Sarah Fund capped off her studies at Brigham Young University (BYU) with a life-changing experience: the opportunity to apply the skills she learned in the classroom to a real-world research project at Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Sarah was among the first students to participate in a collaboration between Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U) and BYU’s Bioinformatics Capstone Program, which began in 2024 as an effort to pair students with cancer research mentors.
The Power of Mentorship in Enhancing Student Success
She worked on a project in the lab of Aik Choon Tan, PhD, senior director of data science at Huntsman Cancer Institute, professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences, and Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Endowed Chair in Cancer Data Science.
With Tan’s mentorship, Sarah and her fellow BYU students created an innovative new tool to help doctors choose the best cancer treatments for a patient. The algorithm compares large amounts of data about the medications patients receive in order to identify groups of patients with similar treatment paths and outcomes. The students then incorporated the results into an app designed to help doctors create data-based treatment plans.
“This ‘patients like me’ approach aids doctors in personalizing treatment plans to the individual patient,” Tan says. “I am excited about the success of this project and look forward to empowering even more BYU students to use their data-analysis skills to make a real impact in cancer research.”
Sarah’s enthusiasm for the project led her to continue working with Tan after her undergraduate capstone course ended. During a summer 2024 bioinformatics research internship at Huntsman Cancer Institute, she helped refine the algorithm and further develop the app.
“I really liked working with Tan and getting that mentorship from him and learning how to apply the skills I had learned in class to a real-world problem,” Sarah says. “It was really rewarding to be a part of a project that has the potential to help patients get more personalized treatments.”
Seeds of a Growing Collaboration
The bioinformatics capstone program started in 2024 with two Huntsman Cancer Institute mentors—Tan and investigator Alejandro Sanchez, MD, physician-scientist at Huntsman Cancer Institute and assistant professor of surgery at the U—who both mentored students on research projects.
This year, five Huntsman Cancer Institute researchers are mentoring four different groups of bioinformatics students from BYU.
Samuel Payne, PhD, a bioinformatics professor at BYU and the coordinater of the capstone project, says he is excited about the growth in the number of students who can work with experts at Huntsman Cancer Institute.
“This mentorship with cancer researchers at other institutions helps students transition to the workforce in a way that exposes them to real science,” Payne says. “I hope all students will have this unique opportunity to interact with scientists and see science in action. This is a seed for a longer, rewarding collaboration.”
The bioinformatics capstone projects are one part of a larger collaborative effort between Huntsman Cancer Institute and BYU. Formal collaborations began in 2020 with the establishment of a summer research internship program with the Simmons Center for Cancer Research at BYU, led by Bradley Cairns, PhD, head of academic affairs at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor and chair of the Department of Oncological Sciences at the U, and Don Ayer, PhD, investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute, senior director of cancer training and career enhancement, and professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences.
In 2023, Huntsman Cancer Institute announced its plan to establish a Comprehensive Cancer Center in Vineyard, Utah—near both BYU and Utah Valley University. During that same year, Cairns and Ayer organized a symposium at BYU focused on identifying new collaborative opportunities between Huntsman Cancer Institute and BYU. Through this symposium, the capstone program was born—and continues to grow.
The Value of Hands-On Learning
Payne explains that distance can make it difficult for students taking his capstone course to work in-person with their mentor. “Face-to-face interaction with mentors is invaluable. We are an hour away from Huntsman Cancer Institute right now—10 minutes away will be a completely different story.”
Site work for the Comprehensive Cancer Center in Vineyard began in 2024—signaling the beginning of a project that will support workforce development, training opportunities, and hands-on learning for the next generation of scientists and health care providers throughout the region for generations to come.
"The mentorship from Dr. Tan and the hands-on experience at Huntsman Cancer Institute have truly been life-changing. I feel even more confident in the skills that I bring to the workforce now."
“The close proximity is going to strengthen this academic collaboration,” Tan says. “Students will have the opportunity to work on-site to experience the world-class Huntsman Cancer Institute clinics, interacting with experts and patients in real-world settings and making a positive impact in cancer research.”
Sarah experienced the power of this collaboration first-hand. “The mentorship from Dr. Tan and the hands-on experience at Huntsman Cancer Institute have truly been life-changing. I feel even more confident in the skills that I bring to the workforce now.”
Sarah graduated from BYU with her degree in bioinformatics and is now working as an app programmer. She is excited to see how a Huntsman Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in Utah County will benefit university students who will follow her.
“The lab is where you make connections with people,” Sarah says. “I am grateful to Huntsman Cancer Institute and BYU for the connections I made through their collaboration, and I encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity—it will change both your life and the lives of patients.”