Appalachian Native Kristin Miller Studies Cancer to Help Rural Kentuckians
Kristin Miller is a third-year doctoral candidate in the department of toxicology and cancer biology. In the following Q&A, she outlines her dreams for the future and how her time at UK will prepare her for those career aspirations.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish with an education at the College of Medicine?
A: I hope to become a principal investigator and study different factors in the development and progression of cancer. I was born and raised in a rural, Appalachian region of Kentucky which has a high incidence of cancer and other diseases. Being able to help understand a disease that affects so many people as well as share the experiences and knowledge that I gained at the college with those in my community would be very meaningful to me.
Q: What have been some of your favorite accomplishments and/or experiences so far at the college?
A: I was able to help Courtney Kloske, PhD, with the WIMS Mentoring Program during its second year. This year, I have taken over the WIMS Mentoring Program and am in charge of recruiting both mentors and mentees, making the mentoring pairs, and connecting the mentors and mentees. I love being able to help people find connections that they may not have made otherwise, seeing the mentoring results in the short-term, and I look forward to seeing how it helps people in the long-term.
Through different programs and professors at the college, I was able to participate in judging science fairs and demonstrating science experiments for children ranging from grade school to high school. This has been fulfilling because I love to see the excitement that younger people have for science, and I enjoy being able to help encourage and foster a passion for science.
Q: What is an interesting fact about yourself?
A: A few of my hobbies are crafting and baking. I like being able to create things and give them to others to enjoy. During graduate school, I also started taking pottery lessons, which has been an amazing opportunity to make things that can be useful as well as learning a new skill.
I also like outdoor activities. My husband and I like to hike at Red River Gorge as well as kayaking at rivers near our hometown. A couple of our kayaking adventures have been kayaking 30 miles down the river in a weekend.
