Monthly HAAs
Honors, Awards + Achievements
Congratulations
Merry-Jennifer Markham, M.D.
Dr. Markham has been named interim chief of the division of hematology & oncology at University of Florida Health, effective September 1, 2018. Dr. Markham is a current member of the NRG Oncology Communications Committee (Social Media Working Group) and the NRG Oncology Ovarian Cancer Subcommittee.
Daohong Zhou, Ph.D.
Dr. Zhou found himself on the big screen in Time Square and national television ringing the NASDAQ opening bell in New York City. Daohong Zhou, M.D., a professor of pharmacodynamics and radiation oncology joined team members from Unity Biotechnology Inc. in the opening bell ceremony on Oct. 9. Zhou is a scientific co-founder of Unity, which is developing medicines to slow, halt or reverse diseases of aging. He joined the University of Florida in the spring of 2018 and serves as the Harry E. Innes Professorship of Cancer Research.
Ramzi Salloum, Ph.D., M.A., MBA
Dr. Salloum received a $1,046,500 grant for his project, “Eastern Mediterranean Consortium on the Economics of Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Capacity Building and Knowledge Translation.”
Debra Kelly, Ph.D., R.N., OCN, CNE
Dr. Kelly received a grant, “Developing the Biobehavioral Foundation for Self-Management of Psychoneurological Symptoms in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) Survivors,” from the National Institute of Nursing Research.
Gee Su Yang, Ph.D, R.N. and Debra Lyon, Ph.D., R.N.
For the first time in its history, a University of Florida College of Nursing postdoctoral associate is the recipient of a National Institutes of Health F32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award. Dr. Gee Su Yang is the recipient of this three-year $180,778 fellowship. Her mentor was UF Health Cancer Center member Dr. Lyon. Congratulations to both on this amazing accomplishment!
Paul Castillo, M.D.
Congratulations to Dr. Castillo, for being awarded a 2018 Hyundai Young Investigator Grant at a recent Hyundai Hope On Wheels Handprint Ceremony.
Diana Wilkie, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, and Folakemi Odedina, Ph.D.
Dr. Wilkie with Dr. Odedina will serve as the Principal Investigator for the newly funded “Florida-California Cancer Research, Education & Engagement (CaRE2) Health Equity Center.” This five-year grant includes collaborators across UF, FAMU, and the University of Southern California.
Stephanie Staras, Ph.D.
Dr. Staras presented her CPS funded pilot work at the Increasing HPV vaccination in the United Stated: A Collaboration of NCI-funded Cancer Centers meeting.
Nosha Farhadfar, M.D.
Dr. Farhadfar was selected as a protocol team member on BMT Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trial Net work BMT CTN) 1702 “Clinical Transplant-Related Long-term Outcomes of Alternative Donor Allogeneic Transplantation (CTRL-ALT-D). This is a multicenter study to describe barriers to achieving transplantation and outcome of transplant with different alternative stem cell sources.
Linda Cottler, Ph.D., MPH, FACE
Dr. Cottler, chair of the department of epidemiology in the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions (PHHP) and the UF College of Medicine, has been elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Association for Clinical and Translational Science.
Susan Frost, Ph.D.
Dr. Frost was chosen to receive one of five cancer research grants from the Ocala Royal Dames for Cancer Research, Inc. for her proposal “Enhancing the cytotoxic effects of B-caryophyllene (BCP) using statin drugs as a combinatorial therapy for the treatment of breast cancer.”
Elizabeth Shenkman, Ph.D.
Dr. Shenkman, along with six other principal investigators at four universities in the Southeast, received a multi-institutional grant of $12 million for a project titled “SouthEast Enrollment Center.”
Nursing World Conference Poster Winner
At the Nursing World Conference in Rome, Italy, the poster titled “Improving Speed, Efficiency, and Communication of Medical Oncology Patients Receiