Financial Support for Attendance 

Thirty-four presenters of meritorious abstracts have been selected by the Conference Chairs to receive an award to attend this conference. All graduate and medical students, postdoctoral fellows, and physicians-in-training who are AACR members were eligible for consideration. The name of the Scholar-in-Training awardee, affiliation, and the poster number are provided below. The AACR sincerely thanks the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) of the National Cancer Institute and Aflac, Inc., for their support of these awards.

AACR Scholar-in-Training Awards – Supported by the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) of the National Cancer Institute
Natalia Acosta, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, D.C., Columbia, B69
Adebola Adegboyega, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, C62
Hamdy Ali, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Kingsville, Texas, B41
Anusha Angajala, Tuskegee University, Mobile, Alabama, A04
Gaius Augustus, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, B52
David Austin, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, California, A63
Maira Castañeda Avila, University of Massachusetts - Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, A32
Zodina Beiene, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, B39
Elizabeth Blackman, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, A45
Eric Adjei Boakye, St. Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri, A29, C58
Dibash Das, CUNY Hunter College, New York, New York, B61
April Deveaux, Duke University, Raleigh, North Carolina, B59
Sarah Dilley, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, C92
Narjust Duma, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota, A26, A27
Pranabananda Dutta, Charles R. Drew University, Los Angeles, California, B55
Emily Girsch, Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, C47
Priyatham Gorjala, Roseman University of Health Sciences, Las Vegas, Nevada, B48
Adeodat Ilboudo, Hunter College, CUNY, New York, New York, B36
Melanie Jefferson, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, C31
Noora Kanfash, University of Maryland, College Park, School of Public Health, College Park, Maryland, C48
Ernest Kaninjing, University of Florida, Orlando, Florida, C05
Jacqueline Olender, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, A81
Shariska Petersen, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan, C51
Swathi Ramakrishnan, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, B72
Mya Roberson, University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island, A55
Maria Carolina Sanabria Salas, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Bogotá, Columbia, A37
Yazmin San Miguel, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, PR12, A60, C88
Silvia Serrano-Gomez, Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia, Bogotá, Columbia, A38
Santosh Singh, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, B70
Brandi Smith, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, A09
Kayo Togawa, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, C78
Ha Ngan “Milkie” Vu, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, C90
Whitney Zahnd, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois, C87

AACR Scholar-in-Training Award - Supported by Aflac, Inc.
Brittny Davis Lynn, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, A28

AACR-MICR Minority-Serving Institution Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research Awards
Full-time minority faculty and faculty of Minority-Serving Institutions (Historically Black Colleges and Universities [HBCUs], Hispanic-Serving Institutions [HSIs], American Indian Tribally-Controlled Colleges and Universities [AITCCUs], and other postsecondary institutions as defined by the U.S. Department of Education) who present a proffered paper at this conference are encouraged to apply for this meritorious scholar award. Supported by a generous grant from the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities of the National Cancer Institute, the purposes of these awards are to increase the scientific knowledge base of minority faculty and faculty at MSIs, to encourage them in their research, and to assist in inspiring their students to pursue careers in cancer research. Only citizens of the United States or Canada or scientists who are permanent residents of these countries may receive one of these awards. The names of the Minority and Minority-Serving Institution Faculty Scholars, affiliations, and the poster or proffered presentation numbers are provided below.

Ernest K. Amankwah, PhD
Assistant Professor, Oncology    
Johns Hopkins University    
Baltimore, Maryland
Ethnic differences in microRNA expression associated with relapse among pediatric B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients: A pilot study
Poster Session B: Tuesday, September 26 at 4:30 pm, B86

Sophia H.L. George, PhD    
Assistant Professor    
University of Miami Sylvester Comp. Cancer Ctr.    
Miami, Florida
Changing fertility factors affecting breast cancer in the Bahamas
Poster Session B: Tuesday, September 26 at 4:30 pm, B81

