{"id":111036,"date":"2024-05-03T14:07:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T19:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=111036"},"modified":"2024-05-21T14:45:46","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T19:45:46","slug":"women-in-stem-four-unmc-trailblazers-rebekah-gundry-phd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/05\/03\/women-in-stem-four-unmc-trailblazers-rebekah-gundry-phd\/","title":{"rendered":"Women in STEM: Four UNMC trailblazers \u2013 Rebekah Gundry, PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The University of Nebraska Medical Center boasts a formidable cohort of women who drive scientific exploration and advance modern medicine in Nebraska and beyond. These visionary researchers and innovators are propelled by grit, resilience and personal resolve to \u201cfind a better way.\u201d Among them: Beth Beam, PhD; Rebekah Gundry, PhD; Breanna Hetland, PhD; and Hongying \u201cDaisy\u201d Dai, PhD.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bullies, Fireflies & Rhino Skin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Rebekah Gundry, PhD, reflects on her journey from middle school misfit to distinguished biomedical researcher, three character-defining elements come to light: bullies, fireflies and rhino skin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in rural Wisconsin, she didn\u2019t conform to the typical \u201ccool kid\u201d narrative. \u201cI never hung out at the mall or friends\u2019 houses or went to parties,\u201d she said. Her towering height and academic focus only served to set her further apart from her peers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was weird. I never fit in,\u201d she said, revealing the harsh realities of middle school bullying that continued into high school. Despite the torment, she emerged with resilience. \u201cThe experience gave me the rhino skin I needed for challenges later in life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raised in a conservative household with two older brothers, Dr. Gundry found her passion in science and nature and in studying how things worked. Her mother, knowing the misery at school, encouraged independent activities, such as 4-H and the Sigma Firefly Scientists Club, where a chemical company paid youths to catch fireflies and send them in for bioindustrial research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spent 99% of my time outside,\u201d Dr. Gundry said. Fireflies were a fascination because of their light- producing ability. \u201cJust thinking about sending them in for research and having an impact somehow, somewhere seemed extraordinary.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her passion for STEM deepened in high school, especially after a perfume-making lab. \u201cWe started with these terrible-smelling chemicals called ethers. I thought that was the coolest thing ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engaging in Science Olympiads, tackling puzzles and word problems and bonding over episodes of \u201cUnsolved Mysteries\u201d with her mom were favorite activities. Today, \u201cForensic Files\u201d is the must-watch TV series in the Gundry household.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1999, biochemistry and molecular biology became her focus at Marquette University in Milwaukee. The groundbreaking use of DNA evidence in the O.J. Simpson trial at the time inspired her to pursue a master\u2019s degree in forensic science at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drawn to a career as a forensic scientist, she conducted her thesis research at the high-profile FBI Forensic Science Research Unit in Quantico, Virginia. However, she soon realized the downside of such a specialized path: It was overly confining for her aspirations. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to be pigeonholed as a scientist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t understand the pigeonholing of scientists. How much does it matter what your specialty is, if you love all science and can help others grow?\u201d <\/p>\n\u2013 Rebekah Gundry, PhD<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A PhD in pharmacology promised a broader path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During post-doctoral studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Dr. Gundry\u2019s interests took an unexpected turn while working in a mass spectrometry lab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With applications spanning forensics, cardiac studies and cancer research, mass spectrometry offered the breadth of possibilities Dr. Gundry sought in a STEM career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins, from 2006 to 2010, provided an opportunity to utilize mass spectrometry in cardiovascular research, supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health. In 2009, Dr. Gundry received an NIH Pathway to Independence Award for her findings from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was 34, married and mom to 16-month-old Jack when she joined the faculty at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in December 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was never, ever on my radar,\u201d Dr. Gundry said of the assistant professorship that her mentors and colleagues encouraged her to accept. \u201cOnce I got there (academia), I realized I would have been miserable doing anything else.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, it was a challenging first year, living apart from her husband, building her syllabus and establishing a lab from scratch. \u201cI was a single mom for all intents and purposes,\u201d until Larry, still in Baltimore, was able to join her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second son, Cedric, arrived in 2012. Despite a difficult pregnancy, she persevered, continuing to publish papers and write grants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early in her career, she won accolades as a young investigator, graduate student educator and medical school instructor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur family benefited from my husband transitioning to a stay-at-home-dad,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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