up, I watched my grandmother receive treatment for breast cancer and admired the way doctors cared for her.

This first experience with cancer caused me to develop a passion and desire to become involved in the oncology community. However, I was unsure how I wanted to be involved in this community. In college, I learned the importance of observation and logical analysis through a scientific lens, which triggered me to pursue a Ph.D. in Health Sciences. Around that time, my father was diagnosed with cancer. Caring for my father made me realize the perpetual fight between tumor cells and our body through adaptation and resistance.

Since then, I have been committed to studying how tumors are formed and why they become resistant and come back despite the improvements in therapies. Knowing that what we investigate in the laboratory can translate into clinical trials and have real-life implications for cancer patients is the most rewarding part of my job.