Rhiannon Morrissey ’16 fights breast cancer through doctoral research

When she first arrived on campus, Rhiannon Morrissey ’16, who majored in biology with minors in chemistry and history, had no idea how much the University would influence her career path. Years later, as she pursues a doctorate at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, she attributes everything she’s accomplished to her time at Salve Regina.

Rhiannon Morrissey ’16

“Salve is such a special school to begin with, and I think that Salve formed so much of who I am,” she said. Originally from Massachusetts, Morrissey chose Salve Regina because she loved the campus and small class sizes. She also enjoyed the rigor of the Pell Honors Program.

“I got the feeling that you get a more intimate class environment than you would at a bigger school,” Morrissey said. “I loved that the Pell Honors Program pushes students to overcome the boundaries of what they think is possible. The curriculum is designed to develop you to think in new ways and new perspectives, and that really influenced me.”

Research opportunities lead to fighting cancer

In Morrissey’s first year on campus, she connected with a faculty member who asked if she was interested in conducting research. She said yes and ended up being an undergraduate research fellow throughout her time at the University.

Morrissey quickly saw how important research was to scientific progress. In one project, she studied how effective natural plant compounds were on stopping the growth of stomach cancer. This sparked an interest in cancer research as a potential career.

“That’s one of the things that made Salve so special for me – the fact that you have more opportunities than you would at larger institutions to be involved in your research,” she said. “When I came [to my PhD program], I had some colleagues that went to bigger schools, and their research was following around a grad student and helping with their project. But at Salve, I was an undergrad driving my own research.”

These opportunities have helped Morrissey develop a career in biomedical science as a breast cancer geneticist. She now works full time on her research while pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the biomedical sciences, genetics and epigenetics program.

Morrissey is passionate about the ongoing efforts to rid the world of cancer, and research is playing a vital role in that fight. “I loved research so much that I couldn’t give it up, so it changed my whole career path,” she said. “I probably wouldn’t be in this career path if it wasn’t for Salve.”