Amanda Iris Bradley, PhD
Amanda Bradley is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow who joined the Berger Lab at Fred Hutch Cancer Center in 2021. She trained as both a cell biologist and a molecular biologist, and is currently focused on lung cancer research. The members of the Berger Lab use the study of cell biology to discover how genetic changes might lead to cancer (and in particular a type of lung cancer known as lung adenocarcinoma). They are also working to leverage these insights to develop precision medicine – new drug targets and biomarkers to treat cancer. The lab is led by Dr. Alice Berger, an Assistant Professor at Fred Hutch Cancer Center associated with the Human Biology and Public Health Sciences Divisions as well as the Herbold Computational Biology Program.
University of Washington Graduate Profile
What is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow?
A postdoctoral research fellow (also known as a postdoc) is someone who recently earned their PhD and is continuing to study for a few years in a mentored fellowship to further develop their skills. Postdoctoral training usually lasts for a period of two to four years. Postdocs conduct independent research projects and mentor undergraduate and graduate students.
"My mother raised me on her own and she herself had a career in public health, specifically cancer disparities. Growing up she showed me that it is never too late to pursue what you love and to go after your goals with everything you’ve got. She remains my most important influence."
— Dr. Bradley
Dr. Bradley's Story
Dr. Bradley grew up in Colorado Springs, a city in Colorado located at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. It is the second most populous city in the state. Dr. Bradley was raised by her mother, who was the first in her family to graduate from college. Dr. Bradley's mother spent over twenty years working in public health. Her focus was on cancer disparities, which is the study of underlying systemic factors that cause certain groups in society to disproportionately bear a burden of cancer (such as incidences, deaths, and survival rates) as compared to other groups of people.
Dr. Bradley reflected, "from a very young age I had always had an interest in science." As a child, she had dreams of becoming a pediatric surgeon. She remembered "being fascinated by images of eukaryotic cells and cellular processes." Her interest in science deepened over time. She explained, "over the years as I learned more and dove deeper into cell biology, genetics, and biochemistry my career aspirations evolved from pursuing a strictly clinical career to one in biomedical research."
Educational Pathway
Dr. Bradley focused her studies on cell biology and cancer biology. In college, she studied biology and then worked as a post-baccalaureate fellow in cancer biology at the National Institute of Health for three years under the mentorship of Dr. Thomas Ried and Dr. Kerstin Heselmeyer-Haddad. A "post-bacc" fellowship is additional training that is pursued after achieving a Bachelor degree. Some people choose a post-bacc program or fellowship to prepare for applying to medical school or graduate school, or because they want to study something different in graduate school that is not closely aligned to their undergraduate major.
After three years in her post-bacc fellowship, Dr. Bradley spent some time working at a call center while applying to PhD programs. She accepted an invitation to join the Molecular and Cellular Biology graduate program at the University of Washington (UW), moving to Seattle in 2015 to begin her studies. During her PhD program, she conducted research in Dr. Richard Gardner’s lab in the UW Department of Pharmacology. Her research was focused on misfolded prions, a type of protein that is associated with neurodegenerative diseases.
During her PhD program, she received two fellowships, which are awards that often come with funding for tuition, living expenses, and/or research costs. She was awarded an ARCS Fellowship (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Fellowship, which is a prestigious award that honors Ph.D. candidates and their adviser and is specifically given to students from groups that have been historically underrepresented in the sciences are are committed to increasing diversity as a leader within the sciences. During her doctoral studies, she also received a training grant from the National Institute of Health's Cell and Molecular Biology Training Program, which provided financial assistance for two years that included a stipend, tuition, and health insurance.
Dr. Bradley now works as a postdoc at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and is a recipient of the Fred Hutch Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Dr. Bradley's educational pathway toward a career in cellular biology:
- Undergraduate: Bachelor's of Science in Biology from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
- Post-Bacc: Post-baccalaureate Fellow in cancer biology at the National Institute of Health
- Doctorate: PhD in Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Washington
- Postdoc: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Berger Lab and Fred Hutch Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow
Representation and Mentorship in Science is Important
Dr. Bradley is the second person (after her mother) in her entire extended family to have graduated from college. Though her mother worked in public health, Dr. Bradley didn't have any role models who had a PhD or worked in academia. When she was 24 years old, Dr. Bradley met an African American woman with a PhD. Before that, she reflected, "I never thought Black people could do that." She remembered thinking as a Black woman, "is academia even possible for me?"
