UAB Women in Medicine: Alicia Waters, M.D.

Q&A With Alicia Waters 

Alicia Waters is a general surgeon resident from Enterprise, Alabama, and a member of the Young Supporters Board of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. She received her medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2011.

What inspired you to go into the medical field?
I would say initially it was studying anatomy and the pathology of different diseases. I’ve been intrigued by that ever since I started studying it years ago.For the last two years I’ve been doing research alongside Dr. Elizabeth Beierle of Children’s Hospital through a T32 research fellowship. At UAB, you have the option of doing research for two years, and then returning to complete your residency. I’ve always been very interested in research, so I’m grateful for this opportunity. My research ended about two weeks ago, so I will come back as a resident shortly.

Can you tell me a little more about your research and what it led to?
Dr. Beierle and I were looking at different therapeutics for solid organ tumors. Specifically, novel therapeutic options. Two novel therapies that we have been studying are the use of oncolytic Herpes Simplex virus and a synthetic rexinoid, both of which were developed here at UAB. Both have shown promising preliminary results. What I like about being involved in research is being a part of translating into full treatments. Being a part of that process is rewarding. 

What’s your favorite part of being a part of the Young Supporters Board? 
For me, it’s good to see the non-medicine side to everything, especially in terms of family care and how we treat the patient. As a doctor, I don’t get to see that very much of how we utilize the bench to bedside approach. I was sponsored to join the board by Dr. [Yancey] Gillespie and this is my very first year on it, but I definitely plan to continue serving on it. 

What is your ultimate personal goal?
I want to be a pediatric surgeon. Eventually I would like to focus on oncology, specifically. 

What advice do you have for girls interested in pursuing a career in the medical field?  

The all-nighters and endless studying is worth it when you earn the “Dr.” in front of your name, and you know that everything you do is working toward improving people’s lives. Knowing that someone will have a better life because of something I’m working on is a feeling I can’t really describe. As a woman, you will often be the minority when it comes to working in medicine, but don’t let this discourage you from pursuing exactly what you want.

Fiesta Ball 2014

Just two weeks from today, on May 1st, we will celebrate our annual annual Fiesta Ball, hosted by the Young Supporters Board (YSB) of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. This is a fun and festive evening with Mexican food, drinks and live music, and an event that has become one of the most popular among Birmingham's young professionals.

Proceeds from the Fiesta Ball will benefit young cancer scientists at UAB. In tough economic times, federal funding for cancer research is extremely difficult for scientists to obtain. And if you're a young scientist just beginning your career, it's even more difficult. These young researchers are having to compete against more experienced and established scientists for grant funding. In other words, there's more competition, but less money available.

This is why events such as the Fiesta Ball are so important. Over the last few years, the YSB has been funding Young Investigator Grants, which go to cancer scientists at UAB who have been on campus less than five years. These grants are already showing results - David Schneider, Ph.D., the recipient of the first grant in 2008, was able to conduct research that allowed him to leverage that $40,000 grant into one for $1.2 million from the National Cancer Institute!  

We hope you will join us for this year's Fiesta Ball to help us make a difference in the fight against cancer!

What: Fiesta Ball 2014
When: Thursday, May 1st, 6 p.m.
Where: B&A Warehouse
Tickets: $30 in advance/$35 at the door
To purchase tickets, or for more information: www.uab.edu/fiestaball

Young Professionals Help the Cancer Center Spring Ahead

Spring is always a busy time of year, and the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center is no exception to that. Today I had the privilege of attending the quarterly meeting of our Young Supporters Board, which is busily preparing for its annual fundraiser, Fiesta Ball 2012.

It always amazes and inspires me to see the tremendous energy and enthusiasm these young professionals have for the fight against cancer. Each one of them has been touched by cancer in some way and have chosen to give back and make a difference.

Today we had the pleasure of watching a video from the Cancer Center's Life Stories series, which featured Mary Ann Harvard, a charter member of the YSB and a five-time survivor of Hodgkin's lymphoma. By sharing her story, Mary Ann serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of research and why we do the work that we do.

I encourage you to watch Mary Ann's video and learn more about the YSB by visiting our website or YouTube. We would also love for you to join us to celebrate Cinco de Mayo for a cause at Fiesta Ball 2012 on May 3 at B&A Warehouse. You can learn more about that event (and purchase tickets) by clicking here.

