On a recent afternoon, Wiam Almahdi, a junior majoring in biochemistry at UM-Dearborn, examined cells through a microscope in the Cancer Therapeutics Lab, run by Besa Xhabija, associate professor of biochemistry at UM-Dearborn. Almahdi was studying melanoma skin cancer cells to see if Spinosyn A, a natural pesticide found in soil, inhibits their growth.
Almahdi’s goal is to one day become an epidemiologist.
“I have learned how a lab operates, how to use the equipment and run tests. I’m becoming more independent and I’m becoming more confident in trusting my decisions and results. I am doing cancer research as an undergraduate. This is not something many people can say,” Almahdi said.
Almahdi credits this experience to Xhabija, her favorite biochemistry professor. She has taken two courses with Xhabija and has worked in the Cancer Therapeutics Lab for a year.
“She is always there to help if I need it and she takes technical topics and makes them easy to understand,” Almahdi said. “In her lab, we are performing tests that are done in industry to make discoveries of our own.”
Xhabija collaborates with biochemical research companies like Cayman Chemical, along with clinicians at Michigan Medicine’s Rogel Cancer Center, faculty experts at Michigan Center on Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease and researchers at the Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society.
“If you want to work in medical research, Professor Xhabija’s lab is where you want to be,” Almahdi said.
Almahdi’s brother, Yazan Almahdi, a 2025 UM-Dearborn alum who also trained in Xhabija’s lab as an undergraduate, is now a full-time research technician at the Rogel Cancer Center. He works in the laboratory of Christina Angeles, a surgical oncologist and nationally recognized physician-scientist leading clinical and translational research in melanoma and sarcoma.
“I want to help students build technical skill, scientific reasoning and confidence while introducing them to opportunities they may not have imagined for themselves,” Xhabija said.
A molecular cancer researcher, Xhabija has taught at UM-Dearborn since 2022. Previously, she was an assistant professor at UM-Flint and a visiting professor in the Systems Biology Institute and Department of Genetics at Yale School of Medicine.
Her lab focuses on identifying metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer cells, meaning that she examines how disrupting nutrient pathways can suppress tumor growth. Her current areas of focus include renal cancer, breast cancer and melanoma.
Xhabija and her students have published findings showing that targeting key processes in cancer cells, such as how the cells grow and get their energy, can slow the growth of melanoma and renal cancer cells in laboratory studies.
Xhabija said she has had offers to work in industry, but she chooses to teach. She wants to help students like Wiam and Yazan Almahdi reach their goals.
“I really enjoy watching students develop confidence in their ability to think critically. Over time, they begin to trust their reasoning and contribute their own ideas. Being part of that development is profoundly meaningful,” she said.
Xhabija’s own journey into science has shaped her approach to mentoring students. She knows the importance of having people in your corner and how far that type of support can go. Growing up in post-Communist Albania, Xhabija was drawn to science — she was curious and wanted to figure out how things worked. But she didn’t have access to quality kid-friendly science books in grade school. So her parents would save and go to a specialty bookstore to buy her National Geographic textbooks that had been translated into Albanian.
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“They were colorful, easy-to-understand and had wonderful photos. But they were so expensive. One textbook would cost one-tenth of my parents’ salary,” she said. “I recognized the sacrifices they were making for my interest in science. I made sure to take my time to really pay attention and read what they brought home for me.”
After graduating from high school in Tirana, Albania, in 2004, Xhabija moved to Canada for college. She wanted a life outside of Albania, which was in economic and political transition at the time. She excelled in her undergraduate science classes at York University, but struggled in a new culture, where she was working to speak fluent English.
During her senior year, she had the opportunity to take biotechnology classes at the University of Windsor, and Xhabija met Panayiotis “Otis” Vacratsis, who became her mentor. Vacratsis, an associate professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry, served as Xhabija’s master’s thesis supervisor and supported her on a project that evolved into her Ph.D.
“I felt lost in my undergrad years. I thought about dropping out, but I knew my parents had so much invested in me. I didn’t know what to do,” Xhabija said.
“Otis is very good at reading people. He saw I was drowning, but that I was eager to learn. He cared so deeply about the students in his lab. When I felt overwhelmed, he didn’t just push me to keep going — he paused, listened and tried to understand what was behind the struggle. His support rebuilt my confidence and taught me that working through challenges is what makes you more resilient.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. I always have that in mind and I try to show the same type of care with my students.”
While working with Vacratsis, Xhabija found herself increasingly drawn to scientific questions related to disease. “Cancer research brought together rigorous biological questions with clear human relevance,” she said. “It allowed me to study fundamental mechanisms while also thinking about how that knowledge could eventually improve treatment.”
Through Xhabija’s interactions with UM-Dearborn students, it’s evident that she’s modeling what she’s learned. She supervises lab work and is readily available, but often steps back to allow students greater independence. She recognizes student strengths and amplifies them, while also teaching new skills.
Back in Xhabija’s Cancer Therapeutics Lab, Wiam Almahdi measures the growth and shape of melanoma cells. She wants to work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and plans to be there in 10 years. It may seem ambitious, but she is already conducting cancer research at 20.
“Working in Professor Xhabija’s lab will help me stand out. I am learning so much,” Almahdi said.
Xhabija said undergraduate research yields dividends far beyond campus — inspiring future scientists and addressing critical health issues that touch every family.
“These are students who ask questions that matter. They notice patterns others might miss. They develop judgment. Over time, you see something shift. They begin to see themselves differently,” she said. “They are not standing at the edge of discovery — they are inside it.”
