Molly DeCristo

Molly DeCristo was born in Beverly, Massachusetts. As a youngster, she often wondered at the mystery of outer space and thought to one day study its vastness. As she grew older and saw the impact of cancer on the lives of her mother, aunt, and grandfather, Molly’s interests turned inward. She decided to spend her academic career understanding cancer instead. She attended UNC-Chapel Hill and received her Bachelor of Science in Biology, with Highest Honors and Distinction, in 2013. Since March 2014, Molly has worked in Professor Sandra McAllister’s lab, studying the systemic, host effects of chemotherapy in mouse models of triple negative and Her2+ breast cancer in hopes of understanding their implications in development of resistance to chemotherapy and eventual disease relapse. She also focuses on the impact of chemotherapy on bone marrow and bone marrow derived cell populations, examining the resulting effects on tumor progression and metastasis.