A ‘Wunderkind’ in Nursing Research: Lauren Ghazal Recognized Among STAT’s Top Emerging Scientists

Assistant Professor Lauren Ghazal, PhD, FNP-BC has been chosen as a STAT Wunderkind, a “next-generation scientific superstar,” in a national contest that singles out young, high achievers from top research institutions.

Ghazal, a family nurse practitioner and researcher, joined the University in July 2023 as an assistant professor at the School of Nursing and associate member of the Wilmot Cancer Institute's Cancer Prevention and Control Program. 

As a nurse scientist, Ghazal utilizes her professional and personal experiences in cancer care, nursing and economics to research the cancer survivorship needs of adolescents and young adults, with a focus on the financial impacts of cancer on these age groups. It’s an area of research that holds personal meaning for Ghazal, a cancer survivor who was treated for lymphoma in her 20s.

“I’m honored and proud to be recognized for my work and dedication to advancing adolescent and young-adult cancer care delivery — especially at a time when I am launching a new career in a new place,” Ghazal said. “I feel blessed to contribute to nursing science as a patient, provider, and researcher, and hope to continue this important work in a long career.”

Alongside her new colleagues at Wilmot, Ghazal is working to expand adolescent and young adult cancer research at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She is a co-principal investigator on a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) engagement award for a project to build a research base to support studies on cancer survivorship disparities in the LGBTQ+ community.

“Our generation of assistant professors is pushing boundaries in a good way, and that’s something I really value at the University of Rochester,” Ghazal said. “There are groundbreaking researchers doing great science here, in ways that haven’t been done before. I’m excited to learn from my colleagues, and to know that we have the people and infrastructure here to move adolescent and young adult research forward.”

STAT, a respected news agency that exclusively covers health and medicine, created the annual “Wunderkind” award to celebrate early-career researchers who are not yet independent scientists or program leaders.

Read more about Ghazal in her STAT profile.