Title:Student uses novel technologies in tumor biology labs

Zoe Malchiodi (MS’19, G’24), who earned her Ph.D. in tumor biology in May, has always been interested in the way tumors outsmart the body. Now she’s performing award-winning research on pancreatic cancer cells and the immune system.

Recently named the 2023–4 Matt Riddle Scholar for the Metropolitan Washington Chapter (MWC) of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation, Malchiodi was awarded $15,000 to complete her doctoral dissertation research.

For 55 years in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, the MWC of the ARCS Foundation has provided over $7 million in financial resources to more than 600 scholars advancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

“It is a great honor to have the importance of my work recognized,” Malchiodi says. The foundation has been supporting Georgetown University STEM graduate students since 1973 and undergraduate students since 2012. Currently, the award helps Malchiodi cover the costs of her experiments performing novel spatial analyses of natural killer (NK) cells—the white blood cells involved in eliminating diseased cells—to assess gene expression in human pancreatic cancer samples.

Mentorship encourages creativity

Malchiodi believes NK cells have the potential to change how we approach developing new therapeutic tools to treat pancreatic cancer.

“I have always been interested in examining factors within tumors that enhance cancer cells to grow,” she notes. “My mentor, Dr. Louis Weiner [the director of Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center], taught me how to be more creative with my research ideas and encouraged me to always use novel technologies that emerge to help answer important research questions.”

“Pancreatic cancer is so difficult to treat,” she notes. Between 2013 and 2019 the American Cancer Society reported pancreatic cancer’s five-year survival rate at 50% overall. “I wanted to further understand how our immune system—particularly NK cells—function in this disease and if there are possible ways to enhance their anti-tumor immune effects.”

“Hopefully,” Malchiodi says, “our findings can also be applicable to other aggressive solid tumors.”

Growing her passion

Malchiodi has followed her interest in understanding disease over the course of her studies. After graduating from Boston University’s biochemistry and molecular biology bachelor’s program in 2016 and working for two years at University of Miami as a research associate, she began her doctoral research.

While at Georgetown, she published several papers supporting her thesis and received the 2022 NCI Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for doctoral candidates researching and training in a scientific-related field (with priority given to cancer researchers).

As she earned her doctorate in Georgetown’s tumor biology program in the Biomedical Graduate Education program, Malchiodi completed a two-year rigorous course schedule focused on the clinical-translational facets of cancer biology.

She particularly enjoyed the Current Topics in Cancer Research course, a “journal club-style class where students learn to critically evaluate recent publications in the literature in different areas of research in the tumor biology field.”

Recently, she presented a paper about “CAR-T cells [T cells from patients engineered with genes to target protein receptors specific to their cancer cells] and potential ways to increase their potency during manufacturing and therapy. It was interesting to discuss the research presented in the manuscript and how it can be applicable to a variety of cancers.”

Malchiodi says the course “allows us to be up-to-date with current advances in the field and teaches us the importance of understanding the rationale behind groundbreaking research in the field.” Ultimately, Malchiodi’s commitment to researching tumor biology is driven by her enjoyment of pursuing scientific curiosity through rigorous experimentation. “I wanted to understand tumor cells’ mechanisms to potentially find a weakness to target,” she says, “and then we can share our knowledge with others inside and outside our field.”

Importance of storytelling

Malchiodi advises Georgetown students looking to apply for research grants or awards “to contextualize your research in the big picture as it’s easy to get lost in the nuances of your own work.”

“Once you understand that rationale, it’s easier to share your story to a broader audience as scientific communication and storytelling is an important aspect of grant writing.”

Malchiodi says that Georgetown has been a wonderful place to learn and grow. “I’ve met many people inside and outside the biomedical sciences,” she says. “I’ve learned how to be a better communicator about my research and how to think critically about the impact my research has in a broader context.”