Like many people, Rebecca Boohaker, Ph.D., had a part-time job in high school dealing with dishes. But instead of food dishes in a restaurant, Boohaker was handling petri dishes in the microbiology lab of University of Alabama at Birmingham professor John Kearney, Ph.D.
From that moment on, Boohaker has loved the lab life. She graduated from UAB in 2005 with a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry, then earned a Ph.D., in biomedical sciences in 2012 from the University of Central Florida. Boohaker returned to Birmingham in 2013 to begin working at Southern Research, where she remains today as director of the oncology research program.
“I’ve only ever worked in a lab,” said Boohaker. “My aunt was my high school science teacher (at John Carroll), and she really fostered that intellectual curiosity in me from a very young age. She also connected me with John Kearney. I thought I was just going to be washing lab dishes, but he put me to work.
“I learned how to do genotyping and things that you can’t get in a high school classroom. It was really foundational and changed my career trajectory. I had been planning to go to medical school, but I decided to go into lab work instead based on that experience.”
That decision was solidified during Boohaker’s undergrad years at UAB. When she wasn’t in class or performing in the UAB marching band drum line, Boohaker usually could be found in one of the biology labs, learning from such longtime UAB professors as Ken Marion, Ph.D., and Stephen Watts, Ph.D.
“The professors were always very engaging, helpful, and accessible, and they did interesting research,” said Boohaker. “Folks were doing embryology and genetics projects. I was exposed to all types of active, current research. There aren’t many places where I would have gotten that.”
“Instead of just learning information, working in a lab is more about taking the information and figuring out the next thing that can come from it. What is the next technological advancement? It’s the ability to create instead of just recreate, and that is far more interesting to me.”
Boohaker currently is using those skills at Southern Research to help create potential treatments for cancer and other diseases. She says her team constantly is engaging in a wide range of experiments, from discovery to development, which is one of the primary reasons she enjoys the work so much.
“I never really intended to work in drug discovery, but it scratches all the intellectual itches,” said Boohaker. “Because every project is a different puzzle with a different target. Every interaction is different. The chemistry is different.”
“I don’t want to just sit in one field for 30 years. I’d rather take my molecular toolbox that I’ve built from way back when I worked in Dr. Kearney’s lab to now and apply it to all sorts of different problems. That’s what I get to do at Southern Research.”
Boohaker also is able to maintain close connections to UAB. In addition to teaching a class in the University Honors Program—a specialized program in the Honors College—and serving on the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Board, Boohaker frequently collaborates with current UAB researchers.
“I go to my connections and relationships at UAB all the time,” said Boohaker. “I see tremendous value in the research going on at UAB, and the undergraduate education. The people who are graduating from there can potentially be my future colleagues here. So any way I can help make sure they get the best education and exposure possible is a way to make a difference.”
