My name is Jack Hedberg, and I’m a 7th-year MD/PhD student at Ohio State University’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). I recently completed my PhD in biomedical science co-mentored by Dr. Elaine Mardis and Dr. Kevin Cassady at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where my dissertation work focused on how oncolytic viruses alter tumor antigen-specific immune responses in glioblastoma and medulloblastoma, the most common primary brain malignancies in adults and children, respectively.
Research Focus and Long-Term Goals
It was the highlight of my MSTP training to serve as a bridge connecting these two labs to execute complex, high-impact projects impacting brain cancer therapy. Integrating my training in stereotactic mouse brain surgery to lead preclinical studies testing oncolytic viruses in the Cassady Lab with state-of-the-art genomics facilities and computational infrastructure just down the hall in the Mardis Lab allowed me to become well-versed in an extraordinary breadth of techniques central to cancer immunotherapy. This enabled me to recognize opportunities to leverage capabilities and expertise across my two labs in unique ways to ask novel questions. My dissertation work also brought me into close proximity with clinical trials and neurosurgeon-scientists, as the oncolytic viruses and immunogenomics methods I was using in mice are being actively implemented in patients with brain malignancies. This allowed me to directly witness how research and clinical insights can feed into one another in ways that powerfully impact research projects and patient care, reinforcing my motivation to catalyze this crosstalk as a physician scientist.
My long-term goal is to become a physician-scientist with a basic and translational immunology lab pursuing high-impact discoveries that 1) define therapeutically-relevant immunologic mechanisms and 2) apply knowledge of those mechanisms in creative ways to develop novel immunotherapies. The immune system is an astonishingly intricate and versatile molecular network optimized to interface with endogenous human biochemistry, capable of ‘learning’ enormous arrays of shifting molecular targets, and with unparalleled ability to selectively modify physiology. Thus, I view the immune system partly as a living, programmable therapeutic platform whose modification and redirection via immunotherapy holds potential to profoundly improve our ability to treat and even eradicate a vast array of diseases. Increasingly sophisticated molecular characterization platforms such as single cell sequencing and spatial omics are revolutionizing our ability to define and measure complex, heterogenous disease processes at incredibly high resolution. Making use of such insights to formulate therapies capable of hitting many targets with conditionality and precision in living patients is an incredibly complex task, but it’s something I believe the field of immunotherapy is poised to grow into within my lifetime. During PhD training I applied my interest in immunotherapy specifically in the context of cancer - whose heterogeneity and dynamic nature has been a powerful teacher spurring progress in immunotherapy, and a field in which I can envision establishing myself as an investigator long-term. Yet I also believe that moving the field of immunotherapy toward its true potential holds exciting implications extending far beyond cancer, impacting treatments across virtually every other branch of medicine and enabling novel applications to safeguard human health in the face of challenges that may not even be known yet, such as those encountered by astronauts during long-durations spaceflight or off-planet missions. I am deeply inspired to use my training as a physician scientist, passion for the immune system, and growing interest in aerospace medicine to integrate these topics as a surgeon-scientist, working on highly motivated teams to help solve complex challenges and impact the lives of patients.
About Cells and Surgery
Teaching and mentorship are things I’m very passionate about. Cells and Surgery is meant to serve as a platform for creating educational resources and sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned throughout my training to support future generations of physicians and scientists in their journeys.
My Journey to MD/PhD
I grew up in Minnesota, attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities where I doubled majored in biochemistry and human physiology. Throughout college I conducted DNA replication research in Anja Bielinsky’s Lab, and was mentored by Dr. James Harmon in the Department of Surgery, as well as frequently involved with the emergency department at Hennepin County Medical Center, a level 1 trauma center in Downtown Minneapolis. The College of Biological Sciences within my university provided incredible undergraduate training in a community of peers and close friends collectively sharing our journeys to become physicians and scientists, and this was one of the most beautiful chapters of my life. Here I also met the most important person in my life, my wife, Bridget Duffy - a neuroscience major drawn to the intersection of neurobiology, addiction, and human experience, and someone whose curiosity and desire to help others deeply resonated with me.
I matriculated to Ohio State University’s MD/PhD program in 2019, drawn to the state-of-the-art cancer infrastructure, thriving ecosystem of physician-scientists, and world class training within the College of Medicine. I explored research interests during my M1 and M2 years, then completed research rotations in Elaine Mardis’ and Kevin Cassady’s Labs at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2021, immediately becoming enthralled with the universe of cancer immunotherapy and and genomics guiding multi-disciplinary projects and collaborations between their labs, as well as the phenomenal teams of incredibly gifted scientists throughout their labs in the Institute for Genomic Medicine and Center for Childhood Cancer. The leaps and bounds of growth made during my PhD years, the magnitude of valleys and successes, and the training opportunities and mentorship I was fortunate to receive in the Mardis and Cassady Labs are experiences I wouldn’t trade for anything, catalyzing my growth into a confident, independent scientist, and confirming my passion for immunotherapy research. I also frequently interfaced with neurosurgeons, including my fantastic neurosurgeon-scientist mentor, Dr. Michelle Wedemeyer, providing me a breadth of exposure to the patient-facing extensions of my dissertation work, and furthering my desire to pursue a surgeon-scientist career.
Currently I’m completing the clinical clerkships of my M3/M4 years, and fully engaged in the search to identify candidate institutions for residency training that will provide the robust academic research environment, mentorship, and training needed to launch my career as a physician scientist.
Outside the hospital and lab, I love backpacking with my wife, trail running, scuba diving, visiting art studios, and spending time with my amazing family and friends, who inspire me to push every day.
