Sapana Vora, PhD Candidate

Only July 7th, 2009, I successfully defended my thesis proposal and became a PhD candidate in Cancer Biology at the University of Chicago. The process was both informative and a little nerve wracking, and I'm glad it's over. My committee is smart, thoughtful, and truly engaged with my project and I am grateful to have them all signed on until the bitter end. Unlike at my prelim, I was able to amicably banter with my adviser and another prof and truly felt at ease the whole while, even when they asked me questions I couldn't answer. We did find the gaps in my knowledge and I have vowed to fill them to overflowing before my SRP (student research presentation) next February and certainly before my next committee meeting sometime next summer.

So what's my thesis project? In short, a case-control genome-wide association study of genetic susceptibility for the development of therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML). What it basically means is that I'm going to genotype the germline DNA (what you're born with) of patients who are treated (more or less) the same way for the same primary cancer and see what's different between the people who develop t-AML (cases) and those who do not (controls). In terms of genetics, I'm primarily interested in SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and CNVs (copy number variants) found across the genome (genome-wide). It's the differences we're interested in, because they could potentially serve as markers or beacons representing susceptibilities to developing t-AML, a secondary, treatment-related cancer.

For those not familiar with the whole PhD process, it typically goes something like this:
Year 1: Take classes and rotate through labs (usually 10-weeks apiece).
Interim: Take some preliminary/qualifying exam to test knowledge and confirm student is ready to continue in the program. Join a lab for the thesis project.
Year 2: Take any remaining classes and fulfill TA requirements.
Interim: Assemble thesis committee (adviser+ at least 3 other profs, at least two of which are within one's department). Successfully write + present = defend thesis proposal.
Years 3-?: Conduct thesis research. Fulfill any class/TA requirements remaining. Meet with thesis committee at least once a year. Attend conferences, meetings, etc.
The End: Successfully write + present = defend thesis. Send copies to the five people who will ever read it. Graduate and put "Dr" in front of name. Figure out what to do with rest of life.

I am currently in the second "interim" stage. Now, all I need are my cases, controls, and data before I can move on. You know, small things.