Marquette student and leukemia survivor inspired to research cancer

Childhood cancer survivor helping with cancer research

Defying the odds and making a difference, that's the mission of a Marquette student who is also a childhood cancer survivor.

MILWAUKEE - Defying the odds and making a difference, that's the mission of a Marquette student who is also a childhood cancer survivor.

For Marquette Junior Natalia Beans, working in the medical field has been a goal since grade school.

Natalia Beans

A renewed purpose

What we know:

"I never really doubted whether or not I should do it," Natalia said.

She says her focus was on the pharmaceutical industry.

That changed in her freshman year.

Natalia Beans

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"It was one three-credit class that completely changed my life," she added.

Bio 1101, a course rooted in developing biological research, renewed a deep purpose stemming from her personal experience with leukemia.

"I was diagnosed at 18 months and started my remission at about four years old," she said.

Undergoing treatment

She says surviving the disease inspired her to serve those with the same struggle.

"I just knew I had to give back to the community that I came from just because I knew how hard it was," she said.

Researching cancer

What they're saying:

She says the work began the summer after freshman year when she joined a research lab to figure out how and why proteins in cells randomly fold the wrong way, and how that can lead to diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and some links to cancer.

She co-authored the research — earning her the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, a national award given to college students dedicated to research in the sciences, math, or engineering.

Hard at work

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"Childhood cancer can be very blinding and feel like it’s going to be the end all, be all. But having that hope in knowing that things happen for a reason, knowing that that’s the motivation for me doing what I’m doing now is everything," she said.

What's next:

Natalia says up next for her is more research and says the ultimate goal is to find the cure for cancer.