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In Their Own Words is a series in which we introduce you to the Gaels you need to meet—students, alums, faculty, and staff—and let them tell their stories, in their own words.

Meet Fiona Quimby ’22: born and raised in Moraga, she earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Saint Mary’s. Since graduating, she has worked as an Assistant Specialist in Radiology in the laboratory of Michael Evans, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco. Specifically, Quimby is helping develop a new radiotherapy drug that specifically targets cancer cells without damaging healthy tissues. In July, she will start medical school at the University of Denver.

Lizard launchpad 

My grandpa was a chemist, which really inspired me growing up. I still remember being six years old, walking up to him and saying, “Did you know that H2O is two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom?” I thought it would blow his mind, and yeah—it did not.

Because of him, I think, I was inspired to pursue science. I was always a curious kid; I was the weird girl who liked catching lizards on the playground at lunch. It’s funny to think about that now. Fast forward a few years to my Summer Research Program with Michael Marchetti, and there I was, wearing waders in a pond behind Saint Mary’s, catching newts. 

It makes perfect sense, though, I think. Scientists are all extremely inquisitive. I’ve always been someone who needs to understand how everything works. 

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The road to Saint Mary’s

While I grew up in Moraga, it’s not as if Saint Mary’s was a given. I applied to colleges all over the country, telling everybody, “I want to go as far away from home as possible.” But then, I got into Saint Mary’s and they offered a really sizeable scholarship. My parents supported me going to college, but let me know I’d have to pay my own way. Financially, then, Saint Mary’s made sense. 

Now, I look back and see Saint Mary’s as the right choice in so many ways. I was lucky to be close to home, to family, and to have the tight-knit community we have on campus. I also got the kind of hands-on research opportunities undergrads rarely get. For instance, in my advanced anatomy class, we got access to human cadavers. Now, I mean, that sounds creepy. But for someone interested in pursuing medicine, it’s actually invaluable! 

Role models and relationships

The professor relationships really exemplify all I love about Saint Mary’s and how personable it is. Not only do you get to know your professors in class and then during the Summer Research Program, but you often get to work with them throughout the school year. You build a long-term relationship and bond—which you rarely get at bigger research universities. 

I already mentioned Dr. Marchetti, who was a big role model. Another person at SMC I really idolized was Sonya Schuh. She’s very inspiring to me, as a pioneering woman of science in a male-dominated space. She was always very honest about her career path and raising kids as she pursued her master’s and PhD. Now, she’s one of the leaders in her field, getting interviewed for documentaries for her research. 

But Dr. Schuh also talked a lot about overcoming imposter syndrome, and I’ve really taken that to heart. Whenever I get scared—presenting at a conference, for instance—I tell myself, “I know Dr. Schuh would do this, so I will, too.”

“The professor relationships really exemplify all I love about Saint Mary’s and how personable it is... You build a long-term relationship and bond—which you rarely get at bigger research universities.”

Charting her course

My journey to cancer research is actually because of my best friend, Nicole Nagayama ’21, whom I’ve known since we were teenagers. In high school, her mom passed away from breast cancer. She got really involved in the American Cancer Society, or ACS, and when she came to Saint Mary’s, she started the ACS club on campus. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, but seeing what her family went through—as well as others in my own family—made me want to focus on cancer. 

Nicole was the president of the ACS club, and I was her vice-president. We started organizing these panels of physicians and scientists, many of them involved with ACS. One speaker was Michael Evans, a professor of radiology at UCSF. I was immediately enthralled with his nuclear medical research, and could see he was on the verge of something really, really exciting. I wanted to be involved. 

So I just reached out to him. I asked, “Can I come shadow in your lab to learn more?” And he said, “Okay.” Michael paired me with a technician in his lab, and I shadowed him for a few months, asking a million questions and starting to learn the ropes. 

And then, one day, Dr. Evans asked if I wanted to come work for him after graduation. And I was like, “YES!”

A promising new treatment

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What I do in Dr. Evans’ lab at UCSF is preclinical nuclear medicine research—which is a fancy way to say that, basically, I help develop radioactive drugs to cure cancer. 

Specifically, we focus on targeted radiotherapy. We know, for example, that certain cancers have high expression of particular proteins. What we can then do is generate antibodies or small molecules that target the protein—and with those, we can attach a radioactive isotope. It’s different from general radiation or chemotherapy, which goes throughout the whole body and is very damaging to healthy cells as well. But the radioactive drugs we’re developing can differentiate between cancerous and non-cancerous cells and kill only the cancerous ones.

Coming into her own

My role at the lab has definitely grown since I joined. I started out as a technician, assisting postdoctoral reseachers with their work, learning the ropes. And then, about a year in, Dr. Evans gave me a project of my own. I’ve been working with a company in Singapore that developed this antibody, and my job has been to do radiochemistry for the project, running all the animal studies and imaging and therapy—essentially testing out the antibody and creating a radioactive drug. 

It’s been amazing to be involved in something where you can see a tumor and then watch it literally vanish. I was checking on my mice this morning, the ones I’ve been testing. The mice all started off with tumors, and now, those are gone. They’re healthy and happy. 

I recently spoke on our findings at the Society of Nuclear Medicine Conference, which is the number one conference for nuclear medicine. There I was, little me with my Bachelor of Science, talking to a crowd full of PhDs and physicians. It was pretty incredible.

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The next chapter

For me, the next step is medical school. I’ve gotten into four and I’m waitlisted at two. Throughout the process, I’ve been so grateful for my experience at Saint Mary’s and now at UCSF. In fact, I love what I do here. When I start med school in July, I’m really going to miss it. It’s the kind of job I ultimately want: one where I learn something new every day and make an impactful difference.

Advice for current and future Gaels?

The one thing I’d say is: Don’t be scared to ask. For me, everything I've done since college would not have been possible if I didn’t reach out to Dr. Evans after he came to speak at our club. It’s so easy for people—myself included—to get in their head and be shy and scared. But I needed to shoot my shot. 

So just try. You never know what might come out of something, and there’s no harm in this game. So shoot your shot. 

(This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Sam Nobile ’25 serves as student writer and Hayden Royster is Staff Writer at the Office of Marketing and Communications for Saint Mary's College. Write them.