UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology SUMMER 2024 - Flipbook - Page 55
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
A CONVERSATION WITH
NICOLAS NELSON, M.D.
E: Why medicine? From medicine, how did you
E: Talk to me about your research on circadian
arrive at Radiation Oncology?
rhythm and the implications for cancer care. Is
N: I don't generally excel at things naturally—it
takes effort. As a kid, I remember in history
class wondering how I would find something
to contribute to society, which is when I first
considered a profession helping others live their
own (in my mind, more capable) lives better
and longer. That was so long ago; like most of
my colleagues, I ultimately fell in love with the
science of the body and the vocation where
we can apply it in a personal setting, to help
patients.
thinking about circadian rhythm at the point of
I learned about radiation oncologists through
space medicine research, but it was the patient
population that drew me to cancer care. I
wanted to work in a specialty where you can
be there for people through this life-changing
diagnosis, fighting a disease that is as horrifying
as its biology is compelling. Radiation pushes
that biology to the patient's advantage. As I
learned more about radiation oncology and
the folks who go into it (including overzealous
science nerds), I knew this was where I
belonged—in the basement working as a team
to wield radiant energy with delicate precision,
while connecting with people and arming them
with a new weapon in their disease course.
care/treatment delivery too late? In a world of
shift-work and light pollution, should we also
be researching solutions / buffers that prevent
disruption before a cancer diagnosis?
N: To me the most impressive thing about
circadian rhythms is that you can find them in
every domain of life—clearly offering a survival
advantage. They are like an evolutionary
response to the yin and yang of Earth's 24-hour
rotation, governing some mammalian behaviors
like our sleep–wake cycle. I learned about
chronobiology (the study of biological rhythms)
in my first research position. As a premed I
knew I wanted to explore space medicine. At
the time I was working as a hospital pharmacy
technician, so I searched my institution's
directory for anybody working under a NASA
grant and found the neuroscience PhD (who
would four years later be my neuroanatomy
professor in medical school) Dr. George
Brainard (yes, Brainard). He was interested
in the nonvisual effects of visible light, and
when I joined his lab they had constructed a
high-fidelity mockup of the International Space
Station crew quarters, consulting with NASA to
match every detail. Why? All to test what would
become the Station's new dynamic lighting
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