In the summer of 2023, then-20-year-old track and cross-country athlete Evan Moore was running toward a national title. A top-ranked Division II athlete, he was used to pain and pushing through injury. But something wasn’t right. His times were slipping. His hamstring wouldn’t heal. And a swollen lymph node suggested this wasn’t just overtraining.

He brushed it off at first, then two biopsies came back normal. And one swollen lymph node turned into two—and deep down, Evan knew. A third biopsy confirmed it: stage 2A (asymptomatic) Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system that typically causes fever, night sweats, and rapid weight loss. Evan had none of those symptoms.

Though stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma is rare and carries a very good prognosis, the after-effects of radiation can create adverse health effects down the line.

As a young adult, Evan qualified for a groundbreaking clinical trial at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital—a place known not only for treating cancer but also for transforming how it’s treated. The cHOD17: Risk-Adapted Therapy for Children and Young Adults with Hodgkin Lymphoma trial was designed for kids and young adults like Evan: people with highly curable cancers. Its goal? To see if radiation could safely be skipped for patients who respond well to early chemotherapy, sparing them the risk of future heart problems, organ damage, or secondary cancers.

Though Evan hesitated to undergo treatment so far from home, meeting Matthew Ehrhardt, MD, MS, Departments of Oncology and Epidemiology & Cancer Control, convinced him to join the trial.

“Dr. Ehrhardt told me the plan was to start with chemo and then… if I didn’t have any cancer left, I wouldn’t have to do radiation. If you go anywhere else, radiation is not optional; it’s protocol,” he recalled. “St. Jude is looking at my health 20 to 30, or even 50 years down the road, not just right now.”

Despite the intensity of the chemotherapy, Evan credits his strength to his athletic background, which he said, “was prepared for something really hard.” His cancer responded quickly, and by the two-month scan, it was gone.

A self-proclaimed science nerd, Evan was already curious about microbiology. During treatment, he asked if he could see a slide of his tumor. St. Jude didn’t just say yes—they gave him a tour of the pathology lab and introduced him to Dr. Cliff Guy, director of the Immunologic Imaging Center. Together, they imaged a stained section of Evan’s lymph node. The final print now hangs in Evan’s room: part pathology, part art, completely personal.

“You’d never know it’s Hodgkin lymphoma,” he said. “Let alone mine.”

That moment sparked something deeper. And in June 2025, Evan returned to St. Jude, not as a patient, but as a research intern in the lab of Dr. Victor Torres, chair of the Department of Host–Microbe Interactions. His summer project? Investigating how the dangerous bacterium MRSA interacts with the body’s immune system, using advanced imaging techniques to visualize infection and response.

Now he’s producing his own slides, asking deeper questions, and working with the very scientists who inspired him during his care.

“It’s so cool to be in an environment like this with such brilliant people,” he said.

He’s not the only one learning. Evan’s journey from elite athlete to patient to scientist has become a living reminder of St. Jude’s mission: not just to cure disease, but to invest in futures.

In April 2025, he celebrated one year cancer-free. By summer, he was back in the best shape of his life and placed in the top 20 nationwide in the 1500-meter event.

“I’m doing better than I was before,” he said. “In every way.”

Evan’s story is a full-circle breakthrough: one that began with care and now powers discovery. And at St. Jude, where research and healing walk hand in hand, he’s far from the only one.

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