In the news: Taking on cancer in the lab and at the clinic
Elizabeth Borden, PhD, is researching cancer vaccines while pursuing her goal of becoming a pediatric oncologist.
Medical student Elizabeth Borden, PhD, holding her 3-year-old daughter, Miriam, aspires to be a pediatric oncologist and cancer researcher.
Photo by Noelle Haro-Gomez, U of A Health Sciences Office of Communications
When U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix MD/PhD student Elizabeth Borden, PhD, finishes a long day of lab work, studying and clinical rotations, she makes a house call that is the highlight of her day. Borden’s 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter jump into her arms and quiz her about her day as she catches up with her husband.
The sense of togetherness reinforces to Borden why she works so hard to pursue her dream of becoming a physician-scientist.
“My kids really inspire me,” said Borden, who received her doctorate in clinical translational sciences from the University of Arizona College of Health Sciences in December and is on track to earn her Doctor of Medicine degree in 2027. “I try to show my kids how to work hard and do things that they’re passionate about. I hope they’re seeing me do that day in and day out.”
Borden’s daughter, Miriam, is already reflecting that vision. She often wears a toy stethoscope and pretends to give medical care to her dolls.
“She told me the other day that she was going to be a doctor just like me when she grows up.”