Whitney Brandt, MD, an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, was recently named a 2025 Dean’s Scholar at Washington University School of Medicine.
In this interview, originally published by the Division of Physician-Scientists, she describes her research, motivations and the importance of mentorship.
What motivated you to become a physician-scientist?
I have always been interested in science, but for me it’s all about the patient. I take care of patients both in and out of the operating room every day. This work is extremely satisfying but also inspiring because there is always something we can be doing better. I take care of patients with lung cancer, and while therapy and survival is improving, there is still room for improvement. Sometimes, even despite a perfect operation and gold standard care, some cancers still recur. Working in a translational setting allows me to be fully immersed in understanding lung cancer. Ultimately, I hope we can improve the survival for patients with cancer.
What drew you to your field?
I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, and more specifically, I’ve loved surgery. My grandfather was a general surgeon and I grew up in the house next door to him. My mother is an operating room nurse. From them, I’ve been exposed to surgery and feel gratification that I can help a person by removing their cancer with my hands. It is a special relationship that patients have with their surgeons to trust us to help them. I feel lucky that patients inspire me in and out of the operating room to ask questions and improve the ability to take care of future patients.
Tell us about your research.
I am most interested in studying lung cancer. I am currently working on developing targeted therapies and understanding the biology and mechanisms of lung cancer in order to treat patients more effectively. In the laboratory, I’m studying the mechanism of DHX9 protein in squamous cell lung cancer and identifying which subset of patients with lung cancer may benefit from a novel DHX9 inhibitor.
What has mentorship meant to you?
Mentorship means everything. I would not have been a thoracic surgeon had it not been for mentors which inspired and encouraged me to go into the field. I spent time in my general surgery residency immersed in a laboratory of a surgeon-scientist, Dr. David R. Jones. His commitment to education, mentorship, and scholarship were inspiring to me. Now, as a surgeon here at Washington University, I feel extremely lucky. I have not only outstanding clinical partners who have taught me how to take care of thoracic patients, but they support me to work on my translational work. In addition, my mentor Jason Weber is always supportive of my ideas and pushing me to think independently. I think the team is extremely important – with Dr. Weber, Dr. Ramaswamy Govindan, Dr. Puri, and Dr. Olson as leaders of my mentorship committee, I feel extremely lucky and supported in my journey to helping patients with lung cancer.