Meet the Staff: Leigh Robinson

Special Events Coordinator Leigh Robinson brings a people-first mindset to her work at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Whether coordinating major events like Lab Coat Ceremony or brainstorming ways to engage students in meaningful programming, she helps shape experiences that bring the Graduate School community together. With a background in nonprofit event planning and a passion for creating connections, Robinson is building moments that matter.

With Kopchick Fellowship support, Maliha Munir’s research aims to make immune cells more effective against cancer

Cancer Biology PhD student Maliha Munir is using support from the Charlene Kopchick Fellowship to engineer natural killer (NK) cells that can withstand the harsh environments of solid tumors. Her goal is to create more resilient immune-based therapies, advancing cancer immunotherapy from lab research toward real-world treatments. 

August’s Paper of the Month reveals how the RAS/ERK pathway orchestrates the opening notes of life

Timing is everything in development — and a new study reveals what happens when key molecular signals strike too soon. In a recent Cell Reports paper, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences graduate Han Bit Baek, PhD, explores how mistimed activation of ERK during oocyte maturation disrupts early embryonic development in C. elegans, shedding light on the molecular dynamics that may influence reproductive success in humans.