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5 For The Fight Cancer Research Interns
In Partnership with Howard University
JESSE AWUAH
Summer 2023 at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Jesse is pursuing a Chemistry degree in the BS/MD program at Howard University. Jesse is from Accra, Ghana. Jesse's internship was working in the Cheshier lab to advance research in the phagocytosis of Human Choroid Plexus Carcinoma. Choroid plexus carcinoma is a rare brain tumor primarily affecting children. The current treatment approach for choroid plexus carcinoma involves surgical removal of the tumor, followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy. However, irradiation and chemotherapy can have severe toxic effects on the healthy brain tissue of children. The lab’s preclinical studies have observed promising results with immune checkpoint inhibitors, specifically anti-CD47 antibodies, in treating various malignant brain tumors. The lab has proposed exploring different combinations of anti-CD47 antibodies and other immune checkpoint inhibitors to enhance the process of phagocytosis and effectively target human choroid plexus carcinoma.
TAMAR BOUZI
Summer 2023 at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Tamar is entering her Junior year at Howard University as a Biology major with a chemistry minor. Her internship was in Dr.Cairns lab, which specializes in the study of nucleosome sliding and ejection. Tamar’s primary responsibilities were to test the effect of transcription factor genes on chromatin remodelers. Considering the study of chromatin remodeling is relatively new, this lab sparked Tamar’s curiosity in cell biology and oncology.
CLANESSA DUMAS
Summer 2023 at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Clanessa is a rising junior and Radiation Therapy major from San Jose, California. With the mentorship of Dr. Kirchoff, she spent her summer working on two projects. The first is studying the correlation between air pollution and testicular cancer, and the second project focused on the quality of knowledge about health insurance for young cancer patients. This journey has enabled Clanessa to expand her knowledge on a diverse range of topics and to connect with other individuals in the field.
SAMUEL GUTA
Summer 2023 at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Sam is from College Park, Maryland and is a rising senior at Howard University pursuing a major in Biology and a double minor in Chemistry and Latin. Sam worked in Dr. Allie Grossman’s lab, looking at the effect of ARF6 activation on proliferation. After graduating from Howard University, Sam plans on attending medical school to become a cardiothoracic surgeon or surgical oncologist.
SAMIYYAH HARDISON
Summer 2023 at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Samiyyah is a Senior at Howard University, double majoring in Biology and Mathematics with a Chemistry minor on a Pre-Med track. Samiyyah is originally from Chicago, Illinois. During her internship, she worked in the Welm lab to understand further potential treatments for Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), a subtype of breast cancer that accounts for 15-20% of all breast cancer diagnoses. Due to the complexity of TNBC, common targeted treatments could be more effective. Her project focused on one potential drug therapy, Birinapant, which targets Cellular Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins (IAPs) to initiate apoptosis signaling (cell death).
MICHAEL HOYAL
Summer 2023 at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Michael is Seattle native working towards earning his MD at Howard University, with which he will specialize in neuro-oncology to help combat neurofibromatosis (NF), a rare brain disease that affects thousands of people worldwide. For his 5 For The Fight Cancer Research Internship, Michael studied in the Ayer Lab working on the protein makeup of cells with active NF gene(s) - NF1/2, which causes tumors to grow within the spine, brain, and along nerves throughout the body. To combat tumor growth in NF-positive cells, Michael and his mentors researched the effects of knocking out proteins, genes, and restriction endonucleases like TXNIP, Merlin, Tubulin, ACHN cells, MDA-MB-231 cells which are all connected to tumor growth in past cases involving tumor growth. This is a full circle moment for Michael, as he was recovering from his own battle with NF one year ago.
DEEANDRIA NAFRERE
Summer 2023 at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Deeandria is a senior at Howard University pursuing a degree in Biology with a Chemistry minor. She is originally from Boston, Massachusetts. Deeandria studied in the Camp lab, where the primary focus is Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a type of cancer with a blast percentage of less than 20%. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is derived from lymphocytes, white blood cells in the bone marrow, which are abnormally formed cells produced at an abnormal rate. Several procedures are carried out to personalize cancer treatment with blood samples collected from patients. Researchers have found that using a single treatment for every patient is less effective than designing it to best fit their diagnosis.
