Lemont Alum Excels in Cancer Research Field

Ask Carla Penicka what led her to the medical field and she’ll tell you it comes down to the first pair of glasses she got in junior high.

“I went to see an opthamologist and I thought the whole process was kind of fascinating — the doctor/patient interaction and the technology that goes into treating and diagnosing a patient,” said the Lemont native.

Initially, Penicka considered the field ophthalmology. But the more she learned about medicine and healthcare, the more she wanted to be a part of it.

The 2006 grad has a double major in biology and chemistry from University of Chicago.

Today she is a research technologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and was recently part of a paper published in the journal Nature Medicine on ovarian cancer research.

The paper talks about research that suggests a "fatty apron" in the abdomen called the omentum helps fuel the spread of ovarian cancer.

She and her fellow researchers are trying to explain the prominence of aggressive omental metastases among women who present with late stage ovarian cancer. They have established that the fat cells of the omentum are providing the cancer cells with energy to continue their destructive growth.  

“These results are now leading us to delve further into researching the responsible biochemical and metabolic mechanisms to ultimately identify a potential target for drug therapy,” Penicka said.

She lauds her high school science classes for giving her a jumpstart on her career.

“The science department is truly LHS’s gemstone,” she said. “They demand and applaud logical, analytical, and critical thinking, and it is these tools which are invaluable to educational, personal, and professional success.”

She notes two of her past educators especially.

“Teachers like Mr. (Tim) Leffler and Ms. (Patte) Doornbos pushed me to accept nothing less than my best in the classroom and inspired me to continue my scientific learning beyond high school,” she said.

Penicka lauds her parents, who still live in Lemont, for their support.

“My parents have always encouraged me to pursue work I would love,” she said. “Success follows happiness.”

Penicka calls her recent involvement with the collaborative ovarian cancer research project “humbling.”

“It has been incredibly rewarding to see the relentless hard work of many dedicated scientists, doctors, residents, and patients come to such fruition,” she said. “To be published in Nature Medicine at any point in one’s career is a huge honor.”