Meet Anastasia Yankovskiy, the Fencer Completing Cancer Research

For women's fencing foil Anastasia Yankovskiy, being a student-athlete is only one aspect of life. The senior Genomic Medicine major from Mountain View, California, also works in research.

In May 2022, Yankovskiy took on a role as an Undergraduate Researcher at iGEM, the Institute of Genomic Evolutionary Medicine at Temple. In this role, she completes cancer research by carrying out computational analyses of tumor phylogenetics, or their expansion within an individual over time. The purpose of her research is to learn more about cancer progression and histology by investigating mutational signature patterns in primary and metastatic tumors. She also looks at such patterns in myeloid cancers–blood cancers that originate in bone marrow–with the goal of discerning how age affects blood cancer.

Yankovskiy described her work as using "evolutionary medicine to map out patterns." "I work on my own projects," she said, "but if I have an area of expertise and can help out the post-docs, I step in and help them as well."

In addition to her current experience, she also attended the 2023 Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Conference in Ferrara, Italy, in July. While there, she received a "Best Undergraduate Poster" award for her presentation titled "Evolutionary prediction of the location of primary tumors using mutational signatures." Through this experience, Yankovskiy met other scientists, including other undergraduate students.

Yankovskiy also participated in a two-day shadowship in August with the Clinical Genetics Department at Fox Chase Cancer Center. She observed how cancer genetics counselors approached care with patients with family histories of cancer syndromes.

While the foil fencer always knew she wanted to work in STEM, it wasn't until she arrived at Temple that she decided to study genomic medicine. She began her freshman year as a Biology major, but was unsatisfied by her courses. Temple then introduced a brand new Genomic Medicine major that summer, which intrigued her enough to switch for her sophomore year.
"Everytime I mention my major to people, they only have a vague idea of what it is," she stated. "This major isn't really offered anywhere else. Having access to it is very unique."

Yankovskiy also pointed out that she will be the first and only student-athlete to graduate from the program, a feat that she said she holds dear.

In the bulletin on its website, the program describes itself as a Bachelor of Science that "develops a deep understanding of the role of the genomes of humans and pathogens in the development, prevention, and treatment of disease." It also states that it prepares its graduates for careers in research, which is exactly what Yankovskiy plans to do.

After her graduation in May, Yankovskiy hopes to return to her native California to work in hands-on research and development in the oncological field, which studies cancer. She plans to pursue a master's degree in genetic counseling beginning in 2025.

Yankovskiy is excited about the future. "Everyone is super excited about what's coming out in the field," she said. "The amount I've been able to learn so far is immense."

The fencer credits her time management skills and her community for getting her where she is today. "I use every organizational resource I possibly can," she remarked. "I rely on my older teammates for advice and the Resnick Center," she stated, referring to Temple's academic support center for student-athletes. She also credits the mentors in her research community for creating a supportive environment that takes women who work in STEM seriously.

Being a fencer and researcher has fortified Yankovskiy's mentality of resiliency. "I approach problems the same way for both," she said. "I pick myself up after losing a match, and I take a break from my research and come back to it. It's okay to fail–what's more important is not giving up."

Temple University Athletics

Meet Anastasia Yankovskiy, the Fencer Completing Cancer Research

Players Mentioned

Anastasia Yankovskiy

Related Videos