EMON PARRY
Summer 2023 at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Emon is a rising junior at Howard University majoring in Nursing and has a minor in Health Education with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health. Emon is originally from Baltimore, MD. Her 5 For The Fight Cancer Research Internship focused on better understanding the associations between metabolic diseases and cancer. Using patient electronic medical records and pathology notes, she validated natural language processing algorithms to extract patient clinico demographic data. In her lab, she studied risk factors associated with colorectal polyps. the precursor lesion of colorectal cancer has historically been a time and resource-intensive process, often relying on manual chart abstraction of polyp features from clinical records. She worked to automatically extract histopathologic features of colorectal polyps from unstructured colonoscopy pathology reports to be used for risk factor and outcomes studies.
MYA THOMAS
Summer 2023 at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Mya Thomas is a rising senior at Howard University from Bear, Delaware, pursuing a biology degree with a strong interest in healthcare and health inequities. She engaged in a valuable collaboration with Dr. Deanna Kepka, a renowned researcher focusing on HPV vaccination and preventing HPV-related cancers. One of her primary responsibilities includes conducting comprehensive literature reviews on HPV vaccination and its impact on reducing the incidence of HPV-related cancers. Mya contributed to developing evidence-based strategies and interventions by critically analyzing and synthesizing existing research. She is also actively involved in a significant research project on HPV and cervical cancer in Uganda. These insights will inform the design of interventions to increase awareness, promote preventive behaviors, and improve access to HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening services in Uganda.
IMANI TOOKES
Summer 2023 at Huntsman Cancer Institute
Imani is a Junior at Howard University majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Waldorf, Maryland, by way of Savannah, Georgia. Her summer project focused on identifying and characterizing reproductive concerns, fertility-related challenges, and distress in early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) patients. She is preparing a narrative review on published original research articles that used the reproductive concerns after cancer (RCAC) questionnaires, as well as identifying gaps in the literature and study limitations. Notably, this will be the first literature review addressing reproductive concerns in EOCRC patients and will provide essential data that may inform strategies and interventions for promoting the psychosocial health of young male and female cancer patients.
5 FOR THE FIGHT CANCER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
AT HUNTSMAN CANCER INSTITUTE
In Conjunction with Huntsman Cancer Foundation
KATIE BASHAM, PHD
Fighting adrenal cancer with less toxic treatment options
Basham is a cancer researcher at Huntsman Cancer Institute and an assistant professor of oncological sciences at the University of Utah. While completing her scientific training at the University of Michigan, she received a postdoctoral fellowship award from the American Cancer Society. Basham completed her PhD at the University of Utah.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for my mom. She’s the person who really inspired my career path. She’s the person who, growing up, always taught me that I could go on and do anything that I wanted, which I think is a really powerful message to hear as a kid. And science is definitely a difficult career path, so for me that’s been kind of the light that helps push through all the challenges, knowing that, one, I can do it because she always told me that I could and, two, that it will help people like her.
SAMUEL CHESHIER, MD, PHD
Fighting brain tumors in kids
Cheshier is a pediatric neurosurgeon with an MD / PhD from Stanford University and previously completed a clinical pediatric cancer fellowship at Sweden’s Lund University. While treating kids, he is also pursuing better treat- ments for brain tumors.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for an amazing kid I took care of who lost his fight to medulloblastoma and my cousin, who died of colon cancer. I always think of him when I do cancer research.
ADRIANA COLETTA, PHD, MS, RD
Fighting for better cancer outcomes through diet and exercise
Coletta integrates diet and exercise in cancer care and studies how to improve survival. She worked as a Pediatric Dietician Johns Hopkins University Children's Center then completed her PhD in Kinesiology at Texas A&M University. She then completed postdoctoral training in cancer research at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Coletta now holds a dual-appointment with the Huntsman Cancer Institute in the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program, and the University of Utah in the Department of Health and Kinesiology. The 5 For The Fight Fellowship allows her to develop a clinical algorithm that aligns with the clinical workflow and makes exercise a part of the survivorship care plan.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for my grandfather, who had liver cancer. I really looked up to him and wished that I could have spent more time with him. He was kind and strong and he had a lot of integrity and was always honest. He told me to always do the right thing. And even though it can be hard, in the end you always win
MATTHEW COVINGTON, MD
Fighting for earlier, more accurate detection of breast cancer
As an assistant professor of radiology and imaging sciences at the U of U and the Center for Quantitative Cancer Imaging at HCI, Matthew specializes in innovating breast imaging to find ways to more accurately detect and diagnose breast cancer. He received his medical degree from the U of U, and completed his medical training at the Scripps Institute in San Diego, the University of Arizona, and the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. He previously worked as an assistant professor of radiology at Washington University in St. Louis.
