EXTENDING A BELOVED
PROFESSOR'S LEGACY

Kristen Kadner Roddy, Angels Vasquez, and Carole Kadner

The Kadner Visiting Student is a new program made possible by the continued generosity of the Kadner family, including Bob’s daughter Kristen Kadner Roddy and her husband Brian Roddy. Because of their philanthropy, an outstanding undergraduate student from outside UVA now has an opportunity to travel to Charlottesville for the Kadner Distinguished Lecture in Microbiology and learn more about opportunities for graduate studies in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program. Each year, the department will select the Kadner Visiting Student from a pool of undergraduate students who participated in summer research with faculty in the department, including those who participated in one of the School of Medicine’s summer internships to enhance research opportunities for underrepresented and first-generation college students. The recipient is chosen based on academic excellence and the motivation and potential to succeed in graduate school.

A FUTURE PIONEER

During her summer research internship at UVA, Vasquez, a native of Nicaragua, was mentored by associate professor Melanie Rutkowski, who studies the connections among our microbiome (the community of microorganisms naturally living in our bodies), the immune system, and cancer growth and metastasis.

“It was a cool project,” Vasquez said of her work in the Rutkowski Lab. “We were working at understanding how the sympathetic nervous system influences breast cancer dissemination in the context of microbiome dysbiosis.”

In other words, as Vasquez explained, an imbalance in the gut can lead to inflammation and physiological stress; that stress then activates the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for our body’s fight-or-flight response. In the case of cancer, the resulting release of stress hormones might promote cancer cell activation and metastasis while exhausting immune cells, hindering their ability to combat the cancer.

Hoping to be a research associate before applying to graduate school, Vasquez is now interested in pursuing studies in biomedical engineering.

“I think engineering the immune system is such a smart way to fight disease,” she said. “Before this internship, I was not as fascinated with the immune system as I am now.”

In gifting a new support fund for Kadner Visiting Students, the Kadner family is not only nurturing the future careers of awardees like Vasquez but also helping the department recruit high-caliber graduate students by introducing them to the benefits of continuing their education at UVA. In addition to the lecture and reception, Vasquez’s visit comprised discussions with department faculty and an introduction to the diversity of concentrations and internship opportunities offered to graduate students. She was also provided with a taste of Charlottesville, including dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant (“good for your microbiome!”) and meetings over coffee on the Corner.

“I’ll definitely be applying to UVA for graduate school,” Vasquez said enthusiastically. “The department is so welcoming, and they have so many resources for students.”

AN ENDURING IMPACT

The Kadner Visiting Student is a fitting addition to the now well-established Kadner Distinguished Lecture in Microbiology and the Kadner Award for Outstanding Graduate Teaching, which reflect Bob Kadner’s dedication to teaching and mentoring medical students, graduate students, fellows, and junior faculty during his tenure at the University.

“Bob Kadner was literally and figuratively a giant in the field,” said Alison Criss, a professor of microbiology, vice chair of the department, and the winner of this year’s Kadner Award for Outstanding Graduate Teaching. Criss knew Kadner when she was a graduate student at UVA. “He was quite a presence, and he had a really positive impact on everybody who interacted with him,” she remembered.

Bob Kadner joined the School of Medicine faculty in 1969 and was appointed the Norman J. Knorr Professor of Basic Medical Sciences in 1994, a chair he held for the remainder of his life. He also served on many national advisory boards in microbiology and received numerous awards for his teaching excellence and advocacy.

Criss emphasized the impact of the Kadner family’s support for the department and the University.

“I think it’s important for the robustness of all our educational and research endeavors to make sure we continue to grow by bringing in others who can help enrich what we're doing,” she said. “We’re so grateful to the Kadner family for their generosity and their forward thinking about how to really continue to honor Bob’s legacy in a way that will also support the department’s goals.”

Family members attend the lecture each year, and Kristen Roddy noted the connection that comes with their return to the University.

“The lecture ended up being a great vehicle for getting people to come together in a very friendly, collaborative way,” she said. “Building community is so important, and the department does exemplary work serving science and supporting the people doing the work. We loved the idea of this fellowship for a visiting student—nothing could be more appropriate as a way to honor my dad.”