UNT Biological Science alumna ('04) Dr. Tammy Chan is working to save people's lives. As a clinical researcher overseeing drug trials for Covance, a drug development company in Dallas, her team is scrambling to find a cure for deadly diseases.

"COVID-19 has given a lot of perspective on the importance of the work we do, and how it impacts the world," she says.

Dr. Chan studied biology at UNT and worked in professor of developmental physiology Warren Burggren's lab. She later earned her doctorate in developmental biology from the Baylor College of Medicine. Shen worked as a field application scientist for Molecular Devices, a biotechnology company, where she trained researchers on how to use equipment for clinics across the country before landing at Covance in 2019.

"A lot of diseases don't have a cure," she says. "It's such a responsibility to help those who are in those first trials. "

Dr. Chan has recruited UNT students to work at Covance through UNT's Career Center. And she wants them to know the importance of science.

"The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of people having the curiosity, enthusiasm and persistence to pursue cures for people who don't have them," she says.

Via Jessica DeLeón at The North Texan