Student Profiles

Yasemin Cole was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Her scientific curiosity was sparked in high school after her same-aged cousin was diagnosed with medulloblastoma. This experience motivated her to pursue clinical experiences and a research internship with Dr. Aziz Sancar’s circadian rhythms of DNA repair laboratory, at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine (UNC SOM), over multiple summers.

She subsequently studied biology and medical anthropology at UNC at Chapel Hill. Yasemin joined Dr. Anton Jetton’s lab at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences as an IRTA fellow with the Summer Internship Program. She worked with Dr. Gary ZeRuth over two summers to investigate Glis3 regulation and the role of Glis3 on the transdifferentiation of pancreatic exocrine cells as a therapeutic option for type I diabetes. She likewise flourished in the lab of Dr. Jeannette Cook, where her studies culminated in her senior honors thesis on the regulation of the cell cycle protein Cdt1 by phosphorylation. Her aforementioned research experiences were published in PLOS ONE and MBoC. Concurrent to her research work, she found a deep connection between scientific advancement and medical progress. This led her to design and teach a course offered to UNC undergraduates called “The Past, Present, and Future of Medicine,” which covered a range of topics from Fleming’s penicillin discovery to the human genome project. She was awarded a Student Undergraduate Teaching Award for her teaching excellence and creation of a dynamic learning environment.

After graduating in 2016 with Highest Distinction and Honors, she decided to follow her interest in personalized medicine by completing a Master of Science in Genomic Medicine at Imperial College London. With the Dean’s Master’s Scholarship, she completed foundational genomic coursework and joined the lab of Professor Anne Bowcock at the National Heart and Lung Institute. There, she completed her master’s thesis on the genomics of uveal melanoma tumorigenesis. The specific aims of her investigation were to evaluate the sequence of genomic events leading to tumor development utilizing Sanger sequencing and FISH. After studying phenotype aware approaches to whole-exome sequencing in the laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Berg at UNC SOM, she began her MD/PhD studies at the same institution with the long term goal of becoming a physician-scientist.

In total, her research experiences motivated her to study the genomic and molecular mechanisms of cancer with the goal of applying this knowledge into translational precision medicine diagnostics and therapeutics. After completing basic medical science coursework and multiple clinical electives, she is now working with Dr. Zhengping Zhuang (NCI) and Professor Eamonn Maher (Department of Medical Genetics). As an NIH Gates Cambridge Scholar, she plans to study the genomic and metabolic underpinnings of the neuroendocrine tumors paragangliomas, pheochromocytomas, and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Outside of research, she is deeply committed to refugee health, genetics outreach, and mentorship.