Our Team

Dr. Andreana N. Holowatyj, PhD, MS

Assistant Professor of Medicine & Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Research Director & Research Immersion Co-Director, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Research Program Faculty Fellow, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC)

Board of Directors, VICC Young Adults with Cancer Program

Dr. Holowatyj has passionately worked for over 10 years to understand cancer development--both in the clinic and in the laboratory settings. She earned her PhD in Medicine at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Holowatyj then became an NIH/NHGRI Fellow in Genomic Medicine as well as the Susan Cooper Jones Endowed Postdoctoral Fellow in Cancer Research at the University of Utah, where she also earned an MS in Clinical Investigation at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, Utah.

At Vanderbilt, Dr. Holowatyj's team and laboratory continues to focus on the essential need to treat the whole patient for whom multiple life domains are impacted after a cancer diagnosis—specifically among individuals younger than age 50 (early-onset cancer). Her Lab has identified key clinical challenges that young individuals within this population are facing across their cancer journey and the biological factors underpinning the rising burden of early-onset colorectal cancers. These findings have contributed to the development of the NIH/NCI-funded PREFACE Study, where we are actively working to discover new ways to improve reproductive health and survivorship for the growing population of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer before age 50. Dr. Holowatyj also serves on the Early-Age Onset Colorectal Cancer Working Group within the FightCRC Organization and on the Board of Directors for the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's Young Adult Cancers Program.

Dr. Holowatyj's team is also dedicated to closing the major ‘gap’ in our understanding of appendix cancer—in order to make much-needed advances in disease prevention, detection, biology, management, therapies and outcomes. She has served on the Expert Panel for the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Staging Manual: Ninth Edition on Cancers of the Appendix and is an invited member of the Peritoneal Surface Malignancies (PSM) Consortium. Dr. Holowatyj is also the Inaugural Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Appendix Cancer PMP (ACPMP) Research Foundation. Dr. Holowatyj's Laboratory has conducted the first studies of appendix cancer biology, clinical features and outcomes for young patients—including the discovery that approximately 1 in every 3 individuals diagnosed with appendix cancer is younger than age 50. These findings have contributed to the development of the Genetics of Appendix Cancer (GAP) Study, where Dr. Holowatyj and her team are working to comprehensively discover how changes in genes may contribute to appendix cancer development.

Rebecca (Shreffler) Babyak, BA

Rebecca completed her undergraduate studies in Chemistry and Music at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. She is currently the clinical research coordinator for the GAP and PREFACE Studies at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, where she is responsible for patient recruitment/enrollment, study visits and follow-up, data and sample collection as well as regulatory compliance.

Contact Rebecca at (615) 936-6204.

Rachel Francis, BS

Rachel graduated from the University of the South in Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a minor in Neuroscience. From there, she went on to expand her clinical laboratory-based training in diagnostic testing of infectious disease. Joining the Holowatyj Lab in 2023 as a Laboratory Coordinator, Rachel is responsible for all biospecimen processing and PREFACE/GAP Study biorepository management as well as experimental conduct in patient-derived organoid lines. Rachel’s research interests include cancer biology, cell biology and human genetics; she is eager to contribute to new, clinically-impactful discoveries in the Holowatyj Lab at Vanderbilt.

Lisa Long, BS

Lisa is the Senior Administrative Assistant for the Holowatyj Lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Lisa has been with Vanderbilt University since 2004, and has supported numerous cancer studies at Vanderbilt. She is excited to provide administrative support for the GAP and PREFACE Studies and the Holowatyj Lab.

Allison Morris, BA

Allie is a current medical student at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Neuroscience and Medicine, Health, and Society (MHS) in 2022. Allie joined the Holowatyj Lab in late summer 2024 and is a recipient of the Meharry Medical College/Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center/Tennessee State University Cancer Partnership (MVTCP) Vanderbilt Medical Cancer Research Experience (MCRE) Award. In the Lab, Allie’s clinical research is aimed on addressing the reproductive health care needs of the growing population of young individuals age younger than 50 with a cancer diagnosis, particularly in the PREFACE and REACT Studies. Allie has been recognized as an American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Emerging Leaders Institute scholar, was awarded first place for her poster presentation at the 2025 MVTCP Annual Research Symposium, and plans on pursuing family medicine upon graduation..

Isaac Rose

Isaac is an undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University—working towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and a minor in Business Administration. Having joined the Holowatyj Lab in early 2025, his interests include: cancer genetics and gastrointestinal oncology. Isaac is excited to learn and to contribute to the clinically-significant, translational research in Holowatyj Lab—including the GAP Study; with a long-term goal to pursue a career in medicine/oncology.

Samantha Keller, BA

Sam recently graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Medicine, Health and Society (MHS) and a minor in Psychology. She joined the Holowatyj Lab in January 2021, and received a 2021 Vanderbilt Undergraduate Summer Research Program Award supported by the Drs. Sidney and Becca Fleischer Undergraduate Summer Research Fund. During her time in the Holowatyj Lab, Sam contributed to research articles published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Discovery and JAMA Network Open. Sam is currently a medical student at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine.

Timothy Gibbs, MD

Dr. Gibbs recently graduated from Meharry Medical College in 2023 with a Doctor of Medicine degree. Tim joined the Holowatyj Lab in 2020, and contributed to research articles published in Cancer Discovery and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. He is currently a Neurology resident at Prisma Health in South Carolina.

Hannah Seagle, BS

As a 2022 summer student in the Holowatyj Lab, Hannah contributed to research on germline pathogenic variants among patients diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer--which published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Hannah is now a Human Genetics PhD student at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.