Trainee Spotlight

Aviad completed my B.Sc. in biotechnology from Bar-Ilan University in Israel in 2014. He subsequently completed my MS.c (2016) and Ph.D (2021) degrees in Bar-Ilan University focusing on the molecular mechanisms regulating the inhibitory and activating effector activities of natural killer (NK) cells in the context of cancer. From 2021-2024 Aviad conducted research as a postdoctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute of Science under the supervision of Prof. Ruth Scherz-Shouval. At Weizmann, he studied the tumor microenvironment, with a focus on cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in pancreatic and breast cancers, and how they promote tumor growth while subverting anti-tumor immunity- This work was supported by the Weizmann Deans of the Faculties postdoctoral fellowship and the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) postdoctoral fellowship. 

Dr. Ben-Shmuel's Research Interests:
I am interested in the molecular mechanisms rewired in cancer cells that shape the tumor microenvironment, and thus promote escape from a myriad of therapies, including immune-therapies. In the Depinho lab I will focus on colon and pancreatic cancer (notoriously resistant to immunotherapies), and use genetically modified mouse models to understand which genetic alterations in cancer cells orchestrate an environment that is permissive to tumor development and therapy resistance, and the underlying mechanisms coordinating these events. 

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Ben-Shmuel is currently supported by the CPRIT TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (RP210028).

Dr. Bohat has completed her PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Houston under the guidance of Dr. Weiyi Peng. Her research focused on targeting the PI3K isoforms to enhance the effectiveness of T-cell-mediated immunotherapy. Her work revealed that the PI3Kα isoform is crucial for tumor cells but not as essential for T cells. By inhibiting this tumor-specific isoform, the efficacy of immunotherapy was significantly improved. This breakthrough offers a deeper understanding of the PI3K pathway in both tumor and immune cells, proposing a novel therapeutic approach to cancer treatment, which is now advancing towards clinical trials.In recognition of her outstanding research and exemplary dissertation, Ritu was awarded the prestigious Dan E. Wells Outstanding Dissertation Award at the University of Houston, an honor given to only one student each semester. Additionally, Ritu has contributed to the development of a lupus mouse model, providing researchers with a valuable tool to explore the complexities of this autoimmune disorder and potentially advance therapeutic solutions.

Dr. Bohat's Research Interests:
Dr. Bohat’s research interests lie in understanding the tumor factors that contribute to the development of resistance against anti-tumor immune responses, particularly in solid tumors. At the Rezvani lab, she will focus on enhancing the efficacy of CAR-NK cells in treating solid tumors. While CAR-NK cells have shown promising results in hematological malignancies, their effectiveness is often hindered by the tumor microenvironment in solid tumors. Ritu aims to develop strategies to improve the persistence and efficacy of CAR-NK cells in these challenging environments.

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Bohat is currently supported by the CPRIT TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (RP210028).

Matthew earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He then earned his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology under the guidance of Dr. Brandon Dixon. His graduate thesis was titled “Functional lymphatic changes and the immune response during lymphedema development” and was supported by a Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (NRSA) F31 fellowship from the NIH/NHLBI. Matthew joined the TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in February 2022.

Dr. Cribb's Research Interests:
I am working on understanding how hypoxia in pancreatic cancer contributes to immunosuppression and resistance to immunotherapy. I am particularly interested in hypoxic metabolic crosstalk between tumor cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and macrophages in the pancreatic cancer microenvironment. By understanding mechanisms of hypoxia-driven immunosuppression, I hope to find new targets to reverse immune dysfunction in pancreatic cancer.

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Cribb is currently mentor funded.

From the Peruvian Andes, Carlos earned his B.S. in Biology from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru.  He then earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics from Baylor College of Medicine under the guidance of Dr. Joshua Wythe. His graduate thesis was titled “Identifying novel therapeutic vulnerabilities in KRAS-driven sporadic brain arteriovenous malformations” and was supported by the American Heart Association (AHA) Predoctoral Fellowship. Carlos joined the TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in March 2024. 

Dr. Flores Suarez's Research Interests:
His laboratory focuses on the study of ovarian and breast cancer treatments. His current projects aim to investigate the role of SIK2 inhibitors to enhance immunotherapy in breast cancer; and to optimize the design and delivery of DIRAS3 stapled peptides in order to enhance their stability, cellular uptake, and anti-cancer efficacy in RAS-derived cancers.

