SWEDISH NEUROSCIENCE INSTITUTE Parvinder Hothi, Ph.D., is on the verge of revolutionizing glioblastoma treatment. Dr. Hothi feels right at home in the lab.

ime is a confounding variable in the When did you know you wanted a career search for glioblastoma treatments. in science? The goal is to give patients more of it, I would say I was about 16 at the time when I Tbut the research requires an inordinate really knew that I loved science. This was at a amount. That’s what makes the next phase of high school back in England. Dr. Parvinder Hothi’s research so exciting. While in the past she had to wait for a patient’s tumor What was it about science that you to recur before administering their personalized enjoyed so much? drug cocktail, now she’s able to begin this I loved testing a hypothesis. I loved being in the targeted treatment right away. lab. I felt at ease there. I’d get so excited on days But we can’t do it without you. when we’d have back-to-back biology classes, We can’t do it without Dr. Hothi, either. With a and my friends would just look at me like, mix of determination, resourcefulness and “Wow, you’re a nerd.” Even now when I talk patience, she’s uniquely skilled to navigate the about it, it brings back a lot of happy memories. temporal challenges of glioblastoma research. She took a (brief) break to discuss her love of Do you remember a mentor or teacher along science, what drives her and the importance of the way who really inspired you? giving women a seat at the research table. Yes. His name was Mr. Harris. He was an

2 Swedish Neuroscience Institute amazing science teacher in my last year of high Same drugs, school. He was the one who pushed me to new promise pursue science as a major. I was worried that it would be too hard, that I’d get terrible grades. Generous gifts have helped to But he said, “You have to pick the subject you support Dr. Hothi’s ongoing clinical trial, in which she’s using love. I know two things about you: You love medicines approved for other science, and you’re great at it.” diseases to create personalized I remember a couple times going to his cocktails for patients whose classroom to ask how I’d done on an exam. As glioblastoma (GBM) is soon as I walked in the door, he’d have this big unresponsive to other treatments. While the average patient with smile on his face: “You got a hundred percent.” GBM survives up to 14 months To this day, I have never, ever forgotten that after diagnosis, Dr. Hothi’s feeling or the look on his face. He was so happy. patients have fared far better. He was so proud. Patient #1 30.6 months Tell me about a woman who inspired you. Patient #2 31.8 months I didn’t have many women role models in Patient #3 17.1 months* science. But I do remember in college learning Patient #4 39.8 months about Rosalind Franklin, the English chemist who was a major player in the discovery of Patient #5 12.4 months** DNA’s double-helix structure. Of course, the credit actually went to two men she worked * Patient had complications unrelated to the trial with, Francis Crick and James Watson. ** Patient was elderly and had advanced Obviously I didn’t like what happened to her, disease progression but it definitely stuck with me that here was this woman who got a Ph.D. and worked in science, which was exactly what I wanted to do.

Do you feel a responsibility to be a role model for young women? Why is it so important that we encourage I do, and I try to do my part. One of the women to pursue careers in science? physicians at the Neuroscience Institute used Aside from the obvious—that science and to run a program called High School Students research can benefit from a variety of in Medicine, where they’d bring groups of perspective—unfortunately, I believe there’s students through to tour the lab. I would talk to the potential for some bias in grant funding. them about my career path and the decisions Because this field has been male-dominated for that I made. so long, the vast majority of people reviewing I’ll never forget one girl who kind of hung applications are men. And they’re going to tend back after the rest of her group had left. She to approve applications that come from people came up and told me that she wanted to get they know, which are going to tend to be men. a Ph.D. in science, but she was worried it I don’t mean to suggest there’s intentional wouldn’t work out because she was a female bias against women involved; it’s more of a and Muslim. It really took me aback. bias in favor of the familiar. So hopefully, more I’m not Muslim, but I told her, “If you want women working in science means more a career in science, you can have one. I’m a women will eventually serve on those review prime example that the color of your skin or committees, which means more women will your being a woman shouldn’t stop you.” I have their grant applications approved. It won’t hope I did for her what Mr. Harris did for me. happen tomorrow, but I’m hopeful.

A conversation with Parvinder Hothi, Ph.D. 3 Your support of The Ivy Center and the Seattle Brain Cancer Walk inspires our entire team, including Dr. Hothi.

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To learn more about the impact of philanthropy on Dr. Hothi and the work that she does on behalf of The Ivy Center’s patients please contact:

Mallory Higgins Philanthropy Director 206-386-6108 [email protected]

747 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122 T 206-386-2738 [email protected] swedishfoundation.org