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Today we are highlighting the exciting work of several of our new RSG recipients that are part of the larger Summer 2025 grant slate. The full list of new RSGs can be found at the link above.

Sanjay Aneja, MD
Yale University
Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: ¡°Studying the Utility of Deep Learning Derived MRI Imaging Biomarkers for Localized Prostate Cancer¡±

Dr. Aneja is?working to move past traditional tissue-based biomarkers like prostate specific antigen (PSA tests) for the purposes of assessing individual patient risk and making treatment decisions. In this project, his team will conduct robust validation studies of their newly developed quantitative imaging analysis approach that is powered by deep learning. Through this work, he hopes to demonstrate that this non-invasive approach can be utilized to inform treatment selection and reduce overtreatment for localized prostate cancer.

Jenna Canzoniero, MD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: ¡°Improving Breast Cancer Early Detection with cfDNA Fragmentomics¡±

Liquid biopsies, which assess the presence of free-floating DNA, or cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in blood samples, hold significant promise for improving screening for breast cancer. Dr. Canzoniero utilizes a novel approach called fragmentomics to assess the non-random pattern in which cfDNA is broken, which allows her to identify bits of cfDNA derived tumors within the liquid biopsy samples. In this project, Dr. Canzoniero will be developing a fragmentomics-based liquid biopsy which will be tested in a small, prospective cohort of 300 patients undergoing breast imaging or biopsy. This study will model the impact of incorporating liquid biopsy with imaging-based screening on improving diagnostic accuracy, particularly in subgroups, such as women with dense breasts.?

John Crickard, PhD
Cornell University
Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: ¡°Connecting the Dots: Defining the Relationship Between DNA Damage Signaling and DNA Motor Proteins¡±

DNA repair is critically important for ensuring that genes are replicated correctly during cell division. When a mutated gene, such as BRCA, is used as the template for making repairs, an event called loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) occurs. LOH outcomes are common contributors to the development of cancer. In this project, Dr. Crickard will study the interaction between the DNA damage response pathway and the RAD54 family of motor proteins. Information learned from this study may ultimately contribute to improved treatment options treatment strategies for human cancers.?

Kathleen DelGiorno, PhD?
Vanderbilt University
Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: ¡°Modulating Eicosanoid Signaling for the Prevention and Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer¡±

In this project, Dr. DelGiorno will use both experimental and computational approaches to investigate the role of two specific eicosanoids in the earliest stages of pancreatic cancer formation. Eicosanoids are oxidized fatty acids that act as signaling molecules and that have long been studied as potential therapeutic targets for several forms of cancer. However, targeting this family of fatty acids often has significant unintended effects on cardiovascular and gastrointestinal functioning due to lack of specificity. Dr. DelGiorno has identified two specific eicosanoids that appear to play a role in pancreatic cancer. Here, she will use genetic manipulation and chemotherapeutics to better understand the role of these two eicosanoids in pancreatic cancer formation and to determine their plausibility as therapeutic targets.

Lilian Kabeche, PhD
Yale University
Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: ¡°Redefining How ATR Promotes Faithful Chromosome Segregation in the Context of Cervical Cancer¡±

One distinctive feature of cervical cancer is aneuploidy, which occurs when there is an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell. Although there is a strong correlation between the continuous missegregation of chromosomes (or CIN) and poor patient prognosis, addressing CIN has proven complex. Dr. Kabeche¡¯s prior work has shown that a kinase called ATR promotes faithful chromosome segregation in mitosis. In this project, she will explore the relationship between ATR and CDK1, another important regulator of cell division, with the overall goal of identifying new targets for combination therapy with ATR inhibitors, potentially increasing their effectiveness against cancer cells while minimizing side effects.

Tracy Liu, Ph.D.
West Virginia University
Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: ¡°Optimizing Chemotherapy Response in Pancreatic Cancer by Targeting Tumor-Associated Myeloid Cells¡±

Tumor-associated myeloid cells are white blood cells that have been manipulated by the environment surrounding pancreatic cancer cells to help the cancer grow and resist treatment. Dr. Liu is working to understand how these cells contribute to treatment resistance and to find ways to target these cells to improve pancreatic treatment outcomes in response to chemotherapy. In this project, she will be testing existing drugs that are known to block the enzyme myeloperoxidase, which is found mainly in myeloid cells, with the goal of identifying compounds that can be utilized as a novel adjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer.

Peter Miller, MD, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: ¡°Distinct Degradation Pathways Drive Oncogenic Activation of PPM1D¡±

Dr. Miller¡¯s long-term goal is to develop new therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes for patients treated for cancer. This project will focus on the PPM1D oncogene, which is turned on in many types of cancer, leading to more aggressive growth, risk of metastases, therapy resistance, and higher rates of mortality. His team will utilize a series of different experimental approaches, including recently developed protein reporter systems, to understand how PPM1D can be regulated in different ways and how these different modes of PPM1D regulation affect the ability of cancer cells to grow and become resistant to therapy.

Aishwarya Prakash, PhD
University of South Alabama
Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: ¡°Mutagenic Inhibition of DNA Repair by Cadmium¡±

Dr. Prakash¡¯s research focuses on understanding how cadmium (a known environmental carcinogen) interferes with the body¡¯s natural defenses against cancer, particularly through a process known as DNA mismatch repair¡ªa vital mechanism that corrects errors in the DNA akin to typos in our genetic code. This project will focus on a DNA repair complex known as MutLAlpha that is crucial for correcting DNA mismatches. She hypothesizes that cadmium impairs the DNA mismatch repair pathway by interfering with the binding of zinc to the MutLAlpha complex, causing thermodynamic, conformational, and functional changes that promote carcinogenesis. This work could provide important insights into the gap between environmental exposure and cancer development, potentially leading to targeted prevention and therapeutic strategies, especially for genetically predisposed populations.

Chandrani Sarkar, PhD
University of South Alabama
Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: ¡°Novel Approaches to Block Metastatic Progression in Colon Cancer¡±

Macrophages are an essential cellular component of the tumor microenvironment and, depending on the cues they receive, can exhibit either pro- or anti-tumor properties. Targeting tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) to induce their tumor-killing properties represents a new approach to anti-cancer therapy. In this project, Dr. Sarkar will study the role of the neurohormone neuropeptide Y (NPY) and its receptor Y2 (Y2R) in metastatic colon cancer through their regulation of the pro-tumor functions of TAM. Dr. Sarkar will also test the effectiveness of Y2R inhibitors (alone and in combination with standard therapeutics) in treating metastatic colon cancer.

Edward Stites, MD
Yale University
Research Scholar Grant

Project Title: ¡°Digitally Reducing Bias in Cancer Genomics¡±

While large-scale cancer genomic studies, like those by the Cancer Genome Atlas, have helped advance our scientific understanding of cancer, the data from these studies often reflect the biases inherent in the study participation and methodology used. As a result, this data may distort our understanding of how frequently certain genetic mutations may occur within the larger population. Through this project, Dr. Stites will develop and implement approaches that use mathematics, statistics, and computation to rescale the contributions of samples from underrepresented and overrepresented groups so that the de-biased estimates better reflect the actual cancer patient population. This important work will help to identify understudied and underappreciated cancer driver genes that play important roles but have been overlooked due to bias in cancer genomics.