ROBERT DOOD, MD MSCE
Fighting to improve survival rates in people with gynecologic cancers
A surgeon-scientist specializing in gynecologic cancer and an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Utah, Dood will pursue research to better understand specific tumor traits, and use these findings to advance insights into more effective treatment approaches. Dood completed his medical degree and a master of epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by fellowship training in gynecologic oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
SHREYA GOEL, PhD
Fighting to improve imaging in pediatric cancer patients
Imaging is a tool used by doctors to assess whether a patient is responding to treatment. A pediatric cancer researcher and an assistant professor of pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical chemistry, Goel will advance study of new methods of imaging for pediatric cancers. She completed her PhD in materials science at the University of Wisconsin, followed by postdoctoral training in nanomedicine and cancer systems imaging at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
SHEETAL HARDIKAR, PHD
Fighting colorectal cancer and its connection to chronic disease
Hardikar was recruited to Utah from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center where she received her PhD in Epidemiology. She also holds a Master of Public Health in Biostatistics from The Ohio State University. Hardikar is working to understand how risk factors for colorectal cancer - for example, inflammation, obesity, and diabetes - can help improve understanding of the disease, and outcomes for patients with these tumors.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for my grandmother, who was diagnosed with kidney cancer right as I was getting out of medical school. My grandmother was born in a remote village in India and she could not go to school. She got married to my grandfather, who was a teacher, and he was very supportive of her learning. She always encouraged us to ask questions and I feel that has played an important role in my wanting to be a scientist… to stay curious.
KEREN HILGENDORF, PHD
Fighting cancer by working to understand why obesity accelerates cancer growth
Keren is an assistant professor of biochemistry at U of U and a member of HCI where she oversees a cancer research laboratory. She received her PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by postdoctoral training at Stanford University School of Medicine as a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow.
ROBERT JUDSON-TORRES, PHD
Fighting melanoma and focuses on a rare type of the disease that is more prominent in people of color
Judson-Torres completed his PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. He was subsequently awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health Director’s Early Independence Award. Now, he works to study a distinct type of melanoma that has higher rates in people of color. His laboratory research is designed to identify new ways to target this disease.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for those with a kind of melanoma that hasn’t been deeply studied. The melanoma that researchers have made so much progress on is the one that is not exclusively, but is predominantly, a Caucasian disease. The melanoma I’m talking about occurs about 7% or less in Caucasians and about 50% to 70% in Africans and Asians.
SIWEN HU-LIESKOVAN, MD, PHD
Fighting melanoma and other cancers through improving the efficacy of immunotherapy
Hu-Lieskovan is a recent recruit to Utah from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she completed her clinical training. She is a board-certified oncologist with a clinical focus in melanoma. Hu-Lieskovan develops clinical trials to test new approaches using immunotherapy to improve outcomes for patients with tumors like melanoma.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for my dad. His cancer was early stage at the beginning, and eventually it progressed and he died from it. Throughout his care, I started to realize how few options the patients have, especially in terms of immunotherapy for his kind of cancer—GI cancer. There is still a lot we need to do.
CRYSTAL LUMPKINS, PhD, MA
Fighting to prevent cancers and improve outcomes in African American and Black immigrant populations through genetic testing and more effective communication
A cancer population scientist and associate professor of communication, Lumpkins will test new tools to improve communication about reducing cancer risk in minority populations. Lumpkins received her doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia and holds masters degrees in media communications and management from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.
