Research Day 2016
Research Day 2016
The UF Health Cancer Center Research Day 2016 took place Nov. 3 at the UF George T. Harrell, M.D., Medical Education Building with approximately 350 attendees. More than 120 posters were displayed and prizes were awarded to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty.
Presentations were given by the inaugural Predoctoral Award winners — five predoctoral candidates conducting innovative cancer research throughout the university. Jonathan Licht, M.D., director of the UF Health Cancer Center, presided over the event and encouraged attendees to seek out new potential collaborators throughout the evening, as collaborations lead to important findings that impact patient health.
Poster Winners – Early Career Faculty
Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D.
“Translatable RNA nanoparticles supplant dendritic cell vaccines in cellular immunotherapy”
Marcus Muehlbauer, M.D., Ph.D.
“The Hydrogen Sulphide Producer Atopobium Parvulum Worsens the Development of Colitis-associated Colorectal Cancer”
Carla Fisher, Ph.D.
“Experiences of ‘Openness’ Between Mothers & Daughters During Breast Cancer: Implications for Coping and Healthy Outcomes”
Poster Winners – Postdoctoral Trainees
Kyungah Maeng, Ph.D.
“Thymidylate Synthase Overexpression Accelerates MEN1-mediated Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Development and Progression”
Zirong Chen, Ph.D.
“cAMP/CREB-regulated lncRNA LINC00473 marks LKB1-inactivated lung cancer and
mediates tumor growth”
Poster Winners – Predoctoral Trainees
Rony Francois, B.S.
“Targeting the Oncogenic Cooperation of Thymidylate Synthase and Mutant KRAS in Pancreatic Cancer”
Dhruvitkumar Sutaria, M.S.
“Gene knockouts reveal important roles for microRNA during the early development of pancreatic adenocarcinoma”
Sarah Tomkovich, B.S.
“Human colorectal cancer-associated biofilms promote tumorigenesis in susceptible mice”
Mir Hossain, M.S.
“Activation of Fetal Globin by Direct Protein Delivery of Zinc-finger DNA-binding Domains Targeting a GATA-1 Binding Site Associated with the -567 HPFH”
Predoctoral Award Winners
The highly competitive UF Health Cancer Center Predoctoral Awards are awarded annually to up to five predoctoral candidates who have passed their qualifying exam. The $10,000 award recognizes and supports the winners’ innovative cancer research at the university for a one-year period with the possibility of a second-year renewal. The award winners present their projects in concise,
three-minute talks at UFHCC Research Day.
Elizabeth Kacel, M.S.
“Yoga as a comprehensive program for managing Fear of Cancer Recurrence (FCR): a proof-of-concept study”
Mam Mboge, B.S.
“Role of Carbonic Anhydrase in Breast Cancer Metabolism and Growth”
Varsha Sundaresan, M.S.
“The Role of P53-binding Regulatory Regions in Tumorigenesis”
Vindhya Vijay, M.S.
“Identifying novel targets to eliminate refractory disease in acute myeloid leukemia”
Jennifer Wiggins, M.S.
“Structured Aerobic Exercise to Improve Radiotherapy Response in Breast Cancer”
