Congratulations to all 2012 recipients.
2012 AACR-Aflac Incorporated Scholar-in-Training Awards
For Associate Members of the AACR presenting outstanding proffered papers. Support for AACR Scholar-in-Training Awards is part of Aflac Incorporated's generous support of activities for young scientists within the AACR.
David I. Bellovin, Ph.D., Stanford University, Stanford, CA, Abstract 2975. Transgenic mouse model of Twist1-induced metastasis reveals genes highly prognostic for human hepatocellular carcinoma.
Timothy F. Burns, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Abstract #2954. TWIST1 is a critical mediator of KRAS mutant tumorigenesis in human non-small cell lung cancer.
Edmund C. Chang, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, Abstract #5334. Novel lentiviral barcoding strategy for lineage tracing of cancer stem cells.
Natalya Chernichenko, M.D., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, Abstract #460. The role of Cdc42 in cancer cell perineural invasion.
Wei-Jen Chung, M.S., Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, Abstract #2946. Post-transcriptional regulators of microRNA biogenesis regulate pathogenesis of cancer.
Ehsan A. Ehsanipour, B.S., Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, Abstract #5245. Adipocyte production of glutamine protects leukemia cells from L-Asparaginase.
Jianjun Gao, M.D., Ph.D., UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Abstract #4388. Combination therapy with anti-CTLA-4 plus leuprolide acetate in the pre-surgical setting of patients with regional, high-risk prostate cancer.
Rina Gendelman, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, Abstract #986. Reverse-engineered, forward-simulation of MEK-dependent molecular networks reveal novel regulators of cell cycle and cancer cell survival.
Zachary Conrad Hartman, Ph.D., UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Abstract #4862. Autocrine secreted IL-6 and IL-8 play critical and non-redundant roles in basal-like breast cancer cell transformation and growth in vitro and in vivo.
Housheng Hansen He, Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, Abstract #2960. Factor dependent chromatin structure and nucleosome dynamics.
Shigeo Hisamori, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University, Stanford, CA, Abstract #1012. MicroRNA-203 restricts the proliferation capacity of normal colon and colon cancer stem cells by regulating the expression of Tcf4.
Linda Holmfeldt, Ph.D., St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, Abstract#4870. Integrated genomic analysis of hypodiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Ruby Yun-Ju Huang, M.D., Ph.D., Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, Abstract #2979. Epithelial-mesenchymal gene expression signature defines clinically relevant subtypes in epithelial ovarian cancer.
Max Jan, Ph.D., Stanford University, Stanford, CA, Abstract #3303. Clonal evolution of pre-leukemic hematopoietic stem cells precedes human acute myeloid leukemia.
Dejan Juric, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA, Abstract #7551. BYL719, a next generation PI3K alpha specific inhibitor: Preliminary safety, PK, and efficacy results from the first-in-human study.
Srinivas Koduru, Ph.D., Yale University, New Haven, CT, Abstract #309. Induction of activation induced cytidine deaminase (AID) by dendritic cells leads to genomic instability in human myeloma.
Elisabeth A. Lasater, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, Abstract #1893. Activating NRAS mutations are associated with FLT3-independent resistance to the clinically active FLT3 inhibitor AC220 in vitro.
Eric R. Lechman, Ph.D., University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, Abstract #1013. Enriched miR-126 bioactivity marks the primitive compartment in human AML and regulates leukemia stem cell numbers.
Zhaoyu Li, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, Abstract #5112. Foxa1 and Foxa2 are Essential for Gender Dimorphism in Liver Cancer.
Jieru Egeria Lin, Ph.D., Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, Abstract #5741. GUCY2C opposes systemic genotoxic tumorigenesis by regulating AKT-dependent intestinal barrier integrity.
Chao Ma, M.S., California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, Abstract #4839. Adoptive cell transfer of transgenic T cells elicited a two-wave antitumor cellular immune response consisted of engineered and endogenous T lymphocytes with different sets of functions.
Richard Marcotte, Ph.D., Ontario Cancer Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada, Abstract #5084. Functional genomic classification of breast cancer using pooled lentivirus shRNA screens.
Lauren A. Matise, B.S., Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, Abstract #4306. Lack of TGF-β signaling induces a switch from single to collective cell migration in vivo.
Ashleigh E. Moore, B.S., University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, Abstract #2940. miR-16 is an in vivo suppressor of gastrointestinal tumorigenesis.
Valerie A. Morris, Ph.D., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, Abstract #146. MicroRNA-150 expression induces differentiation of myeloid leukemias.
Bing Na, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, Abstract #4814. Hepatocarcinogenesis induced by Transgenic Expression of Hepatitis B Virus in Mice.
Utthara Nayar, Ph.D., Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, Abstract #4829. A purine scaffold Hsp90 inhibitor has antitumor activity in KSHV-associated malignancies by suppressing vFLIP.
Yun-Yong Park, Ph.D., UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Abstract #2962. FOXM1 mediates Dox resistance in breast cancer by enhancing DNA repair.
Weiyi Peng, Ph.D., UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Abstract #4385. PD-1 blockade enhances T-cell migration to tumor through induction of IFN-γ inducible chemokines.
Michael J. Pennison, B.S., The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, Abstract #4853. Constitutively decreased TGF-β signaling and risk for colorectal cancer.
Jennifer A. Perry, Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, Abstract #4234. A genome-wide RNAi screen implicates histone deacetylases as a therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.
John T. Powers, Ph.D., Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, Abstract #2948. The role of the RNA binding protein LIN28B in neuroblastoma.
Xia Pu, M.S., UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Abstract #2929. Predictors of survival in never-smokers with non-small cell lung cancer: A large-scale, two-phase genetic study.
Trevor J. Pugh, Ph.D., Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, Abstract #4868. Medulloblastoma exome sequencing uncovers subtype-specific somatic mutations within a wide spectrum of genetic heterogeneity.
Gauri J. Sabnis, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, Abstract #2919. Effect of Selumetinib and AZD8055 on the Growth of Anastrozole Resistant Tumors.
Sukhinder K. Sandhu, Ph.D., The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, Abstract #2947. B-cell lymphoma in eμ-miR-17~92 transgenic mice.
Sebastian Schwind, M.D., The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, Abstract #CT-06. The combination of bortezomib (BOR) and decitabine (DEC): a phase I trial in patients (pts) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) targeting FLT3 expression.
Adam T. St. Jean, B.S., University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, Abstract #5658. Engineered Salmonella effectively produce and preferentially deliver bacterial cytotoxins to solid tumors.
Brett M. Stevens, Ph.D., University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, Abstract #2074. Cool-1 mediated inhibition of c-Cbl modulates multiple critical properties of glioblastomas, including the ability to generate tumors in vivo.
Ravid Straussman, M.D., Ph.D., Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, Abstract #4837. Tumor microenvironment contributes to RAF-inhibitor resistance through HGF secretion.
Charles A. Swofford, B.S., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA, Abstract #5649. Quorum-sensing salmonella selectively trigger protein expression within tumor models.
Sri HariKrishna Vellanki, Ph.D., University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey, Newark, NJ, Abstract #4069. Determination of Single Cell Surface Protein Expression using a Tagless Microfluidic Method.
Daniel Worthley, M.B.B.S. (Hons.), Ph.D., M.P.H., F.R.A.C.P., Columbia University, New York, NY, Abstract #2969. Gremlin 1 labels a mesenchymal progenitor cell in the gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow and cancer microenvironment.
Juanjuan Yang, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, Abstract #1132. Regulation of the glutamine-to-lipid pathway by HIF: Reductive TCA cycle is a metabolic signature of VHL deficiency.
Kimio Yonesaka, M.D., Ph.D., Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan, Abstract #4833. Activation of ERBB2 signaling causes resistance to the EGFR-directed therapeutics antibody cetuximab.
2012 AACR-Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology Scholar-in-Training Awards
Bristol-Myers Squibb has graciously donated funds to the AACR to support early-career investigators who will be presenting meritorious proffered papers.
Uri-David Akavia, Ph.D., Columbia University, New York, NY, Abstract #3958. Multi-Reg: An integrative parallel approach to uncover drivers of cancer.
Esther Baena, Ph.D., Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, Abstract #2965. ERG and ETV1 regulate a common transcriptional network in prostate cells but in an opposite fashion.
Amy Brock, Ph.D., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Abstract #4920. Gene network models identify targets for mammary tumor normalization.
Allyson Checkley, B.S., The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, Abstract #1010. Effect of dietary energy balance modulation on the ability of metformin to inhibit skin tumor promotion.
Katherine Bakshian Chiappinelli, B.S., Washington University, St Louis, MO, Abstract #2312. A genomics approach to determining the role of DICER1 in tumorigenesis: Interferon responses in the cancer cell.
Hua Fang, B.S., Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, Abstract #2462. Pro-tumorigenic activity of plasminogen activtor inhibitor-1 through an anti-apoptotic function.
Konrad Gabrusiewicz, Ph.D., UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Abstract #1020. Recruitment of Tie2-expressing monocytes is associated with the heightened invasive phenotype of gliomas after antiangiogenic therapies.
Marcin Imielinski, M.D., Ph.D., Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, Abstract #1682. Uncovering signals of somatic selection through whole exome and whole genome sequencing of lung adenocarcinoma.
Kazuharu Kai, M.D., Ph.D., UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Abstract #2982. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in vitro: clinical implications for breast cancer biology.
Ryohei Katayama, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, Abstract #5593. Mechanisms of acquired crizotinib resistance in ALK-rearranged lung cancers.
Jangsoon Lee, Ph.D., UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Abstract #5616. Mutant PEA-15 inhibits in vitro and in vivo tumorigenesis in ovarian cancer by inhibiting beta-catenin.
Sung-Shim L. Park, Ph.D., University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI, Abstract #2926. Effect of common cancer susceptibility variants on risk of second primary cancers: results from the Multiethnic Cohort and PAGE studies.
Bin-Zhi Qian, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, Abstract #2967. CCL3 autocrine signaling regulate retention of metastasis associated macrophages and promote breast cancer metastasis.
Beth A. Russell, Ph.D., University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Abstract #2920. Transcriptional regulation of estrogen response through long-range chromatin interactions.
Vinod Vathipadiekal, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, Abstract #5057. Gene expression profile of chemoresponse of microdissected papillary serous tumors of the ovary identifies POLH and REV3L as potential therapeutic targets.
Hanxiao Wang, B.S., The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, Abstract #380. Optimization of novel therapeutic paradigms for ovarian cancer using molecular imaging.
Yu Wang, M.B., Ph.D., Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, Abstract #4855. KLLN, which shares a bidirectional promoter with PTEN, is an AR-regulated tumor suppressor, and induces p53-dependent and -independent apoptosis in breast cancer.
Heather E. Wheeler, Ph.D., University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Abstract #1881. Integration of cell line and Cancer and Leukemia Group B 40101 clinical trial genome-wide association analyses implicates multiple loci in paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy.
Yixin Yao, M.Sc., New York University, New York, NY, Abstract #2045. BubR1 is modified by sumoylation during mitotic progression.
Tsz-Lun Yeung, Ph.D., UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Abstract #1507. TGF-beta induced stromal versican promotes cancer invasion in advanced stage serous ovarian cancer.
Jason J. Zoeller, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, Abstract #4834. Basement membrane localized tumor cells are protected from HER2-targeted therapy in vivo.
2012 AACR-Gerald B. Grindey Memorial Scholar-in-Training Award
For a meritorious proffered paper in the field of preclinical science. The late Dr. Grindey was a dedicated member of the AACR and a distinguished scientist at Eli Lilly and Company. The Gerald B. Grindey Memorial Fund was established in his honor and has been entrusted to the AACR to be used toward educational programs for young scientists engaged in preclinical research.
Jinjun Shi, Ph.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, Abstract #2896. Nanoparticle co-delivery of RNAi and chemotherapy for the treatment of drug-resistant cancers.
2012 AACR-MEG Scholar-in-Training Awards
For meritorious proffered papers in molecular epidemiology, supported by the Molecular Epidemiology Working Group (MEG) of the AACR. The mission of MEG is to increase knowledge about cancer and chronic disease etiology, thereby promoting the cure and prevention of cancer and the improvement of public health. In addition to travel support, award recipients receive a free one-year membership in the Working Group.
Thomas Ahern, Ph.D., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Abstract #5492. Use of beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers and risk of breast cancer recurrence: a Danish nationwide cohort study.
Todd M. Gibson, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, Abstract #1023. Risk of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in solid organ transplant recipients.
Melissa A. Merritt, Ph.D., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Abstract #660. Dairy foods and nutrients in relation to risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.
2012 AACR-Pezcoller Foundation Scholar-in-Training Awards
The Pezcoller Foundation supports these awards in order to enhance participation in the programs and activities of the AACR by predoctoral students, medical students and residents, postdoctoral and clinical fellows, or the equivalent residing in Europe and to provide these outstanding Scholar-in-Training Awardees with an opportunity to share their research findings with the international cancer research community at the AACR Annual Meeting.
Marie-Aude Le Bitoux, Ph.D., University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, Abstract #410. NLRP3 is involved in tumor development by regulating immune function.
Bianca Mostert, M.D., Erasmus MC- Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Abstract #3409. Generation of mRNA and miRNA gene expression profiles in circulating tumor cells of metastatic colorectal cancer patients.
Stephan Niedan, M.Sc., Children's Cancer Research Institute, Vienna, Austria. Abstract#2961. Re-activation of EWS-FLI1 suppressed FOXO1 expression as a novel therapeutic strategy for Ewing´s sarcoma.
Bengt Phung, B.S., Lund University, Lund, Sweden, Abstract #3093. Elucidation of c-KIT- dependent signaling to MITF.
Marco Rhanzani, M.Sc., San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, Milan, Italy, Abstract #104. New liver cancer genes identified by lentiviral vector-based insertional mutagenesis in mice are associated to differential survival in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.
Jing Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., Edinburgh Cancer Research Center, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Abstract #4307. The effect of ablating ADF/cofilin pathway during skin homeostasis and tumorigenesis.
2012 AACR-Prostate Cancer Foundation Scholar-in-Training Awards
The Prostate Cancer Foundation Scholar-in-Training Awards are awarded to promising young cancer researchers who are the authors of outstanding proffered papers relating to advanced prostate cancer.
Lauren Geary, B.S., University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, Abstract #1476. Prostate cancer-associated fibroblasts secrete Annexin A1 that facilitates both generation of cancer stem cell-like cells (CSCs) from prostatic malignant epithelial cells and self-renewal/differentiation of CSCs.
Ziyue Karen Jiang, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, Abstract #354. Monitor androgen blockade therapy with functional androgen receptor reporting system.
Anita G.M. Stam, B.S., VU Medical Ctr., Amsterdam, Netherlands, Abstract #5381. Activation and frequency of Myeloid Subsets in peripheral blood is associated with clinical outcome in prostate cancer patients treated with Prostate GVAX and anti-CTLA4.
2012 AACR-SIC Scholar-in-Training Awards
The AACR-SIC Scholar-in-Training Awards are a partnership between AACR and the Italian Cancer Society (SIC). AACR and SIC sponsor these awards in order to enhance participation by young investigators who are members of SIC, and to provide these outstanding Scholar-in-Training Awardees with an opportunity to share their research findings with the international cancer research community at the AACR Annual Meeting.
Laura Carrassa, Ph.D., Pharmacological Research Institute Mario Negri, Milan, Italy, Abstract #4699. A siRNA high-throughput screening identified Wee1 as determinant of Chk1 inhibitor sensitivity.
Lucia Anna Muscarella, Ph.D., IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, Abstract #3148. Frequent epigenetic inactivation of keap1 gene in non-small cell lung cancer.
Ymera Pignochino, Ph.D., Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment, Torino, Italy, Abstract #LB-366. Everolimus (EV) potentiates Sorafenib (SOR) activity in osteosarcoma (OS) preclinical models: a combination targeting the crosstalk between ERK1/2 and mTORC1/2 signaling pathways.
2012 AACR-Warner Fund Scholar-in-Training Award
The Warner Fund has graciously donated funds to the AACR to support an early-career investigator who will be presenting a proffered paper relating to cholangiocarcinoma.
Ishwaria Mohan Subbiah, M.D., UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Abstract #2669. Early-phase trials in patients with advanced gallbladder cancer and cholangiocarcinoma: The MD Anderson Clinical Center for Targeted Therapy experience.