Shorewood grad enrolls in doctoral program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Jessica Gaevert

Jessica Gaevert of Shoreline is a doctoral student at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, a school integrated with the world-famous children's hospital located in Memphis, Tennessee.

Gaevert is a member of the second class of students ever admitted to the school, where students work toward their doctorate alongside internationally renowned biomedical scientists at one of the world's premier research and treatment centers for pediatric cancer and childhood disease.

Gaevert, who is the daughter of Julie and Richard Gaevert, graduated from Shorewood High School in 2014. She went on to earn a bachelor’s of science degree in microbiology from Colorado State University in 2018.

“One of the highlights of the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences program is that the curriculum for first year graduate students requires us to interact with patients and learn how our research can translate into treatment for a child that desperately needs it,” says Gaevert, whose research interests are microbial genetics, human genetics, genetic diseases, and genetic alterations in cancer. 

“I am someone who is very empathetic, and my goals are to have a positive impact on the lives of others through science. This program is perfect for me because the idea of translating research into a way that helps others is a core goal of the program and of mine.”

Class sizes at St. Jude are limited to 10 to 15 students per year, and admission is highly selective. The students interact extensively with research and medical experts throughout their first year and also follow St. Jude patients from the beginning of their first year. This clinical care experience is just one of the fundamental components of the program.

“We are creating an integrated approach to help these future scientific leaders develop an understanding of how laboratory discoveries become new therapies,” says Stephen White, D.Phil., dean of the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. “We are looking for students who want to make an impact that can change patients’ lives.”

Doctoral research can be pursued in diverse areas with top basic and translational research faculty. St. Jude has superb programs in pediatric oncology, infectious diseases, genetic and blood disorders, drug discovery and international medicine. Throughout training, students are supported by generous benefits, extraordinary core facilities, and a collaborative, close-knit environment — all in the heart of the vibrant, musical city of Memphis.

More information about the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences HERE.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (“St. Jude”) is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing and food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.