Therapeutics & Pharmacology PhD student Anna DeBruine has been awarded the pre-doctoral fellowship in the UTHealth Innovation in Cancer Prevention Research Training Program, funded by the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). This fellowship supports DeBruine's research in Vihang Narkar, PhD's lab on cancer cachexia, a muscle wasting disease associated with multiple types of cancer. 

Combined interests guide cancer prevention research  

DeBruine’s research project began with collaboration. Narkar, her Principal Investigator, has spent years studying degenerative muscle diseases like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive, heritable muscle disease caused by a mutation in the dystrophin gene. When she joined Narkar’s lab, DeBruine sought to investigate the effects of diet and exercise on cancer prevention and progression. Together, she and Narkar combined interests and designed a project researching muscles in cancer models aimed at discovering how cachexia can be therapeutically prevented by targeting specific muscle receptors. “Preventing cachexia will allow patients to remain healthier for longer, improving quality of life and allowing them to receive critical cancer treatments,” says DeBruine. 

Quality of care, quality of life 

Driven to improve quality of life for cancer patients, DeBruine hopes to pioneer discoveries that address the mental, physical, and emotional toll that a diagnosis takes on patients, families, and caregivers. She also aims to work with scientists across diverse disciplines throughout her career to pursue unconventional avenues for cancer care. Standard treatments, while effective, can also be destructive to patients, according to DeBruine. She wants to explore treatments beyond chemotherapy and radiation that will heal patients without taking a heavy toll on their bodies.  

DeBruine also wants to raise awareness about prevention through public health initiatives. “Public health is underestimated as a preventative tool and has saved more lives than all the medical treatments combined,” she says. Improving the relationship between the research community and the public can build trust in science, particularly in underserved communities. This trust, DeBruine says, leads to a more educated population and ultimately lower disease rates and higher quality of life.  

The right place 

“I fell in love with the Texas Medical Center when I was here for an internship during one summer of my undergraduate degree,” says DeBruine. The MD Anderson Summer Undergraduate Research Program, which has since been rebranded to CATALYST, gave DeBruine the opportunity to work with Di Zhao, PhD, as a research intern, studying therapeutic approaches for treating prostate cancer metastasis. This work showed her how transformative and rewarding research can be and inspired her to pursue the field as a career. With her heart set on a PhD, she selected the Graduate School due to its world-class faculty and commitment to supporting and creating opportunities for its students. “Performing research surrounded by groundbreaking discoveries and cutting-edge medical care is very special and reminds me every day that I am in the right place,” she says.  

DeBruine encourages new students to see their first year as a time to figure out what’s right for them. “It’s an opportunity to really explore where you fit here and what you want to spend the next five to six years doing,” she says. She adds that finding out who you want to spend those years with is even more important. Attending as many events as possible and taking time to reflect and explore before committing to a program is the best way to discover the right niche, she says.  

Looking ahead with gratitude 

As she continues her research and looks toward the future, DeBruine is grateful for the support she’s received at the Graduate School. Her fellow scientists, Principal Investigator, and those she works with in the Therapeutics & Pharmacology program have all helped shape her into the researcher she is today. She is especially thankful to the directors of the CPRIT training program, she says, for their belief in her and her project, and she is honored to have the support of the fellowship to further her work.  

DeBruine was also the recent recipient of the Ralph B. Arlinghaus, PhD Scholarship to help further her educational goals at the Graduate School.