Elizabeth (Beth) Lawlor, MD, PhD
Dr. Beth Lawlor is a pediatric hematology-oncology physician-scientist who is focused on childhood cancer research. She works for various programs across Seattle Children’s Hospital, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, and University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine. She began her career as a clinician and later transitioned to being a lab scientist, a role that continues to be her focus today.
Dr. Lawlor is a leader for programs focused on researching childhood cancer and training the next generation of practitioners and investigators. She splits her time across the following roles:
- Associate Director, Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research, Seattle Children’s Hospital
- Co-Director, T32 Pediatric Oncology Research Training Program, a collaboration between Seattle Children’s Hospital (clinical and research sites) as well as UW School of Medicine and Fred Hutch Cancer Center (research sites).
- Professor of Pediatrics, UW School of Medicine
- Adjunct Professor in Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, UW School of Medicine
- Affiliate Investigator, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
- Affiliate Investigator, Human Biology Division, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
- Deputy Director, Sarcoma STTR Program, CCSG consortium, Fred Hutch Cancer Center and University of Washington
What is Hematology and Oncology?
Hematology (blood) and oncology (cancer) are both sub-specialties that can be chosen by physicians after they finish residency training in the specialty of internal medicine or pediatrics. Some hem-onc doctors are focused on treating patients who have blood and bone marrow cancers (like leukemia) and disorders that affect the formation of blood cells. Others focus their time researching childhood cancers, cancer biology, and cancer treatments.
“I could see that the future of cancer therapy for kids could be improved if we invested in basic cancer biology research focused on pediatrics.”
— Dr. Lawlor
Dr. Lawlor's Story
As a Canadian growing up on military bases across Canada and Germany, Dr. Lawlor was a self-described military brat. Her mother worked as a nurse and her father was a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Prior to joining the military, her father had gone to university to become a teacher. Dr. Lawlor, when asked about her childhood, reflected “I always knew that I wanted to be a physician.” When she took a biology course in Grade 10, it sealed the deal for her. Dr. Lawlor knew then that her future career would be related to studying the human body and becoming a doctor was at the top of her list.
Her path toward becoming a doctor led her across Canada. Inspired by her high school science course, Dr. Lawlor chose to study biology and psychology at McMaster University in Ontario. She then continued on to medical school at McMaster University, followed by a residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. She then moved across the country to Vancouver, British Columbia to complete fellowships in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at BC Children’s Hospital.
As a pediatric hem-onc physician, Dr. Lawlor looked after children in the hospital who were receiving treatment for cancer. She was doing what she had set out to do as a child, however Dr. Lawlor explained that she was inspired to trade in the hospital for the lab. “What was unexpected was my switch to be mainly a scientist ten years after I graduated from medical school,” Dr. Lawlor said. She explained further, “this switch came about because of the children I looked after in the hospital. I was so frustrated by the toxicity of the chemotherapy and radiation that I was prescribing.” At the same time, “the fields of cancer genetics and molecular biology were exploding and fundamental knowledge about normal and pathophysiology started to advance at a tremendous pace,” Dr. Lawlor explained.
Dr. Lawlor’s concern for her patients led her toward becoming a cancer researcher. This shift toward scientific research required more training. Dr. Lawlor returned to school to pursue a PhD in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine from the University of British Columbia. She then moved to the U.S. in 2001 for post-doctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco. In this second phase of her career, Dr. Lawlor worked as a researcher at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, and University of Michigan (where she worked for ten years) before moving to Seattle in 2020 to work at the Seattle Children's Research Institute.
Educational Pathway
Dr. Lawlor’s educational path toward becoming a pediatric hematology-oncology physician-researcher consisted of the following training:
- Undergraduate: BSc, Biology & Psychology, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
- Medical School: MD, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
- Residency: Pediatrics at CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario), Ontario, Canada
- Fellowships: Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
- Graduate School: PhD in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Post-doctoral Research Training: University of California, San Francisco, California
Dr. Lawlor's Research Focus
Her research focuses on how cancer spreads. Dr. Lawlor explained that one of the big questions she is trying to answer in the lab is, “how do cancers spread from the site of the original tumor to other parts of the body?” When a cancer has spread, or metastasized, to another part of the body such as a different organ or tissue, it becomes much harder to cure. As a result, she explained, “metastasis is the leading cause of death from cancer in all patients, in children and in adults.”
