Brittany Wells blends construction, genomics and women’s health advocacy

Brittany Wells, a Minneapolis construction estimator and Arizona State University biology master’s student, is using her background in analytics and her experience surviving stage 4 lymphoma to focus on cancer research and women’s health. Her work centers on genomics, sex chromosome biology and gaps in funding for diseases that disproportionately affect women.

Why it matters: - Brittany Wells is working at the intersection of construction analytics and biomedical research. - Her focus on women’s health and genomics targets research gaps in cancer prevention, detection and treatment. - Her experience as a cancer survivor adds urgency to her advocacy for more sex-specific research.

What happened: - Brittany Wells has spent more than 13 years developing and managing estimating systems and financial processes in commercial construction. - Wells studied accounting at the University of St. Thomas and built her career in commercial roofing and project management. - She created proprietary spreadsheets and formulas to support large-scale estimating operations. - Wells is now a Master of Science candidate in Biology at Arizona State University. - She is affiliated with the Biodesign Institute, where she contributes to manuscript development and grant preparation. - Wells survived stage 4 lymphoma and underwent gene therapy that changed her health and long-term outlook. - She is continuing to work in construction while self-funding her academic goals. - Wells is preparing for future PhD work in evolutionary biology.

The details: - Wells’ research interests include computational genomics, cancer biology, sex chromosome research and women’s health. - She is studying tumor suppression mechanisms and the link between lactation and reduced risk of aggressive cancers. - Her work specifically looks at pancreatic cancer and triple-negative breast cancer. - Wells is especially interested in X chromosome-linked genetic mechanisms involved in cancer suppression. - She believes those findings could improve prevention, detection and treatment strategies. - Wells says the lack of funding and research in women’s health remains one of the biggest problems in her field. - She says current cancer research still overemphasizes general treatment instead of sex-specific biology and early detection. - She sees gaps in understanding diseases that disproportionately affect women, including pancreatic and triple-negative breast cancer. - Wells credits Arizona State University success coach David Campbell and Dr. Jamie Ebie for helping connect her with supportive faculty. - She also credits Dr. Melissa Wilson with validating and supporting her research direction in women’s health and genomics. - Wells says motherhood, including raising her daughter, strengthened her discipline, consistency and self-worth.

Between the lines: - Wells’ path shows how professional skills can transfer into scientific research when paired with lived experience. - Her story also reflects a broader challenge in medicine: women’s health topics can still struggle for attention, funding and sustained study. - Her emphasis on X chromosome biology suggests a belief that genetics-based research could unlock new approaches to prevention and care. - Her focus on self-advocacy and support networks points to the importance of mentorship in helping nontraditional students advance.

What's next: - Wells plans to continue her graduate research while preparing for future doctoral work. - She wants to help push genomics-driven discoveries that improve equity and personalization in healthcare. - Her long-term goal is to help close research gaps in women’s health and contribute to better outcomes for patients. - More information is available through Brittany Wells' profile.

The bottom line: - Brittany Wells is turning survival, technical expertise and academic momentum into a research mission aimed at women’s health disparities.