The AACR-Merk Research Fellowships represent an effort to encourage and support postdoctoral or clinical research fellows to conduct research and to establish a successful career path in this field.

2024 grantees

Research

Significant differences in glioblastoma (GBM) incidence and survival rates have been noted between sexes, with males experiencing poorer outcomes compared to females. These differences suggest that biological sex plays a crucial role in the development of GBM. Dr. Halaoui has been studying the role of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes, particularly cBAF, PBAF, and ncBAF, in GBM. Their preliminary data has shown that knockdown of specific BAF subunits have sex-dependent effects on GBM cell proliferation and clonogenic potential. In this project, he aims to continue to elucidate the epitranscriptomic impact of BAF depletion and assess sex-specific effects on GBM progression and survival.

Biography

Dr. Halaoui earned his undergraduate degree in nutrition and nietetics and medical degree from the American University of Beirut, where he also completed 2 years of neurosurgery residency training. He  is currently a postdoctoral scholar in the department of neurosurgery at the University of California, San Diego where he focuses on the sex-specific roles of chromatin remodeling complexes in GBM and aims to uncover gender-tailored therapeutic strategies.

Acknowledgment of Support

“Receiving the AACR-Merck Cancer Disparities Research Fellowship will significantly advance my career by providing vital resources and recognition, enabling me to deepen my investigation into sex-specific chromatin remodeling in glioblastoma. This support will enhance my ability to develop targeted therapeutics strategies, ultimately contributing to improved patient outcomes and advancing the field of cancer research.”

Research

Sleep is a crucial, understudied, and modifiable lifestyle behavior which regulates metabolism and immune response, both  of which are critical in cancer care. Marginalized groups and those with a cancer diagnosis have higher levels of stress and poorer sleep quality. The overall objective of this research is to elucidate longitudinal sleep duration and sleep quality by racial-ethnic group and underserved communities (rural, urban, Appalachian), while exploring social factors, stress, and the built environment among breast cancer patients from treatment into survivorship. Dr. Hery plans to evaluate sleep quality in stage 1-3 breast cancer patients over the course of treatment into survivorship, using surveys, wearable devices and non-invasive biospecimen collection (saliva, buccal, hair).

Biography

Dr. Hery received her undergraduate degree in behavioral neuroscience from Northeastern University, a master’s degree in epidemiology, and a doctorate in public health – epidemiology from The Ohio State University. Currently a postdoctoral researcher at The Ohio State University, training in sleep health and cancer health disparities, her research focuses on the behavioral and biological aspects of sleep health in minoritized racial and ethnic groups and medically underserved cancer populations. Her work aims to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes by studying differences in sleep quality among underserved populations.

Acknowledgement of Support

“The AACR-Merck Cancer Disparities Research Fellowship will allow me to gain expertise collecting novel sleep data with innovative biospecimen collection among breast cancer patients which will help guide and support my long-term career goal of becoming an independent investigator focusing on lessening cancer disparities by exploring variations in sleep.”

2022 Grantees

Research

Elevated colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates have been observed among Native Hawaiians (NH)/Pacific Islanders (PI). However, genetic factors contributing to colorectal pathobiology have not been systemically studied within NH/PI. Dr. Fu aims to investigate if genetic differences contribute to the health disparities observed between NH/PI and other ethnic groups. These genetic differences can be targeted as promising biomarkers to improve CRC diagnosis and prognosis in NH/PI.

Biography

Dr. Yuanyuan Fu completed her PhD in cancer epidemiology at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. She conducted research on the biological role and clinical implication of several novel non-coding RNAs in cancers. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, where she aims to understand how genetic factors contribute to colorectal cancer disparities in Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders.

Acknowledgment of Support

The AACR-Merck Cancer Disparities Research Fellowship can enable the advancement of research in colorectal cancer disparities in Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, specifically on ethnic-specific genetic effects on tumor progression, and can contribute to the potential eventual development of therapeutic strategies. This fellowship also lays a solid foundation for my scientific career development.