In the Lawlor lab, the “goal is to understand how cancer cells move around the body so that we can develop new therapies that specifically target this very aggressive population of cells,” she explained. “If we can develop new therapies that prevent or kill metastatic cells, we will have a major impact on patient care.” The Lawlor lab focuses on Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive type of bone and soft tissue tumor that in particular strikes adolescents and young adults. Dr. Lawlor’s team is exploring tumor heterogeneity, epigenetics, and metabolic reprogramming (rewiring the metabolic pathways of cancer cells that allows for metastasis). She shared, “The kids and their families continue to motivate me in my work every day.”
Video: A Team Approach to Fighting Childhood Cancer
In this short video, Dr. Todd Cooper from the Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Seattle Children’s explains how clinicians and researchers are working together to fight childhood cancer, such as those with high-risk leukemia.
Wanderlust, Nature, and a Good Book
Outside of her busy work schedule, Dr. Lawlor loves to hike and camp, or really anything that takes her outdoors to explore the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Reading is also a passion, as “sitting with a good book is my idea of a great way to pass the time” she shared. Dr. Lawlor recently finished reading the novel, “The Lincoln Highway” by Amor Towles. Dr. Lawlor also shared that “travel is really, really important to me and a source of great joy and inspiration.” With her extended family in Europe and her husband’s family in New Zealand, she reflected that “it has been hard to not be able to travel overseas during the pandemic.” A trip abroad is likely in her future.
A Day in the Life
A day in the life of a physician-scientist is a mix of activities – reading, writing, teaching, strategizing, fundraising, and more. Dr. Lawlor described her perfect work day as one which allows time for “thinking, reading, and writing about research.” She meets with her team one-on-one, or in small or larger group meetings to talk through their research and troubleshoot problems together. These meetings may include scientists and students making informal presentations of their in-progress research projects, or more formal lectures on completed work. In particular, Dr. Lawlor enjoys the mentorship opportunities in her job. “I love coming to work to meet with my team, especially the younger scientists and students,” she shared. “They are so committed to their projects and it is incredibly satisfying and exciting to watch them learn and develop their own questions.”
Research Funding
Finding funding for her research is a challenging aspect of her work. Dr. Lawlor shared that “it would be much more productive if we could spend more time thinking and discussing data with each other and less time writing grant applications.” However, “cancer research is expensive and funding for research is harder and harder to come by; this means that all of us spend more time writing proposals than we would like.” Dr. Lawlor also engages in reviewing other scientists’ work, such as articles sharing their research findings or grant proposals in search of additional funding. She explained, “peer review is a critical piece of our work in academic research.”
Leadership Roles
Another part of her job is related to her leadership roles. She explained that about twenty percent of her time is spent “with other leaders developing and executing institutional level initiatives that aim to advance child health research.” This includes her work as the Associate Director of the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research at Seattle Children's Hospital. Together, these leaders also “spend a lot of time thinking about and developing educational programs that are focused on supporting the next generation of pediatric physicians and scientists.”
Advice for Students
Her advice for high school students interested in pediatric hematology-oncology? Be curious! Dr. Lawlor had this to say to students interested in her occupation: “Seek out every opportunity to learn new things – don’t limit yourself too early. Be curious and explore lots of different areas of science and research in order to find what excites you – AND be prepared for that to keep changing.” As her own story of a physician turned scientist shows, “there are always new adventures!”
“The best part of my job is being able to tackle really challenging questions with really interesting and smart people. Every day I get to talk about science with other scientists who are nerds like me! “
— Dr. Lawlor
U.S. Wage Information
According to the 2023 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics:
- The median wage for physicians in the U.S. is $239,200
- The median wage for medical scientists in the U.S. is $100,890
Additional Resources
Credit: Thank you to Dr. Elizabeth Lawlor for graciously participating in this project. Career profile written by Dr. Kristen Clapper Bergsman.