The AACR-EMD Serono “I’M IN” Oncodisparity Fellowships in Lung and Urothelial Cancers represent a joint effort to encourage and support postdoctoral or clinical research fellows to conduct cancer disparities research and to establish a successful career path in this field. The proposed research should specifically address disparities in oncology care in the area of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or advanced urothelial carcinoma care and address barriers leading to inequality of cancer care that exist in institutions and within society at large.

2026 Grantees

Scientific Statement of Research

Disparities in bladder cancer outcomes have been reported across socioeconomic and racial groups, reflecting inequities in access to diagnostic resources, specialized care, and effective treatment. In non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), recurrence remains common and response to Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) therapy varies substantially. Dr. Tokuyama will develop and validate a computational pathology platform that uses routinely collected hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) slides to identify interpretable pathomic biomarkers of tumor morphology and the tumor microenvironment. The platform is designed to improve recurrence risk stratification and identify patients most likely to benefit from BCG maintenance therapy. This frugal and equitable approach will be validated across multi-institutional cohorts in the United States and Japan to advance equity in bladder cancer care.

Biography

Dr. Tokuyama received his medical degree from Shiga University of Medical Science and his doctoral degree in Urology from Tokyo Medical University. A board-certified urologic surgeon from Japan, he is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Anant Madabhushi at Emory University. His research integrates computational pathology, artificial intelligence, and quantitative image analysis to develop clinically deployable biomarkers for genitourinary cancers. His work focuses on translating routine pathology images into actionable biomarkers that support precision treatment decisions and equitable cancer care.

Statement of Support

“Receiving the AACR-EMD Serono “I’M IN” Oncodisparity Fellowship is a tremendous honor. The fellowship will provide invaluable resources and collaborative opportunities to strengthen my role as a bridge between engineering and clinical oncology, fostering my growth as an independent physician-scientist committed to equitable cancer care.”

2025 Grantees

Scientific Statement of Research 

African American patients with bladder cancer experience worse clinical outcomes which cannot be fully explained by clinical factors alone. Dr. Osman aims to determine how extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA ) contributes to the aggressive phenotypes of bladder cancer in African American patients through enhanced oncogenic transcriptional activation. He plans to leverage comprehensive multi-omics data from the Polyethnic-1000 cohort, combined with functional validation in bladder cancer cell models to identify ecDNA-associated therapeutic vulnerabilities. By characterizing molecular dependencies driven by ecDNA in this population, the project lays critical groundwork for developing targeted precision therapies to address significant unmet clinical needs in bladder cancer care. 

Biography 

Dr. Osman received his medical degree from Zagazig University, Egypt. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine. His research integrates whole-genome sequencing, spatial single-cell analysis, and artificial intelligence to identify genomic drivers of cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. By bridging computational biology with clinical applications, he develops AI-driven predictive models for precision treatment selection. He also spearheads CLONEVO, the first trial evaluating abemaciclib in muscle-invasive bladder cancer. 

Acknowledgment of Support 

“The AACR Fellowship will accelerate my research uncovering genomic drivers of cancer progression and therapeutic resistance by enabling multi-omics and AI integration. The fellowship will provide invaluable resources and collaborative opportunities, positioning me to establish an independent physician-scientist career devoted to precision oncology.”

Scientific Statement of Research 

Precision medicine has led to population-level improvements in lung cancer mortality, with some treatments associated with a doubling of overall survival. Although molecular testing is necessary to identify patients who are eligible for these treatments, it can be difficult to implement in limited-resource and rural settings. Concurrently, patients in the rural U.S. have nearly twofold shorter survival than their urban counterparts, largely due to differences in the uptake of guideline-concordant therapies. Improving access to molecular testing is a modifiable factor that may improve rates of guideline-concordant treatment. Dr. Rhinehart aims to 1) assess barriers and facilitators to molecular testing for non-small cell lung cancer using a validated framework and 2) explore the feasibility of implementing reflex molecular testing in rural health systems. 

Biography 

Dr. Rhinehart completed her medical degree, residency training, and chief residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is currently a chief medical oncology fellow at Johns Hopkins University Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, where she is also completing a masters of health sciences degree at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Rhinehart cares for patients with thoracic cancers and is interested in developing health systems level interventions to improve outcomes for patients with lung cancer in the rural United States. 

Acknowledgment of Support 

“Receiving the AACR-EMD Serono “I’M IN” Oncodisparity Fellowship is an invaluable experience which will allow me to conduct research that aims to improve cancer care delivery for patients in the rural US. As an early-stage investigator, I am extremely grateful for this support to develop as a researcher.”