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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
NSU Research Spotlight: Cancer Research
Jean Latimer, Ph.D.
Losing a friend to leukemia in high school was a life changing event for Jean Latimer, Ph.D. Always interested in science, Latimer initially considered becoming a doctor. Then she began thinking about the unchartered territory in which doctors didn’t have all the answers. Her epiphany came at age 16 when she realized that, if she wanted to develop cures and treatments, she should become a scientist instead.
Now a breast cancer and leukemia researcher in the College of Pharmacy, Latimer says: “Most doctors are busy treating their patients. Sometimes, all they can do is say, ‘I’m sorry.’ We are the ones who write the textbooks for medical school.”
Latimer leads a team that investigates human breast tissue for DNA damage that originates from environmental causes. She has developed a unique method of growing breast cancer cells from tumors at early stages of the disease, enabling further studies into the causes of tumors and indicating when and what kind of chemotherapy would provide the best response.
“I get huge satisfaction from this,” she explains. “Every day, we’re uncovering more and more that will lead to extending the human life span.”
Accepting that success is elusive, Latimer says. “As researchers, when the hypothesis does not produce the results expected, we rule out possibilities. And that’s when we learn the most. Every day, we know that somebody is desperately waiting for new information,’’ she says. “This awareness drives us when we get up in the morning.”
Latimer takes inspiration from the plight of her high school classmate.