Brittany Wenger is not your average sophomore here at Duke. Not only is she interested in computer science and coding, she is also one of the youngest cancer researchers to date. Brittany is the developer of a breast cancer detection artificial intelligence program called Cloud 4 Cancer. She is currently a finalist for the L’Oreal Paris 2014 Women of Worth.
Why did you get involved with breast cancer cure research?
When I was 15, my cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer and it was a really eye-opening experience. I knew that I wanted to get involved [with breast cancer research] to make this process better for patients. It’s startling—one in eight women will actually be diagnosed with breast cancer. So when I found out that my cousin wasn’t alone, it really drove me to want to do breast cancer research. She had to go through a really painful [and long] process. I really wanted to make the diagnostic process more efficient and less painful.
Can you describe the technology involved with Cloud 4 Cancer?
Cloud 4 Cancer is an artificial neural network- a program that is designed to model the way the brain thinks so that it can actually detect patterns far too complex for humans to recognize. The whole point of Cloud 4 Cancer is for it to learn how to diagnose breast cancer by looking at the appearance of cells and trying to distinguish between subtle patterns to determine whether cells look more like they are from a cancerous tumor or a benign mass so that it can generate an output. Then Cloud 4 Cancer, just like the cloud, uses a technology that allows everyone from around the world to access it.
How did you get involved with “the cloud” and this form of technology?
I first got interested in computers when I was in the seventh grade. I took an elective course on futuristic thinking and got to write my final paper on the technology of the future. I came across the fact that computers could literally transcend human knowledge through artificial intelligence and I was enthralled. I went home, bought a college textbook and started doing coding control trials online and decided that I wanted to learn to code. It just skyrocketed from there.
How do you see Cloud 4 Cancer influencing other medical advancements in the future? Does your work apply to other disciplines?
I’m actually sending Cloud 4 Cancer to work with many if not all cancer diagnostics. It’s had success determining certain subsets of Leukemia based on genetic expression profiles. Cloud 4 Cancer was able to recommend four drug targets for a very aggressive form of cancer that doesn’t have a good treatment process right now. I definitely think Cloud 4 Cancer can be extended throughout the oncology medical field. On an even broader spectrum about artificial intelligence, my network is not aware that its detecting breast cancer. It’s just taking input and learning what the best algorithm is to apply to those inputs. There’s definitely a lot of potential there that could apply to another field.
How did you become so motivated/stay motivated throughout your research? Any setbacks or challenges throughout this process?
The program actually stopped twice before it was successful. The second time, I think I had literally spent six months on it, trying to run tests, and had to trash six months of work, but the great thing about science is that you learn just as much from these botched experiments as you do from your successful ones. I was really to try and figure out why it was failing so that I could make sure it didn’t happen again. I genuinely do enjoy the puzzle of [figuring out how things] go right.
Where does your motivation come from?
I think I’m really lucky to be surrounded by strong role models and mentors in my life. I come from a really supportive family and I also had two teachers at my high school who were really excited for me. They were my computer science and biology teachers so, even though their specialties were not artificial intelligence or breast cancer, when I did have questions or get stuck in ruts, they would be there to help talk out ideas and give different viewpoints. Science is very collaborative so it’s very important to [do this]. Now that I’m in college at Duke, I have professors that I can also bounce ideas off of or fellow students interested in computer science. Professor Willard in the Genome Sciences and Policy Department has really been a strong mentor for me and has given me a lot of life and research advice. I’m working in Jeff Ginsburg’s lab. We do computational biology and everyone in the lab is very friendly and willing to give me advice and talk to me about my research. Dr. Ginsburg is also amazing and very supportive of my research.
How are you handling all the fame from your success?
Everyone has been really great about working around my school schedule. I’m keeping my life in balance, going to my classes, keeping with my extracurriculars and staying involved in research. I love getting the opportunity to talk about my research and raise awareness for it so I’m really lucky and excited to be part of the Women of Worth program.
What does it mean to you to be a 2014 finalist for L’Oreal Paris’ Women of Worth? What is your own definition of a “woman of worth” and why is it important to you?
I’ve gotten to meet a lot of the finalists and look through their projects. I think we are all really passionate about something and we are doing our part to change the world. A woman of worth is someone who is passionate and following whatever her interest or passion may be to make a positive difference for the people around her.
As you can see, Brittany Wenger is an amazingly passionate and talented computer scientist with a revolutionary program. With so much passion, dedication and genius, there’s no reason Brittany should not be honored as a 2014 Woman of Worth by L’Oreal Paris. Voting for Brittany ends on November 26 so please do your part to support Brittany by going to http://www.lorealparisusa.com/en/women-of-worth.aspx#Brittany-Wenger. Duke needs to support Brittany not just because she is a fellow Blue Devil, but also because with Brittany’s passion, she can really change the world and the face of modern cancer detection. Go Brittany!!