Research

Patients and families with limited English proficiency (LEP) face unique challenges within the healthcare system, and perceive healthcare discrimination or lower quality of medical care related to a lack of fluency in English. Dr. Stall aims to elevate the voices of families with LEP navigating the stressful pediatric cancer illness experience by exploring and characterizing their perceptions of communication, support, and medical care received during treatment. To delve into this complicated topic with depth and nuance, Dr. Stall will conduct semi-structured interviews with parents with LEP using a certified medical interpreter at multiple time points during treatment. She aims to use findings from this study to identify areas of improvement to develop interventions that improve the illness and treatment experience of patients and families with LEP.

Biography

Dr. Stall received her medical degree from Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. She then completed her Pediatric Residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. During her residency, she developed an interest in qualitative research, specifically studying prognostic communication language in children with advanced cancer. Dr. Stall is approaching her final year of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Children’s Health where she will remain as an instructor to continue working on her research.

Acknowledgment of Support

It is an honor to receive the AACR-Merck Cancer Disparities Research Fellowship. Navigating pediatric cancer is difficult at best, and after witnessing the added struggles of my patients and families with limited English proficiency, I am grateful that this award will allow me to identify ways to improve their experience.

Research

Underprivileged groups can suffer from greater financial burdens of care and can even forgo aspects of their cancer treatments. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services require all hospitals and insurers to disclose negotiated prices for all items and services. Early research has revealed wide variations in pricing and significant hospital markup on cancer drugs. Dr. Xiao and his colleagues seek to understand what hospital and regional characteristics affect compliance with the Hospital Price Transparency rule, as well as what factors influence hospital- and insurer-negotiated prices for common cancer services and treatments. Understanding how healthcare pricing can adversely affect disadvantaged populations can empower patients to make financially informed decisions and educate lawmakers on future policies.

Biography

Dr. Roy Xiao attended Princeton University for his undergraduate studies in chemistry and computer science, graduating magna cum laude. Dr. Xiao then attended the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine for his medical doctorate and Master’s degree. He also completed a fellowship at the NIH where he investigated inhibitors of apoptosis proteins in head and neck cancers. Dr. Xiao is now a resident in Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, as well as a clinical research fellow studying healthcare price transparency.

Acknowledgment of Support

I am excited and grateful for this support from the AACR-Merck Cancer Disparities Research Fellowship. This will be an unparalleled opportunity for me to jumpstart my independent research career, and I am eager to build on our initial body of work to shed further light into cancer disparities.

Research 

American Indians and African Americans have higher mortality rates of liver cancer than non-Hispanic whites, an observation that has been attributed to the higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes in the former racial groups. Previous work established that obesity and diabetes promote hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by hyperactivating cyclin D1-cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6). Obesity and diabetes also contribute to an immune-suppressive microenvironment in the liver by stimulating release of immunosuppressive cytokines and modulating the expression of immune checkpoint proteins. These observations suggest that obesity and diabetes induce intrinsic vulnerabilities of HCC to CDK4/6 inhibitors and may sensitize HCC to immune checkpoint inhibition. In this project, Dr. Yu is set to study immune responses to CDK4/6 inhibition in obesity and evaluate anti-tumor efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in combination with CDK4/6 inhibitors in pre-clinical HCC mouse models.  

Biography 

Dr. Yu obtained his doctoral degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His thesis work was focused on understanding the regulation of metabolic health and aging by dietary quantity and composition. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), where he is studying metabolic dependency and vulnerabilities of cancer and exploring novel combinatory therapies for cancer treatment. His long-term goal is to develop expertise/tools/strategies to target tumor metabolism for cancer therapy. 

Acknowledgment of Support 

Combinatory therapy holds the promise to overcome drug resistance and improve efficacy in cancer treatment. This AACR-Merck Immuno-oncology Research Fellowship not only gives me freedom to pursue a novel combinatory therapy for liver cancer, but also allows me to develop expertise in immuno-oncology and expand my horizon beyond cancer biology.