“Graduate seeks treatments to fight disease” |
| Graduate seeks treatments to fight disease Posted: 13 Nov 2010 02:16 PM PST Graduate seeks treatments to fight diseaseBy Jane Donahue For The Sun Nov 13, 2010 04:33PM  Matt Wagoner, a 2000 Neuqua Valley High School graduate, earned a Ph.D from University of Wisconsin in molecular and cellular pharmacology. The former Wildcat currently resides in Delaware with his wife Kelly, where he is a postdoctoral research associate for AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical. Matt Wagoner knows firsthand there aren't quick fixes when it comes to fighting disease. The 2000 Neuqua Valley High School graduate continues to search for viable treatments as a postdoctoral research associate for AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company. "Without a doubt the most rewarding part of my job is knowing that what I do can help people who wouldn't otherwise have had treatment options," said Wagoner. "I love the work I do now because the research I'm doing today is trying to move a roadblock that keeps potentially life-saving drugs from making it to the clinic every year. Knowing that I'm helping people and making a difference is absolutely the most important thing to me in my career." Wagoner graduated from the University of Illinois before getting his doctorate in molecular and cellular pharmacology from the University of Wisconsin. His thesis work focused specifically on breast cancer research and the role that a single gene, called REST, plays in cancer. "I loved the research I did in graduate school because it was uncovering the unknown players in breast cancer — trying to figure out what it was that makes two seemingly identical breast cancer tumors behave so differently," Wagoner said. "Understanding what differentiates one tumor from the other is the first step towards being able to do personalized medicines to treat each one." At AstraZeneca, the 29-year-old is working to keep new drugs from causing kidney injury. "One of the biggest problems with creating new treatments and cures for diseases is that they cause harm while they're doing good," said Wagoner. "About half of all drugs that don't make it to market have failed because of unacceptable toxicity, a lot of which stems from kidney failure. I'm working with a lot of talented people to try to figure out what makes these drugs cause kidney damage, and to try and stop them from doing so." Wagoner said at Neuqua, former teacher Bill Bowman provided inspiration and life lessons to his students. "The teacher that made the biggest impact on me was Bill Bowman, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago," Wagoner said. "He was an English teacher, but more than teaching us to learn, he taught us to glean more from life. He always managed to open our eyes to a totally different way of thinking and seeing the world, which as a group of teenagers who spend so much time just trying to figure themselves out that we rarely looked outside ourselves, was very life-changing. He was a great teacher, and he touched a lot of lives. He'll be greatly missed." Paul Vandersteen, science department chairman and men's cross country coach at Neuqua, is not surprised by Wagoner's success. "I coached Matt in cross country and had him in anatomy and physiology class. I often told him he would be a scientist because of his natural curiosity and the great questions he asked. Matt is one of the most genuine guys I know. He is always upbeat, has a very warm personality and has a zest for life. It does not surprise me that he has gone on to do great things." Columnist Jane Donahue is looking for graduates of Naperville schools who have made Naperville proud. To offer candidates, e-mail her at picturesbyjane@wowway.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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