Hailee McCulloch sensed her calling at a young age. She’d seen members of her family suffer through battles with cancer. “At that time, I watched medicine and treatments fail and destroy their bodies,” she remembers. “In some cases, there were no treatments available to cure or effectively treat the cancer.”
That led to her conviction to one day become part of the solution. “I have always had this desire to fight back against cancer and help as many people as I can,” she says—but she’d decided the best way to go about that was to become an oncologist. A logical conclusion. “At the time, I thought this was the best and only option I had to achieve my goal.”
She came to Texas Lutheran University with aspirations to eventually go to medical school. But that changed as she worked through her undergrad years. “After being in the lab and conducting research, my focus shifted,” she recalls. “Throughout my years at TLU, more opportunities became available to me.”
McCulloch discovered a love for research and realized that she could achieve her ultimate goals inside the lab. So she pivoted to pursue her degree in biochemistry—and this spring, she graduated with highest honors. “I want to continue to work in a lab, to create and synthesize the medicines that are needed in cancer treatment,” she says. “My degree in biochemistry encompasses two large disciplines in science, biology and chemistry, allowing me versatility amongst the various fields within these disciplines.”
Come fall, McCulloch will begin studying at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she will enter directly into the Chemistry PhD program.
“The area of research I would like to focus on is drug discovery, developing new treatments for cancer,” she says. From there, she plans to keep her momentum going. “After earning my PhD, I want to pursue a postdoc and continue to conduct research, at either UTSA, the Mays Cancer Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, or the National Cancer Institute.”
On the journey to get there, McCulloch will carry with her all she’s learned during her undergrad years at TLU. “I have had a wonderful experience all four years while at TLU,” she says. “Each professor has taught me various skills and techniques that I believe have prepared me to take the next steps in my academic career. I am grateful and appreciative of all that the faculty has taught me.”
McCulloch gives special thanks to Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. Jacques Jean-Francois, and Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Michael Ruane. And while she was open-minded enough to find the right route for herself, she’s never lost sight of her ultimate goal—and has never forgotten the purpose attached to all her efforts. “With my undergraduate studies being in biochemistry and now pursuing a doctorate in chemistry, I believe that I will be equipped and able to accomplish my goals, looking forward to finding cures one day.”