For , the best way to make progress and major scientific breakthroughs is by working as a team.
A self-proclaimed 鈥渢eam science person,鈥� Hoadley doesn鈥檛 just work on research with three or four other scientists, she publishes papers with 400-1,000 others dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of cancer. She absorbs feedback from those working alongside her, allowing her to look at problems from different angles. And the passions and interests of donors also come into play, raising new questions that Hoadley wants to answer.
鈥淔eedback is great. Different backgrounds are beneficial, and they can change the direction you鈥檙e taking,鈥� she said. 鈥淓veryone鈥檚 slightly different area of expertise helps our perspective. I鈥檓 always interested in hearing their views, it might help jog a different question or clue or way to analyze the data we have.鈥�
Path to breast cancer research
Hoadley started her research career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, studying plant physiology to improve the cold hardiness of peach trees to protect them from freezing temperatures. It was only after choosing 黑料网-Chapel Hill for graduate school that she found the right team for her, starting with her mentor, 黑料网 Lineberger鈥檚聽.
鈥淚t set me on this path to study breast cancer, which is the biggest component of my lab,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t the time, I had no personal connection, no family history of cancer. I really liked the science and mentorship I got from Chuck, so it led me into the cancer field.鈥�
Research and collaboration
Hoadley鈥檚 research focuses on genetic and genomic analyses of breast cancer data, and she had an active role in The Cancer Genome Atlas project, which analyzed more than 10,000 samples from 33 tumor types. She is collaborating with a fellow 黑料网 Lineberger researcher,聽, on understanding disparities in breast cancer, using patient data from clinical trials and the聽, that looks at high breast cancer mortality rates in Black women and seeing if there are tumor-specific characteristics that are linked to race or mutations that may be caused by defects in DNA repair, UV exposure or smoking habits.
Hoadley Lab鈥檚 role in breast cancer research
罢丑别听聽analyzes patient data from clinical trials to better classify aggressive basal-like breast cancers. These cancers look differently on a molecular level compared to other breast cancers, according to Hoadley, and her research looked at tumor specific features and the role of immune cells that surround these tumors. Funded by donor support, her team was able to sequence the tumors, classify genes and other indicators expressed in the tumors, and analyzed additional patient data to see if they could predict a response to chemotherapy and improve survival outcomes.
鈥淥nly half of patients are responsive [to chemotherapy.] There鈥檚 no good way of telling who will respond and who will not,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a desperate need to identify people who will be responsive and identify better treatments for those who will not respond鈥�
Hoadley hopes the approach will help improve outcomes for these subsets of patients that are responsive to treatment. She and her team will look at race, response to therapy and survival rates, and figure out better ways to treat the cancer.
鈥淚鈥檓 so appreciative of funding to let me expand upon the work that I鈥檓 doing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly helpful, and I鈥檒l have a paper out in the next year or so on this work. I鈥檓 so incredibly grateful that people are supporting the research we鈥檙e doing at 黑料网 Lineberger.鈥�
Philanthropy supports and drives research
Philanthropic support is key to bringing these teams together, and even inspiring some research projects altogether. For Hoadley, interactions make all the difference in her work. She has given tours of her lab, and values the time spent interacting with potential supporters who ask thoughtful questions and get to know her work first-hand.
鈥淲e get to engage a lot of survivors and advocates in the community and help show people what their funds are doing and how we鈥檙e using them locally to advance cancer science,鈥� she said.
Hoadley said the ability to share her research with more people is important, particularly in the breast cancer community, since there are a lot of patients and advocates who are very knowledgeable.
鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful to see them not be afraid to ask questions and feel more connected to our research,鈥澛� she said. 鈥淚t gets us out of our scientific bubble.鈥�
Importance of supporting pilot projects
Sometimes the philanthropic support or interest in a certain project may be smaller but can lead to bigger things down the line for Hoadley and her team.
鈥淓ven if it鈥檚 small or doesn鈥檛 have as big of an initial impact, philanthropy helps support you as you go for larger funding,鈥� she said. 鈥淪upporting pilot projects is so important. We鈥檙e always developing new projects, and there鈥檚 no baseline data. You have to get that first, before getting bigger grants.鈥�
Boosting overlooked areas of research
Hoadley said research is also a field where special interests are welcome, particularly if donors are passionate about a certain disease type. When donors designate money in specific areas, it can help boost overlooked areas of research or even inspire researchers to delve into questions they haven鈥檛 yet addressed.
鈥淲e often hear that there鈥檚 available funding support and would like to have someone look at it. We ask ourselves 鈥榳hat projects can we do and fit our research niche to help support their desire to see results in this tumor type?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to find funding for rare cancer types, and someone who wants to support that direction is something that can really help. It gives us the opportunity to explore new cancer.鈥�
Article originally appeared on the 黑料网 Lineberger website.