MICR Member Spotlight!

SPOTLIGHT

Spotlight on Dr. Deepak Kamnasaran
Dr. Kamnasaran recently received a promotion to Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at Laval University and Scientist at the Centre de Recherche du CHUL in Quebec City, Canada. The CHUL is among the top biomedical research institutes in Canada.

Dr. Kamnasaran is from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he originally did his First degree in Genetics (with distinction) and immediately pursed a Doctorate degree in Medical Genetics (with distinction). He then pursued a Fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto) and University of Toronto (University Health Network) in the discipline of Neuro-oncology in the Department of Surgery. During his academic studies and career, he has won numerous awards, scholarships and distinctions including several Young Investigator awards from the American Society for Neuro-oncology, American Association for Indian Scientist in Cancer Research, Canadian Brain Tumor Association/Canadian Society for Neuro-oncology and Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, for undertaking high quality, innovative and renowned cancer research. He has also been previously awarded an AACR-Scholars-in-Training award, during his fellowship training period. Dr. Kamnasaran continues to pursue renowned and innovative cancer research in Canada, with a principal focus on the study of brain tumors, and brain tumor stem cells. His research group, which is currently supported by agencies such as the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, pursues cancer research in the fields of: 1) development of cancer pre-clinical models using novel strategies; 2) understanding the biology of brain cancers and brain cancer stem cells; 3) cancer drug discovery and testing; and 4) translational research studies (radiation and chemotherapy response studies).

MICR Member Dr. Azra Alizad
Dr. Azra Alizad was recognized by the AIUM-EER (American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, Endowment for Education and Research) Award in 2008 for her work on a new imaging modality, vibro-acoustography, for thyroid nodules detection. She was also recognized as senior member of the AIUM-EER in 2009. Dr. Alizad’s grant awards include Susan G. Komen for the Cure (for identification and differentiation of breast lesions by vibro-acoustography imaging) and an NIH R21 grant (for breast vibro-acoustography with a handheld probe). She was also the co-organizer of the ASME-IMECE Symposium on the Viscoelasticity of Biological Tissues in October 2008. 

Carla Finkielstein, Ph.D., Awarded Five-Year Career Grant from the National Science Foundation
On behalf of the MICR, we congratulate member Dr. Carla Finkielstein of Virginia Tech, who received a National Science Foundation Career Award in 2009. Her project has two components: from a scientific standpoint, it aims to provide a molecular basis for understanding how circadian factors sense changes in metabolic conditions to impact cell division processes. From an educational standpoint, it provides teaching and training experiences for underrepresented minorities from rural areas of Virginia and Latin America. Read more on the NSF website.

Congratulations to MICR Member Solomon Owumi, Ph.D.
Dr. Owumi earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in June 2009. His area of research is chemical carcinogenesis and the molecular nature of virus-induced carcinogenesis. Dr. Owumi spent a year in the laboratory of Dr. James Klaunig at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis as a predoctoral fellow. During his time in Indiana, Dr. Owumi participated and completed the Preparing Future Faculty Program (PFFP) in record time. His next plans include postdoctoral training to prepare for a career in research and academia.

Spotlight on AACR Board of Director and Past MICR Council Chair Lucile L. Adams-Campbell, Ph.D.
Dr. Adams-Campbell was inducted into the Washington DC Hall of Fame on April 19, 2009. Adams-Campbell now leads the 12-year national study at Georgetown as associate director for minority health and health disparities research at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Last fall, she joined the Georgetown faculty. And later in the semester, she was elected into the prestigious Institute of Medicine. Read more here.

MICR Member Dr. Manuel L. Penichet, Associate Professor, Dept. of Surgery at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Penichet was honored with the series of articles for his work mentoring minority fellows.

1. "UCLA Today". Article entitled "A mentor to minorities" (May 22, 2007).
2. "UCLA Website". Article entitled "Commencement stories: immigrant student: José Rodríguez excels in biophysics" (June 14, 2007).
3. Nature. Column entitled "Minority Report" (2007, 466: 698).
4. "2006-2007 Annual Report of the University of California". Article entitled "From cashier job to lab fellowship" under the section "Transforming Lives".
5. "UCLA Daily Bruin". Article entitled "Block inspires push for diversity" (May 14, 2008).
6. "The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education National Magazine". Article entitled "Dr. Manuel L. Penichet: Innovative Researcher, Devoted Mentor" (October 06, 2008: 26-27).

Dr. Tadi-Uppala was appointed to speak at the World Cancer Congress in China. The research that she will be presenting is entitled, "Serum Proteomic Biomarkers in Black Women." The conference is taking place from June 22 - 25, 2009 in Beijing, China.