Recipients of ONS Foundation Funding

Sadeeka Al-Majid, RN, PhD

As one of a few unique researchers pursuing their projects in a laboratory, Dr. Al-Majid used a mouse model of cancer cachexia to develop her program of research, which focuses on cancer-related muscle wasting and fatigue. Now, she has developed a bio-behavioral model for the study of exercise interventions for cancer-related fatigue (CRF).

Dr. Sadeeka Al-Majid completed all of her undergraduate nursing education, Associate Degree and then a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, in Bahrain before coming to the United States for graduate education. In 1992 she received a Master's of Science in Nursing before beginning doctoral education in nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her chosen focus for research dictated the need for additional education in exercise physiology and laboratory techniques, which became a secondary area of concentration. Working with her mentor, Dr. Donna McCarthy Beckett, she initiated her program of research with animal models.

Beginning her professional life as a staff nurse on an adult surgical unit in Bahrain, Dr. Al-Majid moved into the role of an educator in the hospital. Currently she is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University-School of Nursing in Richmond, VA.

This researcher looks at symptom management in persons with cancer. Specifically, she focuses on interventions for ameliorating cancer-related skeletal muscle wasting and CRF. Different from many other researchers, Dr. Al-Majid focuses on testing the effects of both resistance and endurance exercise training programs on the biobehavioral mechanisms implicated in the induction of cancer-related muscle wasting and fatigue. She feels her expertise and formal education in exercise physiology enabled her to develop, implement, and test the effects of both of these types of exercise protocols.

Though Dr. Al-Majid describes herself as a "novice", she has already received funding from both the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Foundation and the National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR) (competitive pilot under the Center for Biobehvioral Clinical Research at VCU-School of Nursing). Her dissertation, funded by a small grant from the ONS Foundation, examined whether or not the skeletal muscle of a tumor-bearing animal would respond to the anabolic effect of resistance exercise in the same way as the muscle of a non-tumor bearing healthy animal. Results of this study suggested that resistance exercise training would not cause hypertrophy of the muscles of tumor-bearing animals but would attenuate muscle wasting. This along with several other studies using animal models of cancer cachexia enabled her to develop her model and facilitated the translation of her research from the "bench to bedside". In her current research project, funded by a large grant from the ONS Foundation, Dr. Al-Majid examines the influence of endurance exercise training on bio-behavioral outcomes of fatigue in women with breast cancer. Some of the bio-behavioral outcomes examined in this study include VO2 max, muscle strength, levels of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and self-reported fatigue and quality of life.

As a "laboratory/bench" scientist, Dr. Al-Majid notes this type of research can have positive and negative effects on other aspects of one's professional life. First, she notes it is very time consuming. "Because bench research is not what most nursing scientists do, it may not be supported by some nursing schools, making it difficult to implement." Also, few doctoral nursing students are interested in bench science so it "limits the number of doctoral students available to work with you and your research."

Dr. Al-Majid's research is consistent with the ONS Research Agenda because it targets fatigue, a symptom experienced by the majority of persons with cancer and described as one of the most distressing symptoms. It is also aligned with the focus of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) on exercise as a non-pharmacological intervention for the management of cancer-related fatigue. In addition, her research addresses public health issues mandated by current US government guidelines. These include the President's Cancer Panel (National Health Institute [NIH], 1993) and Healthy People 2010 which recommend testing of effective interventions to improve symptom management in cancer patients.

What are her recommendations for novice researchers? She has three pieces of advice to share. First, though she considers herself a novice researcher, she advises to start building a program of research from day one by staying focused and not spending a lot of time and energy on projects that are not within your research focus. "That can waste time and impede ability to develop a sound and strong program of research." She also states that graduation from a doctoral program "is the beginning not the end!!!" She believes continued mentoring is important. Finally she states "You need to believe in what you do."