MATT MILLER, PhD
Fighting to understand the underlying cellular changes that can lead to cancer and other diseases
A cancer biochemist and assistant professor and assistant professor of biochemistry, Miller is working to answer fundamental questions about how microscopic changes in chromosomes can lead to defects that precipitate the development of diseases like cancer, and to use these insights to inform more effective strategies for prevention and treatment. Miller received his PhD in cell biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by postdoctoral training in biochemistry and biophysics at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
BEN MYERS, PHD
Fighting for the next generation of drug treatments for cancer
Myers completed his PhD training at the University of California, San Francisco, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University. He studies how cells communicate with one another, and how these interactions contain critical clues to understand how cancer cells develop the ability to resist drugs that had previously killed them.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for my colleagues. I lost two of them to cancer. I think losing two people who were really close to me, and who happened to be scientists, underscored for me that nobody is immune from it. It also underscored the importance of the work we’re all doing as a community of cancer researchers here—to try to make it so that one day those tumors won’t be fatal.
MARY PLAYDON, PHD, MPH
Fighting cancer by understanding the role of diet and nutrition on cancer risk, health, and longevity after a cancer diagnosis
Mary aims to improve survival rates of cancer patients through research focused on diet. A nutritional and cancer epidemiologist, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in metabolic epidemiology with the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics. She is a cancer epidemiologist at HCI and an assistant professor of nutrition and integrative physiology at the U of U.
SONAM PURI, MD
Fighting lung cancer bench to bedside
Puri is a medical oncologist who specializes in caring for patients with lung cancers. She completed her cancer clinical fellowship at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. She works to bring insights from her patients in the clinic to new ways to study small cell lung cancers in the lab - and to use those findings to develop new clinical studies for the disease.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for my grandmother. She was a very strong lady; she ran the house and had everything under control all the time. When I was just joining medical school, she told me and my elder sister that she felt a lump in her breast and it was early stage breast cancer, which was ultimately cured. Her cancer had a great impact on our family and just made me realize that cancer is a big deal and it’s not dependent on what stage you are diagnosed. Cancer really changes your life and the people taking care of you short term. Long term, it has a big impact that colors everything.
MELISSA REEVES, PhD
Fighting to understand how certain tumor characteristics resist treatments
Reeves oversees a cancer research laboratory and is an assistant of pathology at the University of Utah. Reeves studies a tumor trait called heterogeneity. Heterogeneous tumors respond poorly to immunotherapy, and are common across many tumor types, including melanoma, lung cancer, bladder cancer, and kidney cancer. Yet they are resistant to all available treatments. Reeves plans to understand the barriers the immune system encounters fighting heterogeneous tumors and develop treatment strategies that will improve outcomes for patients. She completed her PhD in biomedical sciences from University of California San Francisco.
CHARLES ROGERS, PHD, MPH, MS, MCHES®
Fighting to prevent cancer for the medically underserved
Rogers uses his training as a behavioral scientist and certified health education specialist to develop innovative approaches to reduce cancer health disparities. This includes unique partnerships with barber shops, state fairs, and other forums to bring information about ways to reduce cancer risk directly to underserved communities. Rogers completed his PhD at the Texas A&M University, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Rogers holds a prestigious National Cancer Institute-fellowship grant that supports his work to reduce colorectal cancer rates in Black men.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for my aunt. After a few misdiagnoses, we found out she had stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC). She was screened at 52. So if she would’ve been screened earlier—especially if we consider the recommendations that have been there since 2008 for African Americans to get screened at 45 due to getting CRC earlier at a more advanced stage—she may still be here today. I have dedicated my life to eliminating disparities as it relates to underserved populations in her honor.
ALEJANDRO SANCHEZ, MD
Fighting for better survival outcomes by understanding the connection between renal cancer and obesity
Alejandro is an assistant professor of urology at the U of U and a surgical oncologist at HCI. He received a Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Basic Science during his urologic oncology fellowship training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
GITA SUNEJA, MD, MS
Fighting to improve access to cancer treatment for marginalized populations
A radiation oncologist at HCI and associate professor of radiation oncology at the U of U, Gita's clinical specialties include the treatment of breast and gynecologic cancers. Her research focuses on enhancing health equity to improve cancer outcomes for all people. She completed her medical degree at Brown University and served as chief resident during her radiation oncology residency training at the University of Pennsylvania.
CHRISTOS VAKLAVAS, MD
Fighting breast cancer by translating new research insights into clinical trials for breast cancer
Christos is an associate professor of internal medicine at the U of U and cares for breast cancer patients at HCI. He is a breast cancer physician leader and oversees the clinical research in breast cancer at HCI. His research has been supported by a Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and a Career Catalyst Award from Susan G. Komen.