Again, the support of our community is critical to the mission and success of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. As always, I thank you for everything you do to help us achieve our vision of eliminating cancer as a major public health problem.

-Ed Partridge, M.D.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo for a Cause

Tonight, May 5th, is the 5th annual Fiesta Ball, hosted by the Young Supporters Board of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. This is a fun and festive evening with Mexican food, drinks and live music, and an event that I look forward to every year.

This year, however, our hearts and minds are certainly with all of those in our community affected by last week's devastating tornados. So while we celebrate Cinco de Mayo and our progress in the fight against cancer, we're also taking this opportunity to help tornado victims across Alabama. Tonight we will be collecting toiletries, cleaning supplies and bottled water to be donated to the Salvation Army for their local relief efforts. For those who bring a donation to the Fiesta Ball, they will receive $5 off the ticket price.

I encourage you to join us at Innovation Depot tonight at 6 p.m. for what is truly a great event. The money we raise will benefit young cancer scientists at UAB, and we will also have a silent auction filled with fabulous items to raise money for the board's Patient and Family Services Committee.

I am always amazed and proud of the passion and energy that the Young Supporters Board has for the fight against cancer. These young professionals are leading the way and helping us find a cure. I hope you will join us in celebrating for a cause.

-Ed Partridge, M.D.

The Long Road of Research

Dr. Chip Landen (center) with YSB members (L to R)
Gaines Livingston, Andrew Case, Sam Todd and
Walker Badham.

Today, the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center hosted our Young Supporters Board, which is comprised of young up-and-coming professionals from around Birmingham. Our guest speaker was Charles "Chip" Landen, M.D., an assistant professor in the UAB Division of Gynecologic Oncology.

Dr. Landen joined the UAB faculty in 2009, and he has quickly become one of our rising stars. Last year, he was one of only seven early career investigators nationwide to receive an inaugural Ovarian Cancer Academy Award from the U.S. Department of Defense. Dr. Landen works to identify and characterize a subpopulation of ovarian cancer cells that have enhanced ability to survive chemotherapy and cause recurrence. Understanding this class of cells may lead to discoveries of key pathways than can be targeted with novel anti-cancer therapies.

Dr. Landen's presentation today focused not only on his research, but also on his career path. I've often talked about the amount of time it takes for young scientists to actually begin their careers. It's very common: after high school, these scientists spend four years of undergraduate education, three to eight years of graduate school to get a Ph.D., then followed by another two to three years of postdoctoral training. By the time their training is complete, they're 34 years old when they land their first "real" job.

The other issue these scientists face is funding. For today's young researchers, there's only 10-percent chance that their first grants, which are essential to establishing labs and launching their studies, will be funded by federal sources. This is where groups like the Young Supporters Board come in.

In the last few years, the Young Supporters Board has established a Young Investigators Grant, which funds the work of cancer researchers who are just beginning their careers. The board has taken tremendous initiative in this endeavor, and their work is already paying off. David Schneider, Ph.D., the first grant recipient, took the board's $40,000 investment and turned it into a $1.2-million grant from the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Landen serves as another great example of why the work of the Young Supporters Board is so important and critical to the Cancer Center's success. Our young scientists are the next generation in the fight against cancer, but they can't do it alone.

-Ed Partridge, M.D.

The Cure: My Cause. Our Future.

Last night, the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center hosted our Young Supporters Board for an orientation session to begin the new year. This meeting was a chance not only for the new board members, but also the existing members to learn more about the Cancer Center’s mission and the work we do. This group of young men and women, under the leadership of President Sam Todd, has adopted this theme: “The Cure: My Cause. Our Future.”

It was really amazing to look out at these young men and women, all eager to join the fight to eliminate cancer as a major public health problem. And the truth is that they will likely live to see this vision come true.

Based on what we have already discovered – and what will be discovered in the next several decades, there is little doubt that cancer will be conquered in this century. It will not be eliminated like smallpox, as cancer is a much more complex disease, but its impact on society will be reduced such that it is no longer a major public health problem.

The only question that is still outstanding is how early in this century will this occur. If we accelerate the delivery of what we already know that prevents cancer deaths as well as our discovery process by devoting more resources to research, this will become a reality sooner rather than later.

I thank the Young Supporters Board for their involvement. Their support and commitment is critical to our success.

-Ed Partridge, M.D.



Young Supporters Board members at Fiesta Ball 2010.