AACR-AstraZeneca Stimulating Therapeutic Advances through Research Training (START) Grants

The AACR-AstraZeneca Stimulating Therapeutic Advances through Research Training (START) Grants represent an exciting initiative to encourage and support collaboration between academia and industry. The combined academic and industry training provided through this program will be invaluable to young investigators, allowing them to attain a comprehensive research experience.  Projects have direct applicability to cancer with a specific focus on DNA Damage Response (DDR) pathways.

2022 Grantee

Francesca Citron, PharmD, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, USA
Unraveling the mechanism of DPY30 in pancreatic cancer

Research

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive disease characterized by silent onset and diagnosis in advanced stages. Improved understanding of factors driving PDAC progression is required to identify novel therapeutic concepts that may impact patient outcomes. Screens in multiple models identified members of the COMPASS-like complex as critical mediators of DNA stability essential for PDAC maintenance. Dr. Citron aims to characterize genomic instability induced upon COMPASS-like complex silencing and to uncover the mechanisms that underlie the role of COMPASS-like complex to sustain PDAC tumor growth.

Biography

Dr. Citron obtained her Doctor of Pharmacy in 2014 and her doctorate in Molecular Biomedicine in 2018 at University of Trieste, Italy. Her doctoral research at CRO-Aviano NCI focused on the role of microRNAs as possible biomarkers in breast, and head and neck cancers. She then moved to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas where she is currently studying the role of chromatin modulators in maintaining DNA stability and shaping pancreatic cancer progression.

Acknowledgement of Support

“I am honored and grateful to receive the 2022 AACR-AstraZeneca Stimulating Therapeutic Advances through Research Training (START) Grant. This represents a milestone in my training that will support my eventual transition to independent research. This funding inspires me to fulfill my responsibility to patients and the research community to ask impactful questions to advance oncology practice.”