KENNESAW, Ga. | Oct 8, 2025

Joanna Wardwell-Ozgo figures to work backward when determining the causes of cancer.

The Kennesaw State University assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology recently earned a $720,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health that will strengthen undergraduate research in the College of Science and Mathematics while seeking clues about the hormonal control of cancer.

“This project involves getting at the beginnings of various diseases with the help of groundbreaking research involving our students, and that elevates KSU’s research profile,” Wardwell-Ozgo said.

Wardwell-Ozgo seeks to determine what happens to a cell when hormones bind to proteins called receptors, which creates different effects in different parts of the body. In puberty for example, different tissues receive the same hormone and each tissue reacts differently.

“With hormone pathways, you might grow, you might die, you might change. It’s variable,” Wardwell-Ozgo said. “This grant will investigate the nuance and complexity of this pathway and try to better understand how that one message is causing all these different tissue-specific occurrences to happen.”

Her lab focuses on hormone signaling during development and disease – what goes wrong during those early phases, and how those malformations affect life afterward. After earning her doctorate from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Wardwell-Ozgo served a postdoctoral fellowship in the cell biology department at the Emory University College of Medicine. There, she learned about the importance of hormones for cellular growth and realized there are large gaps in our understanding of this relationship set her professional course.

“I discovered more and more that we actually don't know what hormones are doing in development,” she said. “Until we understand fully what's going on in development, it’s hard to study a disease and fully understand the mechanism and the driving force behind that disease.”

The grant has a component for undergraduate research as well, a fond topic for Wardwell-Ozgo. As a former biology major, she thought the only path to a career in science was through medicine, until she conducted research as an undergraduate. She found a place where she could indulge her curiosity by asking questions and then seeing the result.

“I greatly value undergraduate research experience,” she said. “I also feel like I’m paying it forward by providing opportunities for students like me to get exposure and get introduced to this wild and wonderful world of science.”

– Story by Dave Shelles

Photos by Matt Yung

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.