Alumni Reflections: Joel Agosto, Ph.D.
My name is Joel A. Agosto-Peña. I was a student of the IBMS- Cancer Biology PhD program and I worked under the supervision of Dr. Feng-Chun Yang on my dissertation titled “Role of ASXL1 mutations in leukemogenesis and genomic integrity.”
I am originally from Puerto Rico and have been passionate a career dedicated to curing cancer since my early childhood, feeling empathy when the St. Jude commercials were on TV. I started by pursuing a career in Biology and, after pivoting from a successful application to Medical School, decided to go into research after a few years and some unexpected but fruitful experiences. When applying to a PhD program, I focused on schools with good cancer research, cancer centers, funding opportunities, potential quality of life, stipend and a local NBA team present to indulge myself when possible. I decided to choose San Antonio because, in addition to checking everything on the list, allowed me to be at a place with some Hispanic culture in addition to the fascinating research being done by cancer researchers at the Institution.
My biggest highlight in graduate school would definitely have to be getting involved with so many outreach programs and different organizations. Being able to manage all of those while getting a PhD was challenging but very gratifying.
I won some awards while at school, including some grants, but the achievement I feel most proud of is seeing the Biomed Career Fest come into fruition. Both times we did it took months of planning and challenges, but thanks to the support from the Enventure leadership team and the GSBS, championed by Dr. Amanda Ramirez, we were able to get my “grad school job fair” idea using my Enventure network into an incredible activity.
My dissertation focused on how mutation of one gene, called ASXL1, can lead blood cells to become leukemic. We found that this gene is important in maintaining the information stored in the DNA free from mutations that promote cancer in these cells. Being involved in a somewhat translational project during my PhD was an amazing experience that challenged me greatly but allowed me to step up and grow, it forced me out of my comfort zone. It was a necessary growth environment that allowed me to become a better scientist with a bigger focus on patient outcome and clinical research.
I am passionate about cancer in general, as I said before, and got intrigued at how it begins within patients while taking my cancer core courses as a first year. Accumulation of mutations by affecting the capacity of cells to repair DNA was the most common mechanism, so I instantly became interested with it. Later, when I joined the laboratory of Dr. Yang, I got the opportunity to study this topic and looking at different phenotypes it causes.
I recently joined Eli Lilly as Manager – Clinical Employee Rotational Program where I will be involved in different areas of clinical research within Eli Lilly in several therapeutic spaces, something that I am truly excited about.
My advice would be for them to give themselves the opportunity to figure out what they want to do after grad school, and tailor their training and PhD as best as possible to that end. Network, talk, ask questions and make a plan as early as possible. It allows you to be intentional with everything and sets a clear path and goal, those will drive you through the whole process. Figure out what you want for your career, form a plan and be intentional with it.