LSU Student Helping Improve Breast Cancer Care with Medical Innovation and Social Insight
March 24, 2025
Louisiana has a very high breast cancer death rate, but social, economic, and educational factors experienced by much of the state’s population result in some people being hit harder than others.
Danielle Gipson, an Ogden Honors College senior at LSU majoring in biochemistry, has researched both the medical and social aspects of this disparity, helping to shine a light on an issue that has affected her own family and bring hope for a multi-faceted approach to solving this issue.
“I have learned to think about breast cancer, and all ailments, as not only a scientific disease, but as an indicator of one’s lived experiences, built environments, and social status,” Gipson says.
“As a future physician, I will view and treat my patients the same way, with the understanding that simply prescribing a medicine or doing an operation does not always address the entire picture.”
The Research
Most anticancer drugs and therapies, like chemotherapy, kill the healthy and cancerous cells in the body, leaving the patient susceptible to becoming sick and less able to recover.
At LSU, Gipson is part of a team researching fisetin, a natural flavonoid found in various fruits and vegetables that has demonstrated potential as a breast cancer treatment with healthier patient outcomes.
When cancerous cells are pre-treated with fisetin, they become more sensitive to treatment with cancer-killing viruses. Gipson is testing the herpes simplex virus (HSV), which has been genetically engineered to infect and destroy tumor cells while sparing normal tissues selectively.
Also, the virus acts as a vaccine to prevent the spread of the disease to distal organs. The combination therapy may be particularly important to combat breast cancers that are resistant to conventional chemotherapy.
“A successful outcome would provide us with conclusive results that fisetin is effective on its own as a breast cancer therapy and that the LSU-engineered herpes simplex virus provides long-term protection,” she says. “This is the first step in finding a non-harmful way to combat the disease and harness the patient’s own immune system to fight this disease.”
The current experiments focus on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, one of the most prevalent and aggressive forms, but understanding the mechanisms will allow the LSU team to expand to other forms of breast cancer as well as cervical and uterine cancer.
The Societal Side of Cancer
Before studying fisetin, Gipson took part in bioinformatics research at LSU designed to better understand how certain age groups are affected by certain types of breast cancer. The work also looked at prognosis, or the stage or severity of a person’s condition once diagnosed.
Narrowing the focus to Louisiana, and even by parish, Gipson says, can allow future studies to search for correlations between access to healthcare, socioeconomic status, and breast cancer incidence rates.
It’s a part of cancer research that’s personal for Gipson.
“I’ve always been interested in women’s health and the issues that affect it,” she says. “I grew up around so many strong women, and they have always inspired me to persistently strive for my goals.”
She’s seen two great-aunts struggle with cancer. One survived. The other, who Gipson says served as a grandmother figure in her life, was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer and passed away shortly after Gipson enrolled at LSU. Her mother suffered from a blood clot in her pulmonary arteries and nearly passed away due to negligence, she says, adding that her mother’s advocacy for herself may have saved her life.
Gipson says that a woman who must work to support her family may not have the time or resources to advocate for herself at the doctor. And her daughters, who see this, may do the same as adults, continuing the cycle.
“Breaking these factors down, individual by individual, is only the first step in addressing breast cancer prevalence and mortality rates, especially among women of color,” she says.
She points to the World Health Organization’s Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), five categories that define one’s relationship to healthcare that can be used to help predict someone’s health status or situation. They are:
- Education Access and Quality
- Health Care and Quality
- Neighborhood and Built Environment
- Social and Community Context
- Economic Stability
“The SDOH are so beneficial because it is a concrete way to group how a woman’s life experiences may contribute to her overall health, and in my case, her likelihood of being diagnosed with breast cancer, and its severity level,” she says.
From left, Robert Ellis, Gene Lab Research Associate; Dr. Reza Ghavimi, Postdoctoral Researcher, Division of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine (BioMMED), Konstantin Gus Kousoulas (KGK) Lab; Bratie Leary, BioMMED Coordinator, KGK Lab; Leila Rahimian, Graduate Student, KGK Lab; Dr. Gus Kousoulas, Director BioMMED, Professor, and Department Head of Pathobiological Sciences; Danielle Gipson, Student Researcher, KGK Lab; Christella J Nelson, Graduate Student, KGK Lab; Dr. Harikrishnan Mohan, Postdoctoral Researcher, BioMMED/KGK Lab; Ojasvi Dutta, BioMMED Program Manager, Assistant Director, KGK Lab.
Guided by a Team of Researchers
She says LSU has allowed her to build her confidence and passion around research.
While researching under Dr. (Konstantin “Gus") Kousoulas, head of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, Gipson says she has also been guided by Emmanuelle Ruiz, bioinformatics expert for the Louisiana Biomedical Research Network administered by the Division of Biotechnology & Molecular Medicine at LSU Vet Med; postdoctoral fellow Reza Ghavimi; and Leila Rahimian, a PhD candidate.
“It has been so inspiring to work alongside these experienced researchers,” she says.
The combination therapy of fisetin and oncolytic virus for breast cancer is a collaborative project between Dr. Jean Christopher Chamcheu, an associate professor at the Department of Biology, Southern University, Baton Rouge, with a joint appointment at the LSU Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, LSU, and Dr. Kousoulas.
Dr. Chamcheu has served with Dr. Kousoulas as a member of Gipson’s honors capstone research at LSU.
She also found a valuable mentor in Dr. Catherine Jacquet, associate professor of History and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in LSU’s Department of History.
“I owe so much of my passion and knowledge to her and am forever grateful to have had her as a professor. My entire research team has been so encouraging while holding me accountable and ensuring I reach the goals I set.”
She encourages other students interested in research to find something they like and not give up.
“Remembering your ‘why’ and sticking to your passions will allow you to achieve your goals in research, and if you’re lucky, you’ll surprise yourself with your new skills and knowledge.”
A Future in Healthcare
Gipson plans to attend medical school and become an obstetrician/gynecologist, eventually working in a healthcare setting focused on education, prevention, and open access.
“I will focus on ethnically and socioeconomically underprivileged groups as they are consistently misrepresented in healthcare,” she says. “I want to empower my patients to understand their bodies and the factors that negatively impact their health so they can properly advocate for themselves.”
“Providing affordable, quality healthcare and education that is accessible to all, and performing research to further address significant risk factors are the foundations of my future practice.”
Next Steps
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