From the Odyssey to Oncology: Ogden Honors College Alumna Jackie Zimmerman

When Jackie Zimmerman arrived at LSU as a freshman, she already knew she wanted to study cancer. What she didn't expect was that a humanities seminar would end up shaping the way she thinks about it. Fourteen years later, the Ogden Honors College alumna is now an Assistant Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University, where she researches pancreatic cancer and helps train the next generation of oncologists.

A Different Kind of Education

Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, Jackie Zimmerman knew what she wanted from the college experience: a chance to meet new people, branch out, and pursue science in a serious way. Due to its research opportunities and the Ogden Honors College, LSU floated to the top of her list. The chance to be part of a smaller, more intimate academic community within a large university was appealing, but so was the curriculum.

Jackie graduated from LSU in 2007 with a BS in Biological Sciences after successfully defending her Honors capstone. During her time at LSU she earned recognition as a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar and a spot on USA Today's All-USA College Academic Team in 2007. She went on to earn both her PhD and MD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham before completing her residency and fellowship training at Johns Hopkins.

Laying the Foundation

Long before the accolades, the structure and culture of the Honors College helped shape the way she thinks.

In her first seminar, former Honors College Associate Dean Ann Sumner Holmes set a high academic bar. "She challenged us in a way that I thought was hard, but incredibly beneficial," Zimmerman recalled. "I don't write my thoughts on The Odyssey now, I write what I think about pancreas cancer,” but she says the skills she built under Holmes' mentorship have never left her.

A seamless integration of the humanities with rigorous scientific coursework left a lasting impression. Working through literature, seminar discussions, and writing assignments pushed her to think critically in ways her biology and chemistry classes simply didn't. “I can appreciate the fact that exercising that part of my brain at that stage in training built my thought process now."

That kind of reflective, adaptable thinking serves her daily, whether she's navigating complex tumor biology in the lab or meeting a grieving family exactly where they are in a difficult conversation.

Beyond the seminar, two other experiences stood out. Learning chemistry with Jim Wharton reinforced that she had what it took to succeed. Working in Mark Batzer's comparative genomics lab gave her hands-on scientific experience, while also helping her realize she wanted to pursue science with a more direct human application. 

Learning to Grow

Zimmerman is quick to point out that the Honors College didn't just prepare her scientifically. It also helped her develop what she calls a growth mindset. "The Honors College helped me take a step away from perfectionism in a way that helped my productivity," she said. Rather than feeling paralyzed by the pursuit of a flawless outcome, she learned to embrace the idea that she was always learning, always growing. It's a philosophy she now considers essential not just for her research, but for the way she cares for patients. "If you haven't embraced that growth mindset, it's going to compromise the quality of your science, the quality of your patient care."

Her Research

Today, Zimmerman's research focuses on pancreatic cancer; as she puts it, the tools in the toolbox to treat it are limited, and the ones that exist aren't terribly effective. Her work centers on understanding why current treatments fall short, and what can be done to develop better ones.

"I remain very optimistic that this is a cancer where we are going to make progress in the next five to ten years," she said. "We're going to see more of a separation of the incidence and mortality line for these patients."

When Zimmerman returned to the Honors College last November to speak with current students, her advice was simple: stay open. "Pursue something that gets them excited, and recognize that some of the opportunities that may be the most impactful may also be unexpected," she said. The goal, she told them, is to strike a balance between focus and open-mindedness, especially at a stage in life when identity is still being formed.

As we recognize National Doctors' Day on March 30, Jackie's story is a reminder that the path to medicine is shaped by far more than science classes and board exams. Sometimes, it's writing about The Odyssey, a conversation with a chemistry professor, or the simple encouragement to keep growing that makes all the difference.