ARABELLA YOUNG, PhD
Fighting to understand how to safely deliver immunotherapy treatments for certain types of cancer.
Almost all cancers can benefit from immunotherapy treatment - meaning treatments that harness a patient’s own immune system to fight their tumor. Yet some internal systems in the patient’s immune system can create resistance to treatments. Young aims to engineer strategies that safely amplify the immune response to cancer. She completed a PhD in immunology from the University of Queensland, and postdoctoral training in tumor immunology and autoimmunity from University of California San Francisco.
THE DERMOT COSTELLO CANCER IMMUNOLOGY FELLOWSHIP
AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK
In conjunction with Breakthrough Cancer Research (5 more researchers to come)
SYLVIE AMU, PHD
Fighting solid tumours through the role of B cells
Amu is an immunologist with main interest in B cells. She has a PhD in cell biology from Gothenburgs University in Sweden and post PhD experience in immunology. She is using the 5 For The Fight Fellowship to set up her own lab to study the role of B cells in solid tumour micro-environment.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for every cancer patient and their family who are going through so much and do not always have a happy ending. I want to help change that.
AXELLE CHINA
Fighting solid tumours through the role of B cells
China did a Masters of Immunology in the University of Paris-Est Créteil, France. She worked in a HIV research lab before moving to Ireland to start her PhD in Cancer Research at UCC. Her project aims to study B cells, a specific type of immune cell, in lung cancer.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for my aunt, a loving woman who was recently diagnosed and won her fight, and my great-grandad, whose memories I cherish dearly.
DAVID ALBERTO ZELAYA SIERRA, MS
Fighting solid tumours through the role of B cells
Zelaya has a Master of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology obtained at University College Cork. He is currently working as a Research Assistant in Cork Cancer Research at UCC researching the function of B cells in patients diagnosed with poorly prognostic cancers.
WHO IS YOUR 5 FOR?
My 5 is for my family. They have inspired me to overcome the difficulties that the science career may bring. My family has been there for me since I made the decision to pursue an investigation career in another country and will be there for me in the future. I know that what I am doing will help people have a family that will support their dreams, just like mine has.
Dr. CLAIRE ROBINSON
Fighting pancreatic cancer through investigation of the role of natural killer cell mediated cell death
Robinson is an assistant professor in the School of Medicine and Medical Health in University College Dublin since July 2023. She was awarded the 5 For The Fight Cancer Immunology Fellowship in March 2023 and will use this fellowship to support a post-doctoral scientist and a PhD student in her group to investigate the contribution of IRE1α to stromal-natural killer cell crosstalk to enhance natural killer cell mediated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cell death
DR. CATHRIONA FOLEY
Fighting Minimal Invasive Cancer after surgery be arming Vδ1 γδ T Cells
Foley is an immunologist and a Lecturer in the Department of Surgery in University College Cork. She will use the 5 For The Fight Colorectal Cancer Research Fellowship, awarded in March 2023 to develop ways to grow a type of immune cell known as a VT cell from blood of any healthy donor, which could be given to any colorectal cancer patient, preventing the return/spread of minimal invasive cancer after surgery. (PhD student and Technician information will follow)
MELISSA CONROY
Fighting obesity-associated cancer by therapeutically remodeling the immune profile of ‘cold’ tumors
Conroy is a Principal Investigator of the Cancer Immunology Research Group and the Course Coordinator for the MSc in Entrepreneurship of Smart Medicines at Trinity College Dublin. She was awarded the 5 For The Fight Cancer Immunology Fellowship in 2022 and is using the award to fight obesity- associated cancer by therapeutically remodeling the immune profile of ‘cold’ tumors and train PhD students.
CAROLINE MARION
Fighting obesity-associated cancer by redirecting Natural Killers cells toward ‘Cold’ tumours
Caroline, from France, completed a BSc in Molecular Medicine in Trinity College Dublin (TCD). She is now doing a PhD in the lab of Melissa Conroy. She will investigate therapeutically remodeling the immune profile of ‘cold’ tumors in obesity-associated cancer by redirecting Natural Killers cells to the tumor.
