Deborah Im, BS

Deborah Im, BS

Medical Student
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Abstract 5151: Potential of aqueous humor as a liquid biopsy for uveal melanoma. 

What are your long-term goals?  

My research in Dr. Jesse L. Berry’s lab involves investigating the aqueous humor, the clear fluid in the front of eye, for tumor-derived genetic information in retinoblastoma and uveal melanoma patients. Following graduation from the M.D. program at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, I hope to continue my education as an ophthalmologist and ocular oncologist to work as a clinician and researcher in this field.  

Please share information about how the pandemic has impacted your research over the last two years.  

The pandemic has disrupted patient access to care, and this was no different in our research. Our research involves evaluating treatment outcomes after cancer therapy, and we continually saw delays in treatments and clinic visitations over the last two years.