Schyler Rowland doesn鈥檛 think you should be impressed by her accomplishments. And even though she鈥檚 spent all four of her undergraduate years working on research to make fighting cancer more successful and affordable, she鈥檚 not ready for kudos.
鈥淚 think not being a part of the change, when I feel like I have a capability to help, would be a disservice to myself and others,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to get arrogant in the research field鈥攂ecause you can know a lot, and you still know so little.鈥�
Rowland鈥檚 mom is a medical journalist in their home of Atlanta, and Rowland said hearing stories about people struggling with diseases and other medical issues spurred her desire to do something proactive.
鈥淚 wanted to learn more and solve problems that felt like they mattered,鈥� she said.
STRONG MENTORS
Strong relationships with , J. Lawrence Wilson Professor of Engineering, professor of biomedical engineering and of radiology and radiological sciences, and King鈥檚 former graduate student are what Rowland said are key to her transformative research journey.
鈥淚 emailed a ton of professors doing all different kinds of research. Dr. King was my first of multiple interviews, and he accepted me first, so I joined his lab right away,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was so lucky because other than being adopted, joining Dr. King is the biggest thing that has actually pivoted my life.鈥�
Rowland started assisting in the King Lab her freshman year, during the COVID pandemic, working closely with Dombroski, PhD鈥�23.
鈥淛enna is my favorite person I have met at Vanderbilt. She has given me opportunities and led me and mentored me in a way that I don鈥檛 think most people experience in their lifetime,鈥� Rowland said.
Rowland is sure that as she moves on to a Ph.D. research program, mentorship will be at the core.
鈥�I don鈥檛 know if I would鈥檝e had the research experience or personal experience I had anywhere else because of those strong relationships. Dr. King is clearly very successful, and he鈥檚 also empathetic,鈥� she said.
FIGHTING CANCER
The King Lab works in cellular engineering and drug delivery鈥攗sing engineering concepts to better understand actions in the body鈥攖o ultimately fight diseases.
Specifically, Rowland has been focused on research around dendritic cells and how they can fight diseases like cancer.
鈥淏asically, dendritic cells are a type of immune cell, and they get activated when your body says something鈥檚 not right. And then they help activate the rest of the immune system to go fight the thing that's not right鈥攊n our case, cancer cells,鈥� she explained.
FIGHTING THE COST OF MEDICAL TREATMENT
The research Rowland has been helping with is trying to find more affordable treatments to activate these cancer-fighting cells.
鈥淐urrently the only way to activate dendritic cells is very expensive,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the issues you don鈥檛 think about. You鈥檙e like, 鈥楴o, let鈥檚 just kill the cancer.鈥� But the cost is a huge, overlooked problem.鈥�
MUSICAL ROOTS
Rowland actually came to Vanderbilt as a theater major, with musical chops as a longtime violinist. She writes music and has taught herself to play multiple instruments; her favorites are guitar and piano.
She is the co-president of the and has taken classes at the Blair School of Music, including songwriting and sound mixing.
Rowland relishes having both music and science in her life and loves seeing live music around Nashville.
鈥淪cience obviously is very long term; music is instant gratification,鈥� she said.
THREE QUESTIONS鈥�
WHAT DOES DARE TO GROW MEAN TO YOU?
鈥淚 think everyone has grown here. I鈥檝e definitely had to grow. I feel like I鈥檝e had more personal growth than anything鈥攍earning how other people work, learning how to collaborate, learning how to ask for help. And yeah, just learning to be humble.鈥�
WHAT IS SOME GREAT ADVICE YOU鈥橵E RECEIVED?
鈥淲henever I鈥檓 struggling, one of the Ph.D. students I was with taught me to remember to lead with empathy, tenacity and humility. And, you know, whenever I鈥檓 frustrated or feeling some type of way, I ask myself if I鈥檓 doing those three things.鈥�
HOW HAVE YOU EVOLVED?
鈥淚 feel like four years ago I thought everyone had it together and I had to have it together. Now I don鈥檛 think any of us do, which is humbling and just feels better.鈥�
- Read more stories from our Class of 2024 profiles
- Learn more about the
- Follow the latest research news coming out of Vanderbilt鈥檚 centers, labs and institutes
- Check out this advice on