Eva Vertes: Meet the future of cancer research

Eva Vertes shares her journey from family history to a passion for medicine, inspired by a book on Ebola. She discusses her research on Alzheimer's and cancer stem cells, highlighting the potential of cancer as a repair response. She explores why skeletal muscle resists cancer and proposes future research directions, including using cancer cells for therapeutic purposes.

What significant event led the speaker's family to settle in Canada?

• The train to Auschwitz took a wrong track.

• Her grandmother worked at the Banting Institute.

• The family decided to escape Hungary during the revolution.

• The boat they boarded was headed to Canada.

What book inspired the speaker's interest in medicine?

• The Hot Zone

• The Hardy Boys

• Nancy Drew

• The Grand Canyon

What was the focus of the speaker's first research project in high school?

• Alzheimer's disease

• Cancer stem cells

• Purine derivatives and cell growth

• Effects of heavy metals on the nervous system

What did the speaker discover about purine derivatives?

• They are unrelated to Alzheimer's.

• They have no effect on cells.

• They inhibit cell growth by 60%.

• They promote cell death.

What concept did the speaker explore at Stanford University?

• Cancer stem cells

• Purine derivatives

• Neuroscience

• Skeletal muscle resistance

How does the speaker view cancer in relation to injury?

• As a genetic disorder

• As a disease to be eliminated

• As a repair response

• As unrelated to injury

What is the speaker's hypothesis about skeletal muscle and cancer?

• Skeletal muscle lacks blood vessels.

• Skeletal muscle attracts metastases.

• Skeletal muscle is terminally differentiated.

• Skeletal muscle controls angiogenesis.

What role does MyoD play in skeletal muscle?

• It promotes angiogenesis.

• It prevents cancer from spreading.

• It is unrelated to muscle function.

• It causes cells to differentiate into muscle cells.

What potential future therapy does the speaker suggest?

• Using cancer to repair tissues

• Eliminating cancer with chemotherapy

• Preventing cancer with purine derivatives

• Using bacteria to treat diseases

What is the speaker's view on the body's response to cancer?

• The body's response is irrelevant to cancer treatment.

• The body's response should be manipulated, not eliminated.

• The body's response should be counteracted.

• The body is not smart enough to handle cancer.