Meet Kirsten Tracy of the University of Vermont. As part of her first CSHL meeting participation, the postdoctoral fellow in The Stein/Lian Laboratory presented a poster entitled “Mitotically associated long non-coding RNA MANCR supports the metastatic breast cancer phenotype,” and her poster presentation went well. She received “a fair amount of interest…and fantastic feedback and new ideas for avenues to follow-up on.”

Furthermore, her overall meeting experience at the Biology of Cancer: Microenvironment & Metastasis Meeting is proving to be as productive as her poster presentation:

From friends and colleagues that have attended other CSHL meetings, I had heard that the atmosphere is scientifically intense yet still relaxed. I have found this to be absolutely true. There has been a lot of science to take in and ideas to discuss, but there has also been plenty of time to actually get to know the people you are having those discussions with.

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
My research is focused on identifying and characterizing long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) involved in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. I am particularly interested in lncRNAs that are specifically expressed in the triple negative breast cancer subtype.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?
Towards the end of my graduate work studying autophagy, it was clear that I wanted to move away from metabolism and had gotten interested in epigenetic regulation of cell fate. I had previously studied the functional effects of signaling transduction pathways in cancer metastasis, and really enjoyed the challenge of trying to learn how and why metastases form. Combining my interests, I decided to interrogate the epigenetic mechanisms that contribute to cancer progression and metastasis.

How did your scientific journey begin?
I was one of those kids that wanted to be some kind of -ologist - always trying to classify rocks I found, digging for dinosaur bones, or studying little critters in the yard. However, it wasn’t until I took a cancer biology course taught by Dr. Ruibao Ren at Brandeis University that I found my passion for cancer. The course inspired me to work as an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Ren’s lab, and I’ve been at the bench ever since.

Was there something specific about the Biology of Cancer: Microenvironment & Metastasis Meeting that drew you to attend?
The broad range of topics related to cancer microenvironment and metastasis to be covered as well as the fantastic speakers list drew me to attend this meeting.

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting?
This meeting has really enforced how complex cancer is as a disease. So often, for ease, we perform our experiments on cell lines grown on a petri dish, then are surprised or disappointed when the cells behave differently if put into a more physiological context. There have been many fantastic presentations on the role that the tumor microenvironment plays in supporting tumor growth and progression. So the key takeaway for me has been the importance of studying tumor cells within the context of their environment (or as close as we can replicate).

What and/or how will you apply what you’ve learned from the meeting to your work?
At our poster session, I noticed that my neighbor had already done a newer technique that I have been getting ready to perform. She was able to provide some hints and modifications to the protocol to make it successful.

If someone curious in attending this meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I would definitely encourage them to attend this meeting especially if they want to get up to date on topics related to cancer biology or want feedback on their work from leaders in the field.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
I have really enjoyed taking in the sites around campus and learning some of the history of CSHL.

Thank you to Kirsten for being this week's featured visitor. To meet other featured scientists - and discover the wide range of science that takes part in a CSHL meeting or course - go here.