Spring 2007 - Purdue College of Pharmacy - Purdue University

PharmD Student Speaks
to Women of Purdue…
Advancing the
Spirit of Giving
Katie Behr, a fourth-year professional PharmD student, has much
to be thankful for as she anticipates graduation in May, 2007. Katie
was selected to speak at a luncheon hosted this past October by the
Women of Purdue…Advancing the Spirit of Giving. The Women of
Purdue began in 2003 as a subcommittee of The Campaign for Purdue
Steering Committee to encourage women’s leadership in philanthropy
to Purdue. Katie spoke about her undergraduate research opportunities
and how Purdue has allowed her to discover her passions.
She began by explaining the four major areas that have enhanced
her college experience: music, academics, volunteerism, and research.
She is a proud performer in the Purduettes, she feels fortunate to
study pharmacy under world-renowned professors, and she was
honored to be tapped to serve the community and university through
Mortar Board Senior Honor Society. Yet the experience she feels has
impacted her life the most has been her undergraduate research
experience with the Purdue Cancer Center.
Katie is the recipient of a research fellowship funded by the U.S.
Army through Purdue’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
and School of Veterinary Medicine. Her area of research focused
on breast cancer, particularly how the tumors reacted to different
drugs. She was able to take the active, working metabolite of the
popular anti-breast cancer drug tamoxifen, and under the instruction
of Dr. Ross Weatherman, was allowed to, in layman’s terms, “play
around with it.” She spent one summer adding different molecules
to the basic structure of tamoxifen to create what she hoped to be
a more efficacious product. She even created a few drugs that had
never been previously produced. The next summer, she took those
compounds, as well as other popular anti-cancer agents, and tested
them in actual breast tumor cells. She says it was amazing to see
which drugs worked the best, or how concentrated one drug needed
to be to show any effect.
Katie comments that the most rewarding part about being involved
in the research was the knowledge that she had a hand in moving one
step closer to a cure for cancer. She attributes her grandfather as her
inspiration to pursue cancer research after seeing him valiantly fight
the disease. “My grandfather was diagnosed with advanced prostate
cancer and at that time was given six months to live,” she says.
“During those first six months and throughout his treatment, many
new therapies and different drug combinations were discovered by
researchers working in labs like our own Cancer Center. Although he
ultimately lost his battle in May of 2006, those treatments extended
his life and improved its quality for six years. I am so thankful that
the Cancer Center had the resources to allow undergraduate students
such as myself to participate in cutting-edge research. Without
generous funding from grants, scholarships, and donations, my
passion to aid Purdue scientists in finding a cure for cancer might
not have been realized.”
To learn more about the Women of Purdue and how you
can find opportunities to support your passion, please visit
http://www.purdue.edu/udo/programs_activities/
women_of_purdue.shtml.
Katie Behr poses in the back of Mount Vernon, George Washington’s
mansion, while on rotation in Washington D.C.
the PURDUE pharmacist n SPRING 2007
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