Alumni Stories & Spotlights

Prashasnika Gehlot, Ph.D.
Director, Research Planning & Development
Applied Cancer Science Institute
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas

Dream the biggest dreams and follow them
After completing her postdoctoral fellowship in Cancer Biology and Translational Research at MD Anderson in 2016 and serving as a project scientist for The Jackson Laboratory in 2017, Prashasnika Gehlot, Ph.D., knew she would find her way back to the MD Anderson campus one day.

Read more about Dr. Gehlot.

Hussein Abbas, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Leukemia
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas

From trainee to faculty: For leukemia specialist and researcher, all roads lead back to MD Anderson
On a Saturday in late February, Hussein Abbas, M.D., Ph.D., celebrated becoming a U.S. citizen. It was nearly two decades in the making and the culmination of a journey that began when he fled a bombing in his hometown of Beirut to begin working toward his Ph.D. at MD Anderson in 2006.

Read the full story on Hussein Abbas, M.D., Ph.D. published on our Cancerwise blog

Brittany C. Parker Kerrigan, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Research Planning & Development
Department of Neurosurgery
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas

Connections: STEM for all and a passion for pitching
One of the earliest memories of Brittany Parker Kerrigan, Ph.D., is plucking bugs from her family's pool and trying to bring them back to life.


Read the full story on Brittany C. Parker Kerrigan, Ph.D. published on Inside MD Anderson

Peter C. Hu, Ph.D.
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
School of Health Professions
Houston, Texas

Dr. Hu wears many hats at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center School of Health Professions. He oversees research initiatives for the School of Health Professions. He is responsible for providing strategic direction to grow school programs, including recruitment and retention of students and the teaching faculty. He also oversees the diagnostic molecular science-based school programs.
 

Read more about Peter C. Hu, Ph.D.

Marta M. Alonso, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Clinica Universidad de Navarra
Pamplona (Navarra), Spain

Dr. Alonso was raised in the small town of Lodosa (Navarra) in Spain. As a child, she described herself as a "happy camper" with a normal childhood. As she began to think about what she wanted to do with her life, she knew she wanted to be in a career where her work made a positive difference in the lives of others. She gravitated toward biological sciences, and it was a high school teacher who helped "spark her light" in deciding to pursue a research career.


Read more about Marta M. Alonso, Ph.D.