麻豆原创鈥檚 Anna Nagel is discovering why the body forms benign tumors that cause young people to lose hearing and suffer balance issues. Her research into that condition, Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), recently earned her a Young Investigator Award from the Children鈥檚 Tumor Foundation.
The $150,000 award recognizes young NF researchers across the globe who have made groundbreaking findings early in their careers.
Nagel is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Cristina Fern谩ndez-Valle, a Pegasus Professor who leads the Neuroscience Division at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences.鈥疐ern谩ndez-Valle has dedicated her research to NF2 and finding drugs that can induce cell death in these tumors.
Born in Poland, Nagel鈥檚 interest in medicine stemmed from her childhood, where she spent time in hospitals helping her sister, who suffered from myopathy, a disorder that causes severe muscle weakness. That inspired her to earn a bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 in biotechnology and a doctoral degree in breast cancer and tumor microenvironments at the University of Gdansk. She then earned a Fulbright BioLAB Scholarship to join the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation to study the genetics of autoimmune diseases like lupus.鈥疉fter two years, she wished to return to cancer research and joined Fern谩ndez-Valle in 2022.
While NF2 tumors are benign, Fern谩ndez-Valle鈥檚 lab is testing existing, FDA-approved cancer drugs to see if they can kill NF2 tumors. In addition to hearing loss and balance issues, the tumors 鈥� called vestibular schwannomas 鈥� can cause patients to have difficulty controlling facial expressions, ringing in the ears, and dizziness. While the tumors can be removed surgically, they often grow back quickly and worse than before.
Nagel says she chose to work with Fern谩ndez-Valle because 鈥渟he sees the research as translational. We want to give back to the community.鈥�
With the award, Nagel will identify the tumors鈥� internal cellular workings and the best way to kill them. She will present her latest findings at the 2024 Global NF Conference in Brussels later this month.
Her advice to young researchers is to stay open to new avenues for pursuing scientific discoveries.
鈥淏e open-minded. Apply for many things,鈥� she says. 鈥淒on鈥檛 be discouraged when you get rejected. Being a scientist is a great opportunity. There are great science facilities all around the world. Just have fun.鈥�
