Schmeler '91 Engineers Medical Career, Helps Women Around the Globe

by Michael P. Griffin MS ’00

Kathleen Schmeler ’91 studied mechanical engineering at Clarkson, where she says she received an excellent education, both academically and in life skills. She was president of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority, worked in Walker Arena (now Walker Center) and participated in a semester abroad in London. After graduation, she briefly worked as an engineer, but her life changed dramatically when she met a cancer researcher on a transatlantic flight and took him up on an internship opportunity in Holland — and she’s never looked back. Today, Schmeler is a medical doctor and professor of gynecologic oncology at the largest cancer center in the nation.

Kathleen Schmeler '91

MG: How did you journey from mechanical engineering to a medical career?

KS: I was always interested in medicine, but no one in my family was a doctor, so I didn’t know where to start. My first job out of Clarkson was with Procter & Gamble, but I lasted less than two years. During that time, I took a trip to the Netherlands to visit my parents and my then-boyfriend (now husband), Stephen Brown, who was coincidentally studying there. I was so fortunate to meet an MD/PhD cancer researcher on the flight. I expressed my interest in medicine, and he took a chance on me and offered me an internship in his lab. I quit my job, moved to Holland, worked for him for six months and loved it. I was a terrible engineer, so it was a good move! I eventually moved back to the U.S., took a year of pre-med classes and applied to medical school.

MG: How have you built and shaped your medical career?

KS: Medical training is pretty long. I did four years of medical school and then four years of OB-GYN residency. I thought I would spend my career delivering babies, but I really liked gynecologic oncology as a subspecialty during my residency. I was interested in cancer research from my time in Holland. I wanted to dedicate my career to preventing and treating cancer and helping support and care for women and their families through the end of life when a cure is no longer possible. I was fortunate to do my fellowship at MD Anderson, a prominent cancer center in Texas with world-class cancer care and research. After my fellowship, I was offered a faculty position and have stayed for 18 years!

MG: What do you do in your roles at MD Anderson?

KS: My job at MD Anderson is 50% clinical care and 50% research. I care for women with gynecologic cancers, including performing surgery, giving chemotherapy and providing cervical cancer prevention treatments in our colposcopy clinic. I see patients at MD Anderson and LBJ Hospital, a safety net hospital for uninsured and underinsured patients in Houston. Most of my research is related to cervical cancer prevention and treatment, particularly for medically underserved populations.

MG: One of Clarkson’s interdisciplinary research areas is Healthy Global Solutions. Your primary research interest is in cervical cancer prevention and treatment, particularly in developing countries and for medically underserved women in the United States. How did you come to focus on this area, and why is it important?

KS: Cervical cancer is a completely preventable disease, yet women die from it every day. Due to significant scientific discoveries in the 1990s, we now know that the cause of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus (HPV). We have a safe and effective vaccine against HPV and effective screening tools — like Pap smear and HPV testing — and ways to treat pre-cancerous cells before they turn into cancer.

However, in many communities, organized screening and prevention programs are not available — and there is a lack of trained medical providers to care for women with abnormal screening results or early cancer. As a result, women in these settings often present with advanced-stage disease that is impossible to cure.

Almost 90% of cervical cancer cases occur in lower-resource countries — particularly in subSaharan Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. However, this is also the case in many medically underserved regions of the U.S. — particularly in rural areas and areas of high poverty. An example is the Rio Grande Valley along the Texas-Mexico border, where the cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates are more than 50% higher than in the rest of the U.S.

MG: Another Clarkson interdisciplinary research area is Next Generation Medicine and Healthcare. You are performing several clinical trials, in Latin America and around the world, focused on developing better ways to prevent and treat cervical cancer in low-resource settings. Can you tell us about these trials and why they are important?

KS: Many of the recent developments in medicine are due to innovative technologies. For example, the tools we use to screen for, diagnose and treat cervical cancer in high-resource settings like MD Anderson work very well. However, they are not feasible in low-resource settings due to cost, necessary equipment and infrastructure, and the need for trained specialists to use these tools.

For example, in Mozambique, Africa, our labs don’t have consistent temperature and humidity controls and experience frequent power outages. Many of the tools we use in the U.S. don’t work there. I have the good fortune to partner with the Bioengineering Department at Rice University in Houston; we work together to develop lowcost, point-of-care technologies to diagnose cervical cancer and other diseases — all designed for use in low-resource settings. We have several ongoing trials to test these technologies in Mozambique, Brazil and Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.

MG: Can you tell us more about the MD Anderson Cervical Cancer Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) program you run?

KS: There is a massive shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly specialists, in many parts of the U.S. and lowerresource countries. Project ECHO is a program developed by the University of New Mexico, which we have adapted to increase knowledge of cancer prevention and treatment options.

MD Anderson’s Project ECHO telementoring program connects academic center specialists to help train and support medical providers in community clinics so that patients can get the care they need, regardless of where they live. Training includes regular Zoom videoconferences where community providers present patient cases and specialists provide advice, feedback and mentoring.

It is different from “telemedicine” as we do not remotely provide direct patient care; rather, we teach, mentor and support the local doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, etc., to provide high-quality care locally. At MD Anderson, we run various Project ECHOs related to preventing and treating cervical cancer and many other cancer types — both in Texas and in many other countries.

MG: What was your role as chair of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS) Education Committee?

There is a severe shortage of physicians and surgeons to diagnose and treat cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this role, I help run the Global Curriculum, a comprehensive two-year education and training program designed for regions of the world that do not have formal training in gynecologic oncology.

We match institutions and individuals from higher-resource settings with partners in LMICs wishing to obtain formal gynecologic oncology training (twinning). The trainees (fellows) follow a comprehensive twoyear, web-based curriculum. The international mentors travel to the fellow’s home institution two to four times per year to provide hands-on surgical training for one to two weeks per visit.

The fellows keep surgical case logs and participate in monthly virtual tumor boards using the Project ECHO platform. The program launched in 2017 and currently has 18 training programs worldwide with 38 fellows and 23 graduates. The programs are located worldwide, including many countries in Africa (Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Nigeria), as well as Guatemala, Nepal, India, Fiji and Jamaica.

MG: Did Clarkson play a role in the success you have today?

KS: Absolutely. Clarkson gave me a very solid undergraduate education and the skills to do well academically. And, just FYI, engineering school is much harder than medical school! Clarkson also provided me with the necessary life skills that have enabled me to adapt and change throughout my career.

MG: What advice do you have for current Clarkson students?

KS: Be fearless. You are getting an excellent education and can do anything. Find something you are passionate about and don’t be afraid to change course as you progress through your education and subsequent career.

MG: The Schmeler family is a legacy family, or one that has had multiple generations of family members attend Clarkson. Why does Clarkson hold a special place in your hearts?

Clarkson is a very special place for our family. My father, FRANK SCHMELER ’64, P’91, P’93, is from Canada and attended Clarkson on a hockey scholarship. He was one of the first in his family to go to college. He went on to have a very successful career, thanks to the opportunities he had as a Clarkson graduate. More importantly, he met my mother, Wilma (Murphy), who was a student at SUNY Potsdam. My brother, sister and I grew up knowing many of their college friends and knew what a special place it is from a young age.

My sister, NANCY SCHMELER ’93, with whom I was fortunate to overlap for two years, and I loved our time at Clarkson. Nancy’s husband, DEANE NELSON ’91, is also a Clarkson graduate.

Our whole family, especially my husband, Steve, and I, is thrilled that our oldest child, Alex, is now a member of the Clarkson Class of 2026, majoring in electrical engineering and carrying on our family tradition.

From left: Kathleen Schmeler '91, her father, Frank Schmeler ’64, P’91, P’93, and Alex Brown '26.

Find something you are passionate about and don’t be afraid to change course as you progress through your education and subsequent career.

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Kathleen M. Schmeler, MD ’91, Mechanical Engineering

HOMETOWNS: Cowansville, Québec, Canada, and Albany, New York

CURRENT POSITION: Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Executive Director of Global Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

RESIDENCE: Houston, Texas

EDUCATION:

—Bachelor of Science, mechanical engineering, Clarkson University, 1991

—Doctor of Medicine, Medical College of Pennsylvania-Hahnemann University School of Medicine, 2000

—Residency in obstetrics and gynecology, Women & Infants’ Hospital/Brown University, 2000-2004

—Fellowship in gynecologic oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2004-2007