Dietmar Siemann, Ph.D., associate director of education and training at the UF Health Cancer Center and Associate Chair for Research, Department of Radiation Oncology, organized a successful Cancer Research Symposium for High School Students, which took place January 26 at West Port High School in Ocala, Florida.
More than 400 local high school students learned about the latest cancer research from University of Florida faculty and trainees and discovered the varied career paths available within the field. Attendance was more than twice that reported during the inaugural symposium in 2020.
Dr. Siemann, who holds the John P. Cofrin Professorship in Radiation Therapy, described the twists and turns on his own path to becoming a cancer researcher.
“Single-minded focus on what you think you’re going to do is often not the best way; it certainly hasn’t been for me,” he said. “The environment I found myself in was constantly changing and evolving and what was important to me was to be able to adapt and persevere. I learned a long time ago to be flexible; as one door closes, another will open.”
Read more online at the UF Health Cancer Center website.