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Flores Suarez is currently supported by the CPRIT TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (RP210028).

Haijing received her Ph.D. degree in the Quantitative & Computational Biosciences Graduate Program from Baylor College of Medicine under the guidance of Dr. Zhandong Liu. Haijing’s Ph.D. projects are focused on the systematic biases caused by different biological and technical factors on transcriptomics deconvolution analysis. Dr. Jin joined MD Anderson Cancer Center as a TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellow in 2021.

Dr. Jin's Research Interests:
Haijing’s research projects are focused on unraveling tumor heterogeneity utilizing multi-omics data. She also develops tools for phylogenetic analysis and multi-modal data integration.

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Jin is mentor funded

Dr. Kim earned his B.A. in Behavioral Biology from Johns Hopkins University, followed by an M.S. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology from the University of Minnesota in collaboration with Mayo Clinic. He then completed his Ph.D. through the Tri-Institutional Computational Biology and Medicine program, conducting research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His dissertation, titled "Evolutionary and functional consequences of single-cell variation in mitochondrial DNA copy number and genotype in cancer," provided new insights into factors contributing to the heterogeneity in mitochondrial DNA copy number distribution and how its variation across tumor subclones corresponded with distinct immune response and metabolic activity, as revealed through transcriptomics. Dr. Kim joined MD Anderson Cancer Center as a TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellow in October 2024.

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Kim is supported by CPRIT Research Training Award RP210028.

Dr. Lal obtained her BA in Biology from Baylor University and her MS in Biomedical Science from Tufts University School of Medicine. Subsequently, she worked as a Research Associate at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Lal earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from Case Western Reserve University under the mentorship of Dr. Feixiong Cheng. Her doctoral research focused on the application of network-based multi-omics approaches for precision Cardio-Oncology using drug repurposing techniques and functional testing. Her work was generously supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study. In October 2023, Dr. Lal joined the TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. In her spare time she enjoys running outdoors and playing pickleball.

Dr. Lal's Research Interests:
Dr. Lal is working on applying novel statistical approaches for understanding the interplay between the tumor microenvironment and evolutionary trajectories in microsatellite stable colorectal cancer. This project will lay a foundation for understanding the critical components of MSS CRC heterogeneity and targeted therapy response.

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Lal is supported by the CPRIT Training Award RP210028.

Dr. Liu earned her B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences from Kyushu University (Fukuoka, Japan). She later received her M.S. and Ph.D. in medical sciences from The University of Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan). Her Ph.D. research investigated the IMPDH inhibitor as a therapeutic strategy for MLL-fusion-driven acute leukemia. She also worked on another challenging project investigating the impact of clonal hematopoiesis associated mutant ASXL1 in blood cells on solid tumor progression. She was awarded the Cancer Science Young Scientists Award (Japanese Cancer Association) in 2023. Dr. Liu joined MD Anderson Cancer Center as a TRIUMPH postdoctoral research fellow in March 2024.

Dr. Liu's Research Interests:
Dr. Liu is currently working on deciphering the impact of the ecosystem of chronic diseases, such as environmental allergy, on breast cancer development, recurrence, and brain metastasis. The goal of her research is to develop novel strategies for immunoprevention of breast cancer and brain metastasis.

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Liu is supported by the CPRIT Training Award RP210028.

From Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Andrew earned a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire and a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. His graduate thesis, titled "Quantifying Chromosomal Instability in Cancer: from first principles toward clinical value", focused on developing better measures of chromosomal instability to improve personalized medicine. He joined the Van Loo Lab as a TRIUMPH Fellow in July of 2023 where he will investigate evolutionary patterns of extrachromosomal DNA. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cooking, and all things outdoors.

Dr. Lynch's Research Interests:
My research is broadly focuses on the interplay of genetic instability, phenotypic plasticity, and tumor evolution. I am particularly interested in the evolution of genomic rearrangements, as they underly the alterations targeted by many precision therapies (amplifications and fusions). I am building novel computational tools to understand how genome rearrangements and focal amplifications evolve over time and space, the molecular mechanisms that cause these changes, and their impact on cancer biology and cancer patients alike.

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Lynch is supported by the CPRIT Training Award RP210028.

