2023 Postdoctoral Candidate Pelotonia Scholars
Learn more about the postdoctoral candidates who received a scholarship award in 2023.
Fall 2023 Postdoctoral Candidate Pelotonia Scholars
Bhaswati Sengupta, PhD
Award Cycle: Fall 2023
Major: Molecular Biophysics
Project: Probing mismatch repair and DNA damage signaling at single molecule resolution.
Mentor: Richard Fishel, PhD
Idea Inspiration: Understanding the molecular mechanisms that defend the cell against DNA damage will lead to better cancer therapeutics.
Fnu Sonam, PhD
Award Cycle: Fall 2023
Major: Chemical Biology
Project: New strategies for targeted triple-negative breast cancer therapies.
Mentor: Jonathan Boyce, PhD
Idea Inspiration: I chose this research to help discover targeted treatments that can improve patients’ survival and quality of life.
Yajun Sun, PhD
Award Cycle: Fall 2023
Major: Pathology
Project: Metabolic regulation of ferroptosis by mitochondrial calcium signaling promotes antitumor immunity.
Mentor: Haitao Wen, MD, PhD
Idea Inspiration: I aim to design novel therapies targeting tumor metabolism to overcome resistance to existing ICB therapies.
Spring 2023 Postdoctoral Candidate Pelotonia Scholars
Liudmila Popova, PhD
Award Cycle: Spring 2023
Major: Cancer Genomics
Project: The role of matrix metalloproteinase 14 in adrenocortical carcinoma metastasis.
Mentor: Priya Dedhia, MD, PhD
Idea Inspiration: To identify novel treatment strategies for adrenocortical carcinoma, a rare and aggressive endocrine cancer.
Jordan Krull, PhD
Award Cycle: Spring 2023
Major: Cancer Immunology
Project: AI-driven pan-cancer analyses of tissue features from H&E and inference of their relationship to treatment and survival.
Mentor: Qin Ma, PhD and Zihai Li, MD, PhD
Idea Inspiration: I believe AI will unlock hidden mechanisms of cancer and should be leveraged to accelerate diagnosis and treatment.
Hojin Park, PhD
Award Cycle: Spring 2023
Major: Health Economics
Project: Evaluating the preference and perception of medical cannabis use among cancer patients and clinicians and their impacts on the use of cannabis and health outcomes among cancer patients.
Mentor: Ce Shang, PhD and Peter Shields, MD
Idea Inspiration: With this project, I aim to help establish clinical guidelines for the use of medical cannabis in cancer patients.