Mothers in the Lab
Learn how Christine E. Eyler, M.D., Ph.D., physician scientist at Duke Cancer Institute balances being a groundbreaking researcher and devoted mother.
V Foundation grantee Christine Eyler, M.D., Ph.D., always felt called to science. As an undergraduate at Duke University, she began her journey washing glassware in a lab, a role that would grow into a 20-year career blending patient care and research. With guidance from mentors, Dr. Eyler created her own path to become a physician scientist.
“I loved the idea of being able to do research that would impact people,” said Dr. Eyler. Today, she remains driven by her commitment to research that could improve lives.
Though she initially considered medical oncology, Dr. Eyler did a radiation oncology rotation to fill in some gaps. To her surprise she found herself drawn to the field. The combination of strong technical focus and patient interaction aligned perfectly with her interest. What truly convinced her was the strong patient care aspect, the opportunity to guide patients through some of the most difficult parts of their cancer journey.
Today, funded by the V Foundation, Dr. Eyler and her team at Duke Cancer Institute focus their research on colorectal cancer. Although screening rates have improved, the incidence of colorectal cancer in the younger population continues to rise. They remain committed to advancing the progress made over the past decade.
“We’ve started to mix and match,” said Dr. Eyler. “Especially for rectal cancer, which is the most frequently treated with radiation. We have begun combining surgery with chemotherapy and radiation or chemoradiation, and in some cases, this approach allows patients to avoid surgery altogether.”
In her lab Dr. Eyler and her team are using bold ideas to increase the efficacy of radiation therapy. Instead of using traditional flat cell cultures, Dr. Eyler and her team use organoid models to learn more about the diversity of cells and organ systems within cancer. These models also allow researchers to observe and understand how cancer can access stem cell behaviors and withstand radiation. By gaining that understanding, they hope to disrupt these resistance mechanisms.
Collaboration is key in the research world, and Dr. Eyler credits her success to collaborating with fellow scientists and mentors like V Scholar Kris Wood, Ph.D., who encouraged her to pursue research and forge her own path. Now, she is proud to serve as a mentor herself, guiding her lab members as they create their own unique paths.
But Dr. Eyler’s most important team members of all are her children. As the mother of three young children, she doesn’t shy away from blending her worlds.
Balancing motherhood with a demanding career isn’t easy but she finds inspiration in both her children and patients. The lessons she learns in the lab come home with her, the ones she learns at home shape her approach to science.
“I go to work and help make patients feel better,” is how she explains her job as a physician to her five and six-year-old. Explaining research can be more difficult, but she describes it as the “search for truth.”
Occasionally she brings her children to her lab building, where their natural curiosity fits right in. The values of dedication and passion she applies at work also serve as life lessons she passes on them. She hopes to instill in her children the same sense of purpose and joy in their work later in life.
As a physician-scientist and mother, Dr. Eyler is committed to achieving Victory Over Cancer®. For her, that means a world where a patient can overcome cancer without fearing it’s return. She is hopeful that the progress made in her specific area of research can lead to breakthroughs across many types of cancer.
“Because of research” she said, “treatments will continue to get better and better each year, curing more and more patients.”