Dr. Meril completed her PhD at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel under the mentoring of Prof. Adi Kimchi. Her primary research focus revolved around exploring the non-canonical translation initiation factor EIF4G2 and its pivotal role in cancer progression and aggressiveness. In this pursuit, she employed mutational analyses and multi-omics methodologies to unravel the intricate contributions of EIF4G2 in endometrial cancer, integrating patient samples and data into her research framework.

Dr. Meril's Research Interests:
Dr. Meril's research endeavors revolve around deepening our comprehension of dendritic cell biology within the context of tumor development, as well as enhancing dendritic cell-based cancer therapy. Additionally, she is passionate about leveraging advancements in cell engineering to manipulate the tumor microenvironment, thereby bolstering dendritic cell infiltration and potency in combating cancer.. 

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Meril is supported by the CPRIT Training Award RP210028.

Dr. Morris earned his B.S. in Nanomedicine Engineering and B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia. He later earned his M.S. in Biological and Physical Sciences from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. In 2022, Dr. Morris earned his Ph.D. in Experimental Pathology from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. His graduate work was entitled “Towards Personalized Medicine: Identifying, Characterizing, and Targeting Drivers of Aggressive Cancers.” Under the direction of Dr. Marty Mayo, his research focused on using genomic datasets and molecular biology tools to investigate novel mechanisms potentiating aggressive cancers. Results from this work are helping redefine how cryptic cancer genetic events heighten replication stress and subsequently impact several hallmarks of cancer. Dr. Morris joined MD Anderson Cancer Center as a TRIUMPH postdoctoral research fellow in 2022.

Dr. Morris' Research Interests:
My research project is focused on identifying and targeting novel vulnerabilities in small cell lung cancer to overcome therapeutic resistance.

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Morris is currently supported through his LCRF Fellowship.

Dr. Patterson earned her B.S. in Biological Sciences from Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI). She later received her M.S. in Biology from Texas Southern University under the guidance of Dr. Mario Hollomon (2016), during which she was accepted as a fellow of the Cancer Prevention Research Training Program (CPRTP) Summer Research Experience at MD Anderson under the mentorship of Dr. Joya Chandra. Dr. Patterson then received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology under the tutelage of Dr. Jere McBride (2022). Her graduate research titled “Ehrlichia chaffeensis Activates Notch Signaling Through SLiM Mimicry to Inhibit Apoptosis”, revealed a molecular mechanism whereby an obligately intracellular pathogen, Ehrlcihia chaffeensis, has evolved moonlighting proteins and molecular mimicry to rewire conserved signaling pathways and cellular functions to ensure persistent infection and survival. The identification of a short linear motif found within a non-canonical Notch ligand gives more insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms of aberrant Notch activation and may therefore lead to therapeutic approaches for diseases by which constitutively activated Notch signaling leads to disease onset and progression. Her graduate research was supported by The UTMB McLaughlin Endowment Predoctoral Fellowship Program and a Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (NRSA) F31 fellowship from the NIH/NIAID. Dr. Patterson joined MD Anderson as a TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellow in January 2023. 

Dr. Patterson's Research Interests:
My research project is focused on elucidating the mechanism for why a subset of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) develop new onset diabetes (NOD). Increasing evidence has shown that NOD is a manifestation of asymptomatic PDAC, and may therefore be utilized for early detection. Therefore, by identifying the underlying mechanism of dysglycemia and putative drivers of the hyperglycemic phenotype in pancreatic cancer, we may detect pancreatic cancer at earlier stages and improve therapeutic modalities.

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Patterson is funded by the CPRIT TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (RP210028).                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Rance attained a Bachelor of Engineering (Biomedical Engineering) (Honors) at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT, Melbourne Australia) in 2017. Rance continued the academic pathway at RMIT and have recently earned his Ph.D. in January 2022, under the guidance of Prof. Martin Leary (RMIT) and Prof. Tomas Kron (Peter MacCallum Cancer Center). His Ph.D. research focuses on developing custom radiotherapy phantoms using 3D printing for the end-to-end testing of personalized lung treatment plans, funded through the Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Additive Biomanufacturing (ARC ABM).Rance joined MD Anderson Cancer Center as a TRIUMPH Postdoctoral Fellow in September 2022.

Dr. Tino's Research Interests:
My research explores the clinical translation of 3D printing and digital-twin technologies in Radiation Oncology.  

Current Funding Source:
Dr. Tino is currently mentor funded.

The current TRIUMPH application cycle closes on December 31, 2024. Apply today!