Centering The Patient Voice: The Future of Cancer Research

Rachel Byrd has been serving as a scientific researcher for the last five years between her academic training and professional experience. She received her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Central Michigan University and her Master of Science in Health Science with an emphasis in Molecular Medicine from Montana State University.

Rachel finds her passion for improving the patient experience from her own personal experiences with the healthcare system. Her youngest sister is a survivor of Stage IV Wilm’s Tumor, which shaped much of their family life during Rachel’s childhood. During her undergraduate degree, Rachel lost her paternal aunt and uncle to aggressive cancer diagnoses. Seeing the successes and failures of the healthcare system led her to consider how she could use her career to make a difference in healthcare. Her early professional career was spent in antiviral claims testing, and she soon transitioned her focus to patient experience research with Gryt Health’s research team, where she serves currently as a Senior Research Coordinator.

In addition to her professional experience, Rachel personally identifies as a mental health advocate. She strongly believes in using her personal experiences to help break the stigma surrounding the pursuit of mental health treatment. In everything that she does, she seeks to elevate ALL voices to improve the healthcare system today. Rachel is currently located in Bozeman, Montana, with her cat, Milo, where she spends her free time enjoying all that Big Sky Country has to offer.

Kamal is a professional ecologist, a mother to a creative teenager, a meditator, an avid hiker, and a dancer. She was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2018. Since that time, Kamal has received the standard of care (RVD and stem cell transplant), along with a clinical trial of CAR-T in 2019. Going through these experiences and being a scientist herself, has made her very interested in enhancing positive patient experience with clinical trials, bringing them early to the treatment portfolio, and greatly increasing the enrollment of diverse patients in trials. As such, Kamal is passionate about living radically well with an incurable cancer, dreaming of unknown avenues to find a cure, and being an advocate along with providing support and deep hope to others diagnosed with myeloma.

After dropping out of high school shortly after losing his mom to metastatic breast cancer, Sam Schneider worked a number of different jobs ranging from waiting tables to carpentry. In his early 20s, he realized he wanted to help other families who experienced cancer. After earning his GED, he enrolled at Western Washington University where he earned his Bachelors of Science in Chemistry with a focus in energy science. Sam started his career in cancer research at Seattle Children's Hospital and Research Institute where he worked as a research scientist at the Ben Towne Center, the Immunotherapy Integration Hub, and Seattle Children's Therapeutics, helping to bring revolutionary CAR T-cell therapy to pediatric patients. He joined the GRYT Health research team in May of 2021 as a Senior Research Coordinator, where he works directly with patients to bring their voice to the forefront of cancer research. He currently lives in Walla Walla, Washington with his wife, Sophie, and their rabbit, Bean.