Anna Vreeling ’25

Moving to the Netherlands when she was just an infant, Anna Vreeling ’25 spent her childhood in Europe until middle school when she moved to Lillington, NC. Before this, at only seven years old, her mother passed away from ovarian cancer. Despite the difficulty of transitioning to another school in another country, she drew strength from her father, who inspired her to face her worries head-on and helped her every step of the way. Now, Vreeling studies clinical research at UNCW, but the path was not always clear—or easy.

Vreeling didn’t know what she wanted to do as she neared the end of high school, but she knew one thing: whatever she did, she would do it in her mother’s name. After her first year of college in Roanoke, Virginia, she knew she needed a change. Soon after, she chose UNCW and was later awarded the Board of Visitors Undergraduate Research Scholarship.

“It wasn’t until talking with my aunt after my first year at a different university, when I decided to transfer, that I really got to think about the impact I could make in medicine by going into the clinical research field,” Vreeling said.

While at UNCW, Vreeling works and shadows Laurie Minns in a project working with caregivers of patients with Glioblastoma and other high-grade brain tumors.

“The clinical research program has immersed me into the diverse career and field of clinical research through each of my classes and the possibilities recommended to me,” Vreeling said. “Each of my professors cares about my success, and they want to help me through any difficulties that lie in my way.”

UNCW began its clinical research program in 2004, thanks to start-up funds from PPD, a clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Building on this strong foundation, the university launched its clinical research and product development graduate program in 2011, followed by a post-baccalaureate certificate program in 2017, continually expanding its commitment to excellence in this crucial field.

Vreeling hopes to travel and speak to different doctors and patients to gather data and learn the most she can in her efforts to understand and cure ovarian cancer. She aspires to make a meaningful difference as a clinical oncologist.

“One day, I hope to work on a medication that will help patients with ovarian cancer, so they have better care and a longer life than my mom was given,” Vreeling said. “My mother passed away from it before being able to watch my sister and I grow up, and I hope that nobody else has to go through that.”