From Undergraduate Student to Aspiring Oncologist: Madison Johnson’s Pepperdine Journey
Madison Johnson discovered peace where most uncover anxiety—the final semester of college.
In the lead up to commencement day, graduating seniors like Johnson are swept up in a tornado of activity, as they attempt to make the most of their student experience. With just a few months to go as an undergraduate, there are memories to be made; finals exams to study for; a future job to consider. While most soon-to-be graduates get caught up in the hustle, bustle, and stress of this season, Johnson found a new perspective—one that gives her confidence everything will work out for the better.
“Everything that has led me up until this point has been a God thing,” she explains. “When I started looking back, I realized that I never planned all the individual steps to get here, and I am just so grateful for his hand over my life.”
At Pepperdine, Johnson was empowered to pursue her passion
The steps Johnson speaks of follow the linear trajectory of her undergraduate experience at Pepperdine University. Since arriving at Seaver College in 2022, she has recognized a passion for oncology, or the study of cancer, and been empowered to pursue her newfound purpose.
Groundbreaking research studies, international study abroad experiences, impactful internships, even the creation of Pepperdine’s first Oncology Symposium—all these achievements have come to highlight Johnson’s undergraduate journey; yet, the Seaver College senior claims each one of these formational opportunities stemmed not from her own ambition alone, but God’s faithful guidance.
First Steps: Undergraduate Research
The domino effect began her first year.
Already Johnson was fascinated by CRISPR—the gene editing technology sweeping over the medical industry—and she wanted to learn more. During just her second semester on campus, she approached Antonio Gomez, an assistant professor of biology, and asked to join his research lab, which concentrated on genetics.
Throughout the spring and summer of 2023, Johnson and Gomez investigated how CRISPR could be used in the field of oncology. Building off the Pepperdine professor’s previous genetic inquiries, the duo engineered a CRISPR system to increase the activity of specific gene targets. In the process, they aimed to discover a mechanism by which to decrease cancer cell proliferation and offer individuals biologically predisposed to developing cancer an emerging care technique. It was during this quest that Johnson began to see herself in a new light.
“It was my first experience with research,” she explains. “As a student researcher, throughout that summer I gained a lot of confidence as a scientist, and I started to see myself as one. Having that experience so early in my college experience set me on this path, and I became super excited for the three years to come.”
International Opportunities: Seven Months in Germany
Following her successful introduction to scientific investigations, Johnson was motivated to seek out other unique learning environments. While studying abroad at Pepperdine’s Heidelberg campus, she inquired about potential internship opportunities. Before she knew it, a Pepperdine professor had organized an interview for her at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and just like that, the Seaver College sophomore was extending her stay in Europe.
Johnson was the only non-PhD student present in this foreign laboratory. She spent the summer working with Ashish Goyal, a postdoctoral fellow at the DKFZ, to research the effectiveness of the drug decitabine. Johnson was tasked specifically with studying cancer cell lines in mice, looking for evidence that the therapy created antigen targets on the surface of cancer cells for the immune system attack.
“It was my first time being surrounded by adult collaborators,” explains Johnson. “The experience bolstered my professional development. It made me learn how to be confident in a fast-paced environment where there are many new things to learn every day.”
Johnson’s learning environment in Germany extended well beyond the laboratory. Throughout her summer in Heidelberg, she was challenged to find her own way—in science and in day-to-day life. In the end, Johnson returned stateside with a newfound confidence in her decision. She not only was sure of her passion for medicine, but she also felt poised to pursue it wherever she was called.
Johnson's first lab experience came as a student researcher
Impactful Internship: A Path Affirmed
Nashville, Tennessee. Closer than Germany, but still a long way from home in California.
Following her junior year at Pepperdine, Johnson found herself moving to the South for a summer internship at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, the cancer research arm of HCA Healthcare. The aspiring oncologist was drawn to this next stop as a result of its mission—to provide clinical trials to patients not living near university research hospitals—and its leader, Dee Anna Smith (’86), the CEO of Sarah Cannon and chair of Pepperdine’s Board of Regents, who has since become a formative mentor to Johnson.
In Nashville, Johnson worked as part of the personalized medicine and therapeutic development teams. She learned how Sarah Cannon matched patients to emerging clinical trials. She drafted and published conference synopses and one pagers, summarizing emerging clinical trials. And she shadowed practicing oncologists and interacted with patients in the fight to beat cancer.
“I was able to see how our newly developed drugs were delivered to patients and witness how they changed lives for the better,” said Johnson. “That's what really cemented my determination to become a medical oncologist and serve patients in the drug development realm.”
Beyond finding extra motivation to work in medicine, Johnson’s time at Sarah Cannon inspired an ambitious new idea. After the summer internship concluded, she wanted to share the important work taking place in oncology research labs across the globe with anyone who might be interested. Johnson’s response to this vision: launch an oncology symposium on her home campus.
The Final Act: A Campus Steward
Throughout her final year at Seaver College, Johnson has devoted her time to organizing and hosting Pepperdine University’s inaugural Oncology Symposium—a full-day event dedicated to hearing from the doctors, scientists, and patients discovering the most recent breakthroughs in cancer care.
Johnson hopes to attend medical school in the coming years
The senior orchestrated nearly every aspect of the symposium, which is set to occur February 25, 2026. Johnson organized marketing material, helped recruit speakers and panelists, and created opportunities for undergraduates, like herself, to share their own research findings. All this effort will soon result in a day of discovery for healthcare specialists and curious learners alike.
“I had this idea, but I wasn't expecting anyone to hand me the reins,” said Johnson. “It's been surreal to realize ‘I can do this.’ And now I’m excited by the chance to share with my peers something that's been so formative for me.”
This final act represents the culmination of Johnson’s prolific undergraduate career. Over the last four years, she has chased after an emerging passion, and along the way, doors of opportunity continued to open for her. Now Johnson looks to the future with hope—not in her own abilities, but in God’s plan for her life.
“I want to be an oncologist; I want to serve patients,” she says. “The process of learning this has taken my faith to another level. Over the past few years, I’ve seen things that are so unfair, that don't make sense. Of course, I want to change the situations, find solutions, but, ultimately, I’ve realized you have to surrender everything right at Jesus's feet. You have to trust God.”