These experiences have made her passionate about recruitment of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) into the biomedical sciences. During graduate school, she attended recruitment conferences such as the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) to encourage prospective students to consider the MCB graduate program at the University of Washington. At Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Dr. Bradley joined the underrepresented minority postdoc search committee. Her future goal is to have a tenure-track faculty position at a university, where she will be both a professor and a researcher (she loves bench research!). In this future role, Dr. Bradley plans to continue her work toward diversifying the sciences.
Movies, Mosaics, and Books
Dr. Bradley is a "huge movie buff" and loves to watch films in the theater. She also enjoys doing anything crafty, which includes a recently developed passion for making mosaics. Dr. Bradley also is an avid reader who always has her nose in a book.
A Day in the Life of a Postdoctoral Research Fellow
A day in the life of a postdoc can vary. Dr. Bradley shared, “I really enjoy the flexibility my job provides” and “I like that I get to decide for the most part what I will be doing each day.” During a typical work day, Dr. Bradley carries out the experiments that she had planned for the day and spends some time reading new academic papers so that she can stay up-to-date with current scientific findings. One of the biggest challenges she faces as a scientist is learning how to deal with failure when an experiment does not go to plan. She explained that it is important to learn "how to not take that personally and know that the failure of an experiment is not a reflection of myself as an individual." One of the benefits of her job is the people. She explained, “I look forward to the camaraderie and collaboration with other researchers within my lab as well as the greater Fred Hutch community.”
Her current research project in the Berger Lab may offer insight into treatments for lung cancer. She explained, "I am in the process of developing a project that examines exon skipping in a tyrosine kinase receptor." An exon is a segment of DNA or RNA that contains information that codes for a protein or peptide sequence. A tyrosine kinase receptor is a receptor on the surface of a cell that has a role in cell regulation and cancer development. She continued, "in this instance, exon 14 is skipped in the proto-oncogene MET in lung cancer." A MET gene is a gene that makes a protein involved in signaling cell growth, but mutations in the gene can cause abnormal cells to grow and spread. The MET gene is a type of proto-oncogene (a gene involved in normal cell growth) and a type of tyrosine kinase receptor.
This focus is important because "exon 14 skipping has been validated as a clinical target for treatment of patients with lung cancers" when those patients have exon 14 in the MET gene skipped. Dr. Bradley explained the challenge: "while treatments for lung cancers with MET exon 14 skipping are currently in use, patients invariably develop resistance which means that the drug is no longer effective." Her solution? "Using genome editing aided by CRISPR, I aim to identify genetic variants that confer drug resistance and to characterize novel drug therapies that can combat it."
Advice for Students
Interested in cell or molecular biology? Dr. Bradley's advice for students interested in pursuing a career in science is that it is critical to take introductory and upper division courses in biology and chemistry. She explained though that "majoring in Biology and or Chemistry is not entirely necessary to pursue this career if you have completed a sufficient number of science courses." She also explained that "getting into a research lab early into your college experience can be extremely helpful."
Dr. Bradley added, "I am also a very big proponent of taking a gap year or years after the completion of undergrad and either participating in a post-baccalaureate program or just getting a job as a research technician, as spending time working in research full-time will help you decide if this career path is the right one for you." She explained, "most incoming graduate students in top tier programs have completed at least one year doing either a post-bacc or a technician position."
For more information on finding undergraduate research experience or post-bacc programs, see the Becoming the Next Cancer Researcher or Clinician.
"I think in the bigger context of race and science, one of the barriers is the lack of representation at the very top. I really want to help change that and I think I could be of most service as a faculty member because I’m so passionate about increasing diversity in the sciences."
— Dr. Bradley
U.S. Wage Information
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics in 2023, the median wage for biological scientists in the U.S. is $91,100.
Additional Resources
Credit: Thank you to Dr. Bradley for graciously participating in this project. Career profile written by Dr. Kristen Clapper Bergsman.