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Keywords: cancer survivor, cancer researcher, bioengineering
Catherine Applegate is a postdoctoral researcher at the Beckman Institute and a graduate of the Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) Tissue Microenvironment (TiME) Training Program. She writes here about her own experience with cancer has transformed her perspective on the role of bioengineering in cancer research.
Bioengineering combines biology and other sciences, mathematics, and diverse areas of engineering into a synthetic whole to solve medical problems. The origins and definitions surrounding the terms “bioengineering,” or “biomedical engineering,” are nebulous. Some would go back as far as 3000 BC when Imhotep, the engineer of the first pyramid, also practiced as a physician. Or perhaps we would move further forward to 1780 AD to Luigi Galvani’s studies of animal electricity, wherein he observed that frog legs twitched when sparked with electricity, inspiring the classic tale of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Or just one century later to 1895 when Wilhem Conrad Röntgen discovered X-rays and subsequently donated his Nobel Prize winnings to his university and refused to patent his discovery on the grounds that all people should benefit from biomedical imaging. Scientists have clearly been merging biology and engineering for thousands of years, but it was only in the decades following WWII that bioengineering was officially established as its own discipline.
Catherine Applegate and BIOE PhD student Goodluck Okoro
Personally, I am grateful to be a cancer research scientist during such a time when bioengineering advancements are moving at such a fast pace. Chemotherapy was initiated in the 1940s, which, as we know, is just calculated poisoning with the goal being to deliver just enough poison to kill the cancer but not the patient. Forty years later, bioengineering advancements led to the development of immunotherapies that more effectively target cancers and cause less damage to healthy tissues to lead not only to better therapeutic outcomes but also to improved patient quality of life. My dad worked at Genentech as an early robotics specialist, where he worked on fixing and maintaining the instruments that produced and packaged Herceptin, which was one of the earlier immunotherapies to be FDA-approved for treatment of HER2+ breast cancers and which marked a paradigm shift in treating aggressive subtypes of breast cancer. Who could then imagine that, 20 years later, his daughter would be reaping the benefits of the work he was part of.
I entered the world of bioengineering research during a chaotic phase in my life, one which continues to ebb and flow as I have recently experienced my 4th personal cancer diagnosis with my 3rd unique cancer. My own cancer treatment during the final year of my PhD, during which I was studying the impact of nutrition on cancer, was so inspirational and motivational, as it led me to form a deep and personal appreciation for how bioengineering was being applied to save my own life. I experienced first-hand what an improvement immunotherapy was over the more established and toxic chemotherapy. I was still sick with immunotherapy, but my body wasn’t shutting down like it started to after chemotherapy. As an outspoken cancer research advocate, I continue to see how bioengineering could be further advanced to improve outcomes and lives for fellow cancer patients.
I am appreciative of the department of bioengineering here at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for harboring a diverse set of determined scientific leaders who encourage collaboration and innovation. This encouragement enables me to work on projects I feel passionate about and which can be quickly translated to a clinical setting if successful. Studying during my postdoc in the bioengineering department under extremely intelligent and supportive mentors has shaped my future path as a scientist by showing me a new way to study cancer, one which will enable me to have a quantitatively wide and meaningful impact. I am excited and honored to be granted the gift of being on both a scientific and personal journey with cancer and bioengineering, during which I get to experience and benefit from its clinical effects, provide my own biological samples for research in the hopes of helping future patients, and contribute to the development of new and improved cancer therapeutics through my own research. I hope to share the patient experience with other cancer researchers and, through bioengineering and other interdisciplinary fields, work together to design better, less toxic therapies to enable all cancer patients to experience less difficulties associated with their current treatment regimens. I am grateful for my own experience and the advanced therapy I received as a direct result of bioengineering advancements. To me, bioengineering research is a path for me to pay it forward.
Bioengineering also represents a wider path for science moving forward. In an era where the convergence of diverse disciplines is imperative for addressing complex scientific challenges, bioengineering stands as a beacon of collaborative innovation, heralding a future where interdisciplinary voices unite to redefine the boundaries of human health. I consider it a great privilege to be alive during this notable time, witnessing the remarkable advancements being made in bioengineering. Being able to participate in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Bioengineering Program, knowing its profound impact on addressing critical human health challenges, fills me with honor and gratitude. I am beyond grateful to the brilliant scientists of this program whose innovative work has brought forth clinically significant advancements, particularly impacting individuals like myself with chronic illnesses. Your dedication to improving human health through bioengineering inspires hope for countless patients worldwide.
Editor’s notes:
This story was written by Catherine Applegate and first appeared here on the Department of Bioengineering website.