Cancer Research and Faith-Based Ethics: How ORU Is Preparing Anna Wilson for Medical School

Anna Wilson
Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Medical Molecular Biology
Last spring, ORU received U.S. Patent No. 11,013,775 for pioneering research that involves the use of mushrooms in cancer treatment. Led by Dr. William Ranahan, this research continues to be expanded upon by ORU's pre-med/science students, including medical molecular biology major Anna Wilson. Anna, who hopes to someday work with infectious disease, is currently studying Phallus Impudicus, a mushroom that's long been associated with ancient Chinese medicine.

"I chose to work with this particular mushroom," Anna said, "because it can potentially treat gynecological and female related issues. Targeting breast cancer cells, I'm about to run a cell cytotoxicity assay to see if mushroom secretions offer an alternative to the hormonal treatments you might receive from a pharmaceutical company."

Anna and her research team in Dr. Ranahan's lab

Taking the Lead on Ethical Issues

As a pre-med student, Anna has a passion for women's health care, which is driving her research into breast cancer cures. But when it comes to science, she has another passion: bioethics. With so many new advancements in medicine and biological research, Anna believes there's a multitude of moral and ethical questions that need answering. For Anna, it's important for Spirit-empowered Christians to address these questions and to have an understanding of how others might approach them.

"On a medical issue," Anna said, "you should be capable of presenting a well-reasoned case in an educated way. What bothers me is that for certain ethica l topics, people approach their answers, not from a spiritual or empathetic perspective, but from a 'drive-forward' perspective. These are the scientific researchers who are driving medicine forward just to see how far they can push it. That's not always a good thing which is why science needs some railings, especially with the technology we're using today."

Anna with her Bioethics Debate Team during the National Bioethics Bowl competition

Last year, Anna brought together ORU science students and foundedthe University's first-ever Bioethics Club. With only a few months to prepare, the club's debate team competed in the 2024 National Bioethics Bowl, an intercollegiate competition in which students from universities around the U.S. debate pressing ethical issues in medicine, biotechnology, and healthcare. In the team's first appearance, ORU made the Final Four along with Stanford, the University of Georgia, and Georgetown University.

"The competition," Anna said, "gave me a great way to see how other university students might approach these important issues. These are people who I'll eventually be working with, and I was interested to hear what drives their beliefs. Opening myself to other views about medicine allows me to be more educated, and it prepares me to better defend the way I think ethically about medicine."

ORU's Bioethics Debate Team 2024 (left to right in the photo) Josh Pilote, Rosie Alshujari (non-competitor, photographer), Ruby Mutisya, Marie Stepp, Anna Wilson, Samantha Griffin, Caleb Tham, Kara Steward, Dominic Carrano

Practicing Medicine with Faith and Kindness

When it comes to the practice of medicine, Anna believes that both listening and empathy are critical to patient care. From a personal perspective, she's encountered physicians who wouldn't listen to her and who treated her illnesses without sympathy. Looking to the future, Anna says that she'll be a physician who practices empathy, but always, she'll be a scientist who's guided by faith.

"I practice my faith through science," Anna said, "because science is the study of God's creations. In the tiniest micro-viruses, you'll find so much design and intricateness. Look at a single-celled organism, and you'll discover proteins functioning as machinery. And that's in just one tiny cell. Now think of humans who are made of trillions of these cells. From a cellular level, God is awe-inspiring. If God cares so much about the design of a tiny bacteria, you have to ask yourself, 'How much more must he care about me?'"

UNIVERSITY BRIEF

ORU is a Christian, Spirit-empowered, interdenominational university in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with 16 years of consecutive enrollment growth. Regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, ORU offers over 150 majors, minors, concentrations, and pre-professional programs at the bachelor's level, ranging from business and engineering to nursing, ministry, and more. Under the leadership of President Dr. William Wilson, ORU is preparing students from all 50 states and 160 nations from 2019 to 2024 to be whole leaders for the whole world.

The Wall Street Journal ranked ORU as the #8 university in the nation for student experience and one of America's Best Colleges (2025). This new category rates the best colleges in the U.S. to have a great experience while attending. This ranking is powered by one of the largest-ever independent surveys of verified college students and recent graduates in the United States. Niche has recognized ORU as one of the top 25 most diverse colleges in America, the # 1 best Christian college in Oklahoma, and the # 1 in Oklahoma for diversity. Princeton Review ranked ORU as the best regional college, and College Raptor ranked ORU as a Hidden Gem in the Southwest. Heritage.org classified ORU as a great option for families prioritizing freedom, opportunity, and civil society.

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