By Margaret Schell

A fter three years conducting research at Georgia College & State University, Kun Yuan "Ivan" Chu (’25) looks forward to continuing his work this fall at the highly competitive University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, where for the next five-and-a-half years, he’ll pursue his Ph.D. in cancer cellular or molecular biology. 

During his time at GCSU, Chu earned a National Science Foundation fellowship to study at one of six universities in the country. He chose Notre Dame where, for 10 weeks, he worked on possible pancreatic cancer treatments. 

Chu considers himself a “well-rounded scientist” because of the variety of experiential learning opportunities to which he had access to at Georgia College.

“A major issue in cancer treatment is how different it can be from person to person. Even two people with the same cancer type may not respond in the same way,” Chu said. “I want to better understand the underlying causes of cancer and identify ways to target them in order to develop improved therapies.” 

In prostate or pancreatic cancer, treatments are limited, leading to high reoccurrence rates in patients.

“If we could come up with different or a combination of treatments to target the molecular basis of these cancers, that could be a game-changer in oncology,” he said.

Chu credits key mentors at GCSU — specifically, Dr. Y Ellen France, professor of biological and environmental sciences — for helping to prepare him for this next step.  

“None of this would’ve been possible without my Georgia College professors,” Chu said. “Once I get my Ph.D., my goal is to mentor the next generation of scientists and physicians, just like I was mentored at GCSU.”

Header Image: Ivan Chu listens to student explaining his research. Photo provided courtesy of the University of Notre Dame.