{"id":8545,"date":"2026-01-02T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/?p=8545"},"modified":"2025-12-11T10:21:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T15:21:21","slug":"leveling-up-lung-cancer-research-danielles-player-one-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/2026\/01\/leveling-up-lung-cancer-research-danielles-player-one-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Leveling Up Lung Cancer Research: Danielle\u2019s Player One Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DanielleIf you walk into the Epidemiology Research Team on any given day, you\u2019ll likely find\u00a0Danielle Durham<\/strong>, data scientist and resident problem-solver, immersed in what she affectionately describes as \u201cpuzzles.\u201d While her work focuses on lung cancer screening, large datasets, and statistical modeling, Danielle sees the job through a more playful\u2014and deeply human\u2014lens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people hear data and math and assume it\u2019s boring,\u201d she laughs. \u201cBut to me, it\u2019s like a game. How do you get to the end screen? How do you beat the boss? It\u2019s all strategy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From the Lab Bench to Population Health<\/strong>
\nDanielle grew up in Charlotte, NC, and made her way to Chapel Hill for both undergrad and graduate school. Her early career was hands-on: she worked overnight and weekend shifts as a general hematologist in the McLendon Labs, seeing countless cancer cases up close. Those experiences sparked an interest in understanding patients\u2019 stories before they appeared under a microscope.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started Googling public health,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI wanted to know what happens before someone shows up in the lab.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That curiosity eventually led her back to UNC-Greensboro to study community-based public health and later to research at a healthcare quality improvement organization in RTP. A mentor told her, \u201cYou ask questions like an epidemiologist,\u201d and suddenly it all clicked-back to school again. As a PhD candidate at UNC, Danielle began collaborating with Dr. Louise Henderson, who introduced her to the world of large data sources, cancer screening registries, and population-level inquiry. She completed her dissertation with the Epidemiology department, left for a postdoc at NCI, and then\u2014fatefully\u2014ran into Louise at a conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe told me about her vision for a lung cancer screening registry,\u201d Danielle says. \u201cIt sounded so interesting. When she posted the job, I applied\u2014and here I am again.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Day in the Life: Data, Discovery, and Dialogue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Danielle\u2019s work centers around linking data from medical records, state files, and multiple clinical sites to help answer big-picture questions about lung cancer screening outcomes. She collaborates closely with their data manager, abstractors, clinical partners, and of course, Louise.<\/p>\n

On any given day, she might be harmonizing datasets, troubleshooting unexpected findings, running statistical models, or translating data into tables for manuscripts and grant proposals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of programming,\u201d she says, \u201cbut it\u2019s also a lot of conversation\u2014figuring out what people are seeing in EPIC, understanding what the PI needs, and helping build a shared picture from messy, real-world data.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Playful Scientist<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Taking a break after a rail bike tour in the NC mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
Cleaning and replacing ball bearings at the bike co-op<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Outside of work, Danielle is decidedly not sitting still. She hikes local and national parks, backpacks, knits (though North Carolina\u2019s warmth has slowed production), cycles on trails, tinkers at the Durham Bike Co-op, rides her Peloton, and\u2014most recently\u2014picked up roller skating.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been choosing fun on purpose,\u201d she says. \u201cEverything I\u2019ve ever wanted to try but was afraid to\u2014I\u2019m trying it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her love of games spills over into her free time as well. A lifelong Nintendo fan, she unwinds with platformers, chaotic Mario Kart races, and slower-paced RPGs where she can explore at her own speed.<\/p>\n

The Heart Behind the Data<\/strong><\/p>\n

For someone who spends her days with complex datasets, Danielle\u2019s perspective is refreshingly grounded in joy, curiosity, and connection.<\/p>\n

Her favorite thing about herself right now? \u201cBeing intentional\u2014choosing moments that become good memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her one-word self-description? Hilarious.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her superpower of choice? Not mind-reading\u2014polyglot-level communication<\/em>. \u201cJust the ability to really understand and connect with people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The writer she\u2019d love to talk to? The legendary sci-fi visionary Octavia Butler.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her autobiography title? \u201cDo what you want.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Her best friend\u2019s three words for her: Adventurous. Funny. Factoidophile.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And yes\u2014she\u2019s a dog person.<\/p>\n

Before you leave, grab her podcast recommendation: Hidden Brain<\/strong> by Shankar Vedantam, a deep dive into the unconscious patterns that shape who we are.<\/p>\n

\"Woman
At the top of Stone Mountain NC (not the Stone Mountain in GA \ud83d\ude42)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Her Own Words<\/strong><\/p>\n

If Danielle could talk to her younger self, she\u2019d offer this gentle advice: \u201cIt will be fine. It\u2019s okay to pick the fun stuff. The big-girl job will work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

For someone who sees the world as a series of puzzles, Danielle has mastered the most important one: how to build a life filled with purpose, curiosity, and joy\u2014one intentional moment at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you walk into the Epidemiology Research Team on any given day, you\u2019ll likely find\u00a0Danielle Durham, data scientist and resident problem-solver, immersed in what she affectionately describes as \u201cpuzzles.\u201d While her work focuses on lung cancer screening, large datasets, and statistical modeling, Danielle sees the job through a more playful\u2014and deeply human\u2014lens. \u201cI think people … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83776,"featured_media":8554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[83,91,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-department-news","category-homepage-news","category-in-the-news","odd"],"acf":[],"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/12\/Durham_paddling.jpg","featured_image_medium":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/12\/Durham_paddling-225x300.jpg","featured_image_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/12\/Durham_paddling.jpg","featured_image_large":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/12\/Durham_paddling.jpg","featured_image_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/12\/Durham_paddling-150x150.jpg","featured_image_alt":"A woman in a life vest is paddling at Lake Crabtree in a blue kayak.","category_details":[{"name":"Department News","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/category\/department-news\/"},{"name":"Homepage News","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/category\/homepage-news\/"},{"name":"IN THE NEWS","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/category\/department-news\/in-the-news\/"}],"tag_details":[],"_links_to":[],"_links_to_target":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83776"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8545"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8555,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8545\/revisions\/8555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}