Alumni Profile – Dr. Bethany Perez, PhD ’12
Dr. Perez White Follows Signal Pathways from Cancer to Pioneering Skin Research
Dr. Bethany Perez White, PhD ’12, knew the first time she saw a laboratory that she wanted to wear that white coat and run her own lab. Now an assistant professor at Northwestern University, she does just that. Along the way, she’s been surprised by the path she’s been able to forge—from cancer research to dermatology.
“I knew actually long before [doing my PhD] that I wanted to go into academic science,” she said. “I wanted to be a principal investigator that ran their own lab, that taught, that mentored students.”
Perez White finished her PhD in biopharmaceutical sciences in 2012 but worked with the College of Pharmacy much earlier. As a UIC undergraduate in biology, she worked on breast cancer studies with the UIC Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research. Perez White remained dedicated to breast cancer research through her master’s at the University of Cyprus and PhD back at UIC with pharmacology professor Debra Tonetti.
Mastering the cell signaling pathways central to breast cancer biology led Perez White to the next unexpected step in her career—a dermatology fellowship at Northwestern University.
“It wasn’t the cancer field that I was used to, but it really sparked my interest, because it dealt with all the signaling pathways and basic biology that I had learned as a cancer biologist,” she said. “So, I went to the interview and was just blown away . . . that I could take something I had learned for so long and apply it to healthy signaling and homeostasis.”
Now a tenure-track professor in dermatology and an associate director in Northwestern's Skin Tissue Engineering and Morphology Core, her work involves growing “organotypic skin cultures.”
“Basically, what I tell people is we can grow skin,” she said. That is, her lab uses primary skin cells to build 3D models mimicking real human skin for disease research. Perez White said she hopes her skin models can provide a vital investigative resource. “I want to put the 3D models as that critical hub from getting from cells on plastic to animal models.”
She traces her research success to her early lab experience at UIC and other professional-development opportunities at the college. Perez White served as chair and vice chair of the college's AAPS chapter, presented at national conferences, and mentored through the Urban Pipeline Program.
“The College of Pharmacy really gave me everything I needed to set me up for success,” she said.