Elizabeth Wickman wants to improve deficits in the health care system, hoping to cure diseases rather than just treat symptoms. She finds biomedical science an exciting puzzle that explores the unknown and inspires innovative solutions, mainly because she finds it new, challenging and limitless. Her research focuses on developing immunotherapy options for children with solid tumors.
Wickman earned her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry in 2018 from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. She was also accepted into the 2017 National Symposium for Undergraduate Research held at St. Jude. Her research interests include cancer biology, immunotherapy and gene therapy.
Wickman is currently working in the lab of Stephen Gottschalk, MD, Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy. She earned her master’s degree from the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in April 2020.
“For each disease out there, there is a cure that is waiting to be discovered,” she says. “At St. Jude, there is a team of dedicated researchers and clinicians who are coming together to find those cures.”
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Dissertation: ECM Redacted CAR T cells for Pediatric Solid Tumors
Publications
Wagner J, Wickman E, DeRenzo, C and Gottschalk, S. CAR T Cell Therapy for Solid Tumors: Bright Future or Dark Reality? Molecular Therapy 28:, 2320-2339, doi:10.1016/j.ymthe.2020.09.015 (2020). PMCID: PMC7647674
Wagner J, Wickman E, Shaw TI, Anido AA, Langfitt D, Zhang J, Porter SN, Pruett-Miller SM, Tillman H, Krenciute G, Gottschalk S. Antitumor effects of CAR T cells redirected to the EDB splice variant of fibronectin. Cancer Immunol Res 9(3): 279- 290, Mar. 1, 2021. DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-20-0280