By Remekca Owens

Dr. Bethany Cartwright

Dr. Bethany Cartwright’s childhood interests and hobbies were always a mix of science and discovery blended with a deep love for learning, reading, and writing. So for the native of Clarksville, Tennessee, a career as physician researcher seemed inevitable.

“My father is an attorney and really loved the idea of his daughter becoming a physician, without realizing that the interests that he always encouraged me to pursue were related to science,” said Dr. Cartwright. “Meanwhile my mother is a public school teacher, and instilled in me a deep love of learning. So it’s really no surprise that I became drawn to academic medicine.” 

Dr. Cartwright is the recipient of the 2016 Pediatric Society of Greater Dallas Award, which recognizes an outstanding graduate who has the personal character and dedication to serve, along with being an advocate for children. Once deciding on a career path in academic medicine, Dr. Cartwright said she knew right away that she would be drawn most to pediatrics.

“I always assumed I would be a pediatrician, because I just like hanging out with kids – half of my day-to-day conversations are already about Frozen or The Avengers anyway. Also, as I became interested in obesity and type 2 diabetes, I realized just how strong the need is for pediatricians in this field,” said Dr. Cartwright. “Approximately one in six children today are obese, and it’s a problem that has never really existed before in pediatrics. In addition to being of critical clinical importance for these children and their families, the relatively sudden appearance of the childhood obesity epidemic makes the research side of this field both fascinating and open for discovery.”

Dr. Cartwright graduated from Vanderbilt University summa cum laude in molecular and cellular biology, and minors in chemistry and English. Attracted to both science and clinical care, she then enrolled in UT Southwestern’s prestigious Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) and earned her Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology under the guidance of Dr. Joel Goodman, Professor of Pharmacology. Her primary doctoral research focus was on the basic mechanisms of how fat storage is accomplished within cells. 

The MSTP offers students the opportunity, after the first two years of medical school education, to undergo a minimum of three years of graduate study and dissertation research in an area of basic biomedical science, leading to a Ph.D. degree. Students then return to clinical studies in the final two years of medical school, which completes the M.D. degree requirements.

“Bethany brings a level of maturity and inquisitiveness to her own education that is hard to match,” said Dr. Soumya Adhikari, Associate Professor of Pediatrics. “She shared with me that she grew up in a house full of science fiction, which probably has a lot to do with not only her sense of wonder at the world, but is also why her approach to patients is so grounded, humanistic, and appreciated by everyone who has worked with her.”  

In her spare time, Dr. Cartwright loves dancing, and has participated in the annual Multicultural Awareness Week closing event Celebration of Cultures for six of the eight years she has been at UT Southwestern. She has performed a variety of Indian dancing styles, including Bollywood, Bhangra, and Raas. 

Dr. Cartwright will continue at UT Southwestern for her pediatrics residency, and will pursue a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology as one of the first trainees in the Department of Pediatrics’ new Physician Scientist Training Program.

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Dr. Joel Goodman holds the Jan and Bob Bullock Distinguished Chair for Science Education.