J. Devon Roll

I am a pathology Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina, a breast cancer research scientist of four years, and freelance writer. Why did I decide to add writer to that list? After working in three different cancer labs, I suddenly became the “go-to” person for all things medical in my family. It was at this point that I became aware of the gap between the realities of the current medical research nowledgebase and the level of awareness the typical person has concerning biology, disease, and the inner workings of the human body. My goal is to make (often jargon-ridden) medical research accessible, understandable, and relevant to people in a way that hopefully will spark my readers’ interest in science and empower them to make well-informed decisions about their health.

I received my B.A. in Biology from Smith College in 2004 where I began my research career in an evolutionary ecology laboratory in 2003. My current research focuses on uncovering the mechanism and clinical ramifications of a subtype of poor-prognosis breast cancer. My scientific writing has been published in journals such as Epigenetics, Molecular Cancer, and The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. I am a current member of numerous professional societies, including: American Medical Writers Association, American Society for Investigative Pathology, and Sigma Xi. I have received a number of honors throughout my graduate school career, including being named a Robert H. Wagner Scholar and being awarded a 2008 North Carolina Impact Award for my current research project.