Ilona Sviezhentseva
Ilona completed her postdoctoral research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, studying pediatric leukemia, kinase signaling, and DNA damage response. She earned her PhD in Cell Biology from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, where she investigated therapy resistance in leukemic stem cells.
Ilona became fascinated by cancer research as an undergraduate in Kyiv, which led her to expand her experience through research in Poland and Canada. In Canada, she also worked as a medical interpreter and science communicator, inspiring her to write a book to help people better understand cancer.
Outside the lab, Ilona enjoys reading, embroidery, beadwork, and crochet. She loves animals – sometimes chasing skunks or climbing a tree to rescue a kitten.
