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About
Ann

Coach・Survivor・Speaker・Scientist

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First  —  

THE BASICS

Ann Ramsdell, Ph.D. (she/her) is a Certified Wayfinder Life Coach and Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, where she led a National Institutes of Health-funded research laboratory and taught medical embryology, women’s health, cell biology, developmental biology, and reproductive biology for over 15 years. #sciencegeek #sexeducation #bodilyautonomy #development #patterning #asymmetry #womeninstem

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In 2009, Ann was diagnosed with stage III invasive ductal carcinoma, prompting her to switch her research from embryonic development to breast cancer. This experience catalyzed a massive career shift, an ongoing quest in personal and spiritual development, literal tree hugging, a 2015 Tedx talk, and a recent patent. #breastcancer #embryo #mindbody #shemeansbusiness #lovesthewoo #forestmedicine

 

In 2020, Ann experienced recurrence, presenting with an unusual metastatic pattern with poor prognosis. She has shown a remarkable response to treatment and has used the past year to experiment with an advanced set of coaching tools that changed the playing field for her cancer experience. Eighteen months later the exceptional factor in her story is not her survival (which of course is #awesome), but the level to which her professional and personal life is thriving. #lifecoach #joy #harmony #healing #letsplay  

January  2020, Orcas Island, WA

More to the Story
Second  —  

THE DETAILS

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Coaching 

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  • Certified Wayfinder Life Coach, specializing in cancer, women's health, mind-body, spirituality

  • Academic Coach & Biomedical Grant Proposal Consultant 

  • Certified Advanced Akashic Practitioner

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  • Former Coach and Instructor for programs at Marketing Your Science LLC: Research Success Alliance, Fearless Creators Mastermind, Grant Dynamo, The Grant Foundry

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  • Instructor at the Institute for Nature Centered Coaching 

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Academic

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  • B.S. in Biology, Minor in Philosophy, College of Charleston

  • Ph.D. in Cell Biology & Anatomy, Medical University of South Carolina

  • Postdoctoral Fellowships, Harvard Medical School and University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute

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  • Affiliate Associate Professor, University of South Carolina, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, School of Medicine and Program in Women’s and Gender Studies, College of Arts and Sciences (tenured 2007-2020)

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Research

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  • Left-right gene expression signature for triple negative breast cancer, Patent No:

       US 10895574B2     

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  • Speaker TEDxColumbiaSC  "Left-right difference in breast cancer inspires new research"

Third  —  

PERSONAL BREAST CANCER HISTORY

2009  Wait, what? What kind of carcinoma did you say?

Stage III breast cancer (IDC), ER+/PR+/HER2- 

2009-2010  Throw everything we have at it. Including new clinical trial drugs.

Clinical trial NSABP B-40, Group 2B (Docetaxel/Adriamycin & Cyclophosphamide, Capecitabene, Bevacizumab). Bilateral mastectomy, radiation therapy, ovariectomy & endocrine therapy (Anastrazole, 9 yrs).

2011  Remission, in more ways than one.

S-GAP breast reconstruction

NIH funded breast cancer research and other cool life stuff begins...

2015  Life Coaching. Mind Blown.

Figuring out what you really want and how to get it can feel daunting, but it's not rocket science. There is an actual process for doing this. And it's one you can learn.

2020  Well damn. Would you please show me the images?

Bone marrow failure & peritoneal carcinomatosis

Vinorelbine and Fulvestrant

2021  You. Me. Working Together.

While the medical team is treating your cancer, let's support, nurture, and heal the rest of you.

Let's start the conversation.

Take that first brave step to understanding not only where you are, but all the places you can go from here.

Image by Sue Henderson

I am at my happiest and healthiest when I am on a trail. Whether literally or metaphorically - the inside terrain can feel just as magnificent, beautiful, and sacred as the outside.

- Ann Ramsdell

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February 2021, Koyukuk River, Evansville, Alaska

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PROGRAMS

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 No matter where you are relative to a breast cancer diagnosis, you are facing circumstances for which no definitive road map, instruction book, or guidebook exists.

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As a breast cancer survivor, breast cancer researcher, and lifelong women's health advocate, I am here to tell you that's a good thing.  A really good thing, actually.

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Because where you begin and where you decide you would like to go will look different for each person. 

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Because your ability to heal rests not in a guidebook, but in your hands. 

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Because no matter your circumstances, there is room to choose and maneuver.

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And because when you can begin to find this space, this is when you begin to heal. 

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Click below to learn more about personalized coaching programs and services.

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Although a cure is in the hands of your medical team, the capacity to heal is held in yours.

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March 2011, Muir Woods, CA

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VOICES

WHAT I APPRECIATE MOST ABOUT ANN IS HER UNIQUE ABILITY TO EXPLORE THE LESSONS AND GIFTS IN THE MOST CHALLENGING OF CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING SEVERE AND IMMINENT HEALTH DIAGNOSIS. SHE IS AN OLD SOUL WITH DEEP WISDOM BALANCED WITH A LIGHT-HEARTED PLAYFULNESS THAT MAKES FOR INSIGHTFUL AND FUN ENGAGEMENT.

JENN BAUER

WAYFINDER MASTER COACH / REIKI MASTER / BREATHWORK MEDITATION HEALER

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