Convocation Profile: Anngela C. Adams

On Monday, May 11, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix will hold its 16th Convocation. Led by a pipe and drum corps, the Class of 2026 will process through downtown Phoenix, finishing at the Phoenix Convention Center for their official ceremony. The day marks the beginning of the next phase in their journey as physicians. The college profiled a series of graduating students to commemorate the milestone.

Meet Anngela C. Adams

Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Anngela C. Adams grew up as a competitive dancer, traveling across the state and country competing in team and solo competitions and attending dance conventions. 

She attended Arizona State University, completing both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering. And then she matriculated into medical school in 2017. Early in her medical studies, Adams found her passion for immunology and dermatology, which led her to join the lab of Karen Hastings, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Dermatology. After her second year, she completed a five-year PhD focused on skin cancer immunology.

Adams is very proud of the work she completed during her PhD, including the development of a novel cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) model that they used to study neoantigens, T cells, and neoantigen vaccination strategies in cSCC. 

Some highlights of her PhD work include giving an oral presentation at the International Societies for Investigative Dermatology meeting in Tokyo, Japan; receiving the NIH National Cancer Institute (NCI) F30 grant; receiving the American Skin Association Medical Student Grant in Targeting Melanoma and Skin Cancer; and being awarded the Histochemical Society Graduate Student Cornerstone Grant.

Throughout her education and training, Adams’ parents have been her unwavering supporters. They have championed each of her goals and stood by her every step of the way. Adams is deeply grateful for their support, guidance and steadfast encouragement. She believes that she truly could not have achieved this without them.

She is also incredibly grateful for Dr. Hastings, who has been an exceptional mentor throughout her journey to dermatology. During Adams’ PhD, Dr. Hastings invested significant time and energy into helping her grow as a scientist and developing her research skills. She is not only an outstanding mentor, but also someone Adams deeply respects and considers a friend.

Finally, Adams is grateful for her loving and supportive fiancé, Matt Kingery. He has stood by her through the most challenging moments of medical school and has been a constant source of laughter and support. She is incredibly thankful for their loving, strong, and supportive relationship.

Path Toward Medicine

What was the spark that led you to become a physician?

I was drawn to medicine by a desire to make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives. I valued my training through my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering, as well as my time working as an engineer, but I found myself wanting a more direct and personal role in patient care. Medicine offered the opportunity to combine my scientific background with compassionate, hands-on impact, which ultimately led me to pursue a career as a physician.

Match Day

On Match Day, what was it like discovering where you were headed for residency?

Discovering on Match Day that I would have the opportunity to train at Harvard was truly surreal. It was an incredibly meaningful moment to see years of hard work come to fruition. I feel deeply honored to become a dermatologist and to train under and learn from leaders in the field at Harvard. I am profoundly grateful for the unwavering support of my family, friends and mentors, whose encouragement and guidance made this moment possible.

What’s Next?

What excites you most about your upcoming residency? Where are you headed?

I am incredibly grateful to be headed to Harvard for dermatology and Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix for my preliminary year.

At Harvard, I am most excited for the opportunity to train at a program deeply committed to outstanding clinical education and meaningful research opportunities. I feel privileged to learn dermatology from leaders in the field and to grow as a dermatologist within such a rigorous and inspiring academic environment. I am deeply humbled and excited for the opportunity of a lifetime to become a Harvard-trained dermatologist.

I am equally grateful to complete my preliminary year at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix. Throughout medical school, I have greatly valued my clinical experiences there, especially working alongside residents, learning from dedicated attendings and serving a community I am deeply invested in. I am excited to continue learning from and serving this community as a resident.

The College of Medicine – Phoenix Culture

Looking back, what’s your favorite medical school memory?

After nine years in medical school, it is difficult to choose just one favorite memory, as I have been fortunate to experience many meaningful milestones throughout my training. 

• During my White Coat Ceremony, I remember feeling incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to study medicine, especially surrounded by the support of my family and friends. 
• I also vividly remember receiving my NIH F30 award and feeling deeply grateful for the support from the NCI, which helped fund my research and training.
• Another particularly meaningful experience was being selected for an oral presentation at the International Societies for Investigative Dermatology meeting in Tokyo, Japan, where I had the opportunity to share my research with an international audience.
• Defending my PhD was also a very special milestone for me, as I presented years of work focused on developing a novel cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma model and using it to study neoantigens, T cells and neoantigen vaccination strategies.
• Finally, Match Day stands out as an especially memorable moment, as it represented the culmination of years of work and the beginning of the next chapter in dermatology. It was incredibly meaningful to share that day with my family and mentors, whose support has been constant throughout my training.

Earning a Dual Degree

How do you think earning an MD/PhD will benefit you most in your career as a physician? And what were some of the challenges of taking on that dual degree?

I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to pursue an MD/PhD. While this path was challenging, it was also deeply rewarding, and I am especially appreciative of the support and encouragement I received from my family, friends and mentors throughout nine years of training. 

I believe that having both degrees will allow me to bring a unique perspective to each aspect of my career. Clinically, I hope to serve my community as a dermatologist with a focus on high-risk skin cancer patients, including solid organ transplant recipients and other immunocompromised populations. In parallel, I want to remain engaged in research throughout my career, with the goal of better understanding the immune response to skin cancer and developing new therapeutic options for patients. 

I see my research and clinical work as deeply interconnected; my research will inform and improve my care of patients, and my clinical experiences will continue to guide and inspire my research questions. Ultimately, I hope to make a meaningful impact both in the lives of my individual patients in my clinical practice and more broadly for patients affected by skin cancer through my research.