Natalie Hernandez, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor    
Morehouse School of Medicine
Atlanta, Georgia
Exploring the role of social determinants on HPV vaccine intentions and uptake among ethnoracial minority college students
Poster Session C: Wednesday, September 27 at 12:30 pm, C91

Yamile Molina, PhD    
Assistant Professor    
University of Illinois at Chicago    
Chicago, Illinois
Cancer-related financial burden, employment, and health among rural cancer survivors
Poster Session B: Tuesday, September 26 at 4:30 pm, B25

AACR-MICR Minority Scholar Awards in Cancer Research
Presenters of a proffered paper who are full-time predoctoral (graduate or medical) students, residents, and clinical or postdoctoral fellows who are engaged in cancer research or have the training and potential to make contributions to this field are encouraged to apply for this meritorious scholar award. Supported by a generous grant from the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities of the National Cancer Institute, this program applies only to racial/ethnic minority groups that have been identified by the NCI as being traditionally under-represented in cancer and biomedical research, i.e., African American/Black, Alaskan Native, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, and Native Pacific Islander. Only citizens of the United States or Canada or scientists who are permanent residents of these countries may receive one of these awards. The names of the Minority Scholars, affiliations, and the poster or proffered presentation numbers are provided below.

Teofilia Acheampong, MPH    
Graduate Student    
UC Irvine College of Medicine    
Irvine, California
Multisystemic biologic risk index and cancer mortality: Differences by age group and race/ethnicity
Poster Session A: Monday, September 25 at 8:00 pm, A54

Rosemarie M. De La Rosa, MPH
Graduate Student    
UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Berkeley, California
Plasma glucocorticogenic activity differs by race/ethnicity and alcohol intake among San Francisco Bay Area women
Poster Session A: Monday, September 25 at 8:00 pm, A53

Miguel Nava, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow    
Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science
Los Angeles, California
EGFR signaling mediated modulation of transcription and probable crosstalk with components of Wnt signaling
Poster Session B: Tuesday, September 26 at 4:30 pm, B68

Timiya S. Nolan, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher    
The Ohio State University    
Columbus, Ohio
The ties that bind: Associations of communication, cancer history, and screening intention among diverse Kin KeeperSM families
Poster Session B: Tuesday, September 26 at 4:30 pm, B38

Carol Y. Ochoa, MPH
ORISE Fellow
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia
Examining the role of social support and spirituality on the health status of Hispanic cancer survivors
Poster Session C: Wednesday, September 27 at 12:30 pm, C35

Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters, BDS    
Ph.D. Student, Adjunct Asst. Professor    
St. Louis University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
Survival outcomes for head and neck patients with Medicaid: A health insurance paradox
Poster Session A: Monday, September 25 at 8:00 pm, A87, Poster Session C: Wednesday, September 27 at 12:30 pm, C54

Jenny E. Paredes Sanchez, MS
Graduate Student    
SUNY Downstate Medical Ctr.    
Brooklyn, New York
Role of microsatellite stability and mismatch DNA repair mechanism in the response to 5-fluorouracil treatment in African American colon cancer cell lines
Poster Session A: Monday, September 25 at 8:00 pm, A73

Sylvia S. Sanchez, MS
Graduate Student    
UC Berkeley School of Public Health    
Berkeley, California
Estrogenic activity is associated with race/ethnicity and Indigenous American Ancestry among San Francisco Bay Area women
Poster Session A: Monday, September 25 at 8:00 pm, PR05, A50

Lizeth Tamayo, BS
Graduate Student, Research Assistant    
University of Illinois at Chicago    
Chicago, Illinois
Breast cancer characteristics and survival among Indigenous American women from Peru
Poster Session B: Tuesday, September 26 at 4:30 pm, B79

Anthony Williams, PhD    
Postdoctoral Fellow, Surgery (Urology)    
University of Chicago    
Chicago, Illinois
SOX2 regulation of FOXP1 as a mechanism driving disparate aggressiveness of prostate cancer in African-American men
Poster Session B: Tuesday, September 26 at 4:30 pm, B73

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