Bailey Bridgers is a native of the Memphis suburbs and grew up participating in fundraisers for St. Jude, admiring the incredible research from afar. When she realized during her first year of medical school that she wanted to pursue research in cell-mediated anticancer therapy, the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences was her first and only choice for training.
Bridgers pursued her undergraduate studies at the University of Alabama, where she graduated with honors in 2022 with bachelor’s degrees in biology and Spanish. During this time, she was a member Dr. Brandon Kim’s laboratory, where she investigated interactions between brain endothelial cells and Group B Streptococcus to better understand the pathogenesis of neonatal bacterial meningitis. However, her interest in cancer immunology led her to apply to the St. Jude Pediatric Oncology Education (POE) program, where she spent two summers designing and characterizing CAR T-cells against T-ALL under the mentorship of Dr. Paulina Velasquez (Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy). Following her first POE appointment, Bridgers began medical school at the UTHSC College of Medicine in Memphis. Her first year of preclinical studies grew her love of learning, and her second summer at St. Jude drove her decision to pursue a career as a physician-scientist. There was truly no better place to pursue the requisite PhD than St. Jude.
Bridgers is interested in investigating the manipulation of the immune system to specifically treat human cancers, particularly hematological malignancies. In combining such investigations with clinical practice in hematopathology, she aims to improve care at an individual and population level.
Hometown: Lakeland, Tennessee
Publications:
Vollmuth N, Bridgers BE, Armstrong ML, Wood JF, Gildea AR, Espinal ER, Hooven TA, Barbieri G, Westermann AJ, Sauerwein T, Foerstner KU, Schubert-Unkmeir A, Kim BJ. Group B Streptococcus transcriptome when interacting with brain endothelial cells. J Bacteriol Jun 20, 2024; 206(6):e0008724. doi: 10.1128/jb.00087-24. Epub May 21, 2024. PMID: 38771039