D4P: Beating Cancer Fellows
Raising the SciComm Bar
Data for the People would not be possible without the participation of dedicated scientist communicators. Below is a list of our D4P Beating Cancer production team and fellows.
D4P Fellows Season 4
Rachel Payne is a PhD candidate in Pharmacology at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, where she conducts her thesis research in the Lewis and Pillarsetty Labs at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Her work focuses on developing and characterizing radiotherapeutic strategies for prostate cancer, with emphasis on PSMA-targeted alpha and beta radiation strategies to address tumor heterogeneity. Rachel began her scientific journey at the University of Utah, earning an Honors B.S. in Chemistry with minors in Physics and Nuclear Engineering. She is an avid science communicator, as a contributing illustrator for Rockefeller’s Natural Selections newsletter and awardee of Weill Cornell’s 2024 3 Minute Thesis competition. Outside of lab, Rachel enjoys being stared at by her pet gecko, reading, and watching Seinfeld.
Producer
Moniquetta Shafer M.Ed., PMP, is a predoctoral researcher focused on understanding how cancer cells modify their metabolism to support acquisition of metastatic features. Her interest in cancer research grew through her exposure to the development of various therapeutics while working in the biotech industry for over 12 years. She has a long-standing interest in biology education and loves to see difficult scientific topics discussed in ways that are easy for non-scientists to understand. Her vision for this season was to help the average person understand how researchers are working to develop more effective treatments against cancer. In her spare time, she cares for her two healthy and active sons and loves to laugh and kick back with her loving and supportive husband.
