With generous support from GlaxoSmithKline, the AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award encourages and supports tenure-eligible junior faculty to conduct research in cancer etiology, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention.

2024 Grantee

Scientific Statement of Research

Early onset cancer is increasing worldwide, and colorectal cancer (CRC) is now the first and second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and women under 50, respectively. These cancers are often highly aggressive at diagnosis, highlighting the pressing need for improved methods of early detection and prevention. Unfortunately, our understanding of early cancer is rudimentary, and we do not know why some benign polyps progress to malignant cancer while most do not. Dr. Westcott plans to comprehensively profile the kinetics and spatial biology of benign-to-malignant transition using a combination of rare patient samples and innovative mouse models that capture the stepwise progression and immune interactions of human CRC. Combined with cutting-edge spatial ‘omics’ technologies, this work aims to elucidate the pioneering molecular and cellular events underlying early cancer progression.

Biography

Dr. Westcott received his doctorate from the University of California, San Franscisco, where he spearheaded comparative studies of mutational processes in chemical carcinogenesis and genetically engineered mouse models of cancer. As a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he developed innovative cancer models that capture mutational and immune interactions of human cancer. In 2022, Dr. Westcott started his independent research group at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. With a background in cancer genetics and immunology, he is broadly interested in how cancer talks with the immune system and how this conversation changes through major transitions in cancer evolution. This focus was shaped by his graduate and postdoctoral training.

Acknowledgment of Support

“It is a huge honor to be this year’s AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Awardee. This generous support from the AACR and GlaxoSmithKline is an early career catalyst and a boon to my laboratory that will enable us to pursue daring studies that literally would not be possible otherwise.”

2023 grantee

Research

The role of chromatin adaptor/scaffold proteins is largely unexplored. Additionally, a rapidly advancing area in chromatin biology aims to understand the non-enzymatic activities and potential structural roles of many chromatin-modifying enzymes. Dr. Soto-Feliciano aims to uncover how chromatin adaptors contribute to interpreting chemical modifications and their specific effects in different contexts, and to investigate how chromatin adaptors control gene activity in normal and disease conditions.

Biography

Dr. Soto-Feliciano earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez in 2008 and her doctorate in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2016. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Rockefeller University supported by a Damon Runyon fellowship and K99/R00 award. Joining MIT’s faculty as an assistant professor in 2022, Dr. Soto-Feliciano’s work integrates cancer biology, functional genomics, and chromatin biology to uncover molecular mechanisms underlying transcriptional regulation. Her research focuses on chromatin scaffold-mediated transcriptional regulation in the effort to uncover new insights into cancer development and treatment.

Acknowledgement of Support

“The 2023 AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award is important to me because it recognizes the immense value of fundamental biomedical research in combating cancer. This prestigious honor inspires me to continue my pursuit of groundbreaking discoveries, ultimately aiming to make a meaningful impact in the lives of cancer patients.”

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