2020 Fall Postdoctoral Candidate Pelotonia Scholars
Eliza Beal, MS, MD
Major – Surgical Oncology
Project – Health Care Disparities in Barriers to Screening for Liver Cancer in High-Risk Patients
Mentors – Allan Tsung, MD, and Ann Scheck McAlearney, ScD
Idea Inspiration – Improved screening for liver cancer can lead to earlier diagnosis and improved access to curative-intent treatment for high-risk patients.
Jasmine Sukumar, MD
Major – Medical Oncology (Focus of study: breast cancer)
Project – Episodic Future Thinking: A Pilot Study to Promote Weight Loss in Breast Cancer Survivors
Mentor – Sagar Sardesi, MBBS
Idea Inspiration – I am constantly inspired by my patients. I learn from every interaction, every story and every patient’s journey. My research focus is to elucidate the link between obesity and inflammation on breast cancer and better understand personalized strategies that can lead to maintenance of weight loss. In this way, I hope to have a lasting impact not only for patients with cancer but also those who may be at high risk of developing cancer.
Watch as Jasmine shares more details about her research project.
2020 Spring Postdoctoral Candidate Pelotonia Fellows
Puneet Agarwal, MS, PhD
Major – Myeloid Malignancies
Project – Investigating the Role of Microbial Products on the Progression of Hematologic Malignancies
Mentor – Daniel Starczynowski, PhD
Idea Inspiration – I have been investigating extrinsic mechanisms driving the function of leukemia stem cells (the root cause of disease relapse and drug resistance), focusing specifically on bone marrow microenvironment. Recently, it was found that the gut microbiota is involved in the regulation of hematopoiesis and myeloproliferation, adding to the complexity of extrinsic mechanisms. Additionally, physicians have observed patients with various autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis, that often present with clinical manifestations of myeloid malignancies. These unanswered observations inspired me to pursue the project.
My Pelotonia 2020 – Ride at least 25 miles
Corena Grant, PhD
Major – Psychoneuroimmunology and Cancer Biology
Project – Peripheral Immune Cells in Mammary Tumor-Induced Fatigue
Mentor – Leah Pyter, PhD
Idea Inspiration – The inspiration for my work stems directly from the cancer patients I have had the pleasure of speaking and working with. It’s amazing how these individuals have such a positive outlook on life while they are simultaneously struggling with side effects from cancer and cancer treatment. Therefore, I hope to one day make a significant impact on their lives, not by extending the length (there are some pretty good treatments that do that, but by enhancing the quality of their lives so they may enjoy every moment and continue to inspire others with their stories.
My Pelotonia 2020 – Walk, hike and run 50 miles, and raise $1,250
Yang Li, PhD
Major – Pharmacology/Toxicology (Focus of study: translational cancer pharmacology)
Project – S100A8/A9 Signaling and Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy
Mentors – Shuiying Hu, PhD, and Alex Sparreboom, PhD
Idea Inspiration – The clinical use of chemotherapeutic drugs was really limited by their side effects, especially the peripheral neuropathy, which affects up to 80% of patients undergoing treatment, so it’s important to find an effective way to prevent/treat this side effect that will improve the overall survival rate and quality of life in cancer patients.
My Pelotonia 2020 – Run 20 miles
Dionisia Quiroga
Project – Characterizing the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Breast Cancer Lymphedema-Correcting Surgeries
Mentor – William Carson, MD
Idea Inspiration – In 10-20% of breast cancer patients, removal of these lymph nodes can lead to significant and painful arm swelling called lymphedema. Lymphedema can drive up systemic inflammatory markers, which can in turn lead to impaired immune system function. My research project will study markers of inflammation in blood samples from patients with breast cancer-associated lymphedema prior to LCS and after LCS. These findings will provide new insight into the human body’s immunologic response to lymphedema and prove further benefits that LCS gives cancer patients.
My Pelotonia 2020 – Ride at least 25 miles
Niksa Roki, PhD
Major – Biomedical Engineering and DNA Origami Nanomedicine
Project – Designing DNA-Based Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Cancer Immunotherapy
Mentors – Carlos Castro, PhD, and Meixiao Long, MD, PhD
Idea Inspiration – Our mission is to make a more effective cancer vaccine than those already being tested. We believe that we can use a new type of medicine, a nanomedicine vaccine, to do this. Our nanomedicine is made from DNA, which is a safe molecule that can be used as a “platform” to carry and deliver other molecules that will communicate with the immune system better than current vaccine strategies.
My Pelotonia 2020 – Run, bike and swim 200 miles