Women in STEM 2024: Jessica Foster, MD, Assistant Professor, Center for Childhood Cancer Research

I'm Dr. Jessica Foster. I'm an assistant professor in the division of Oncology, specifically within the section of Neuro Oncology, and I'm a physician scientist. So I both see patients and have a translational laboratory. My research focuses on pediatric brain and spinal cord tumors. Specifically, we are trying to improve outcomes by investigating a new way of using the immune system to attack these tumors.

We are using chimeric antigen receptor CAR T cells which have had a lot of success for other cancers including leukemia. And I'm trying to bring that same success to pediatric brain and spinal cord tumors, which are the leading cause of death in cancer patients in pediatrics.

I was fortunate to work with and get to know Doctor Kati Kariko, who just won the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for her work in mRNA that led to the COVID vaccine. And so, I want to pass on a message that she passed on to me, which is don't let anyone tell you no if you believe in something. If you have the science, and you have the data in front of you, it doesn't matter how many papers get rejected, how many grants get rejected. Stick with it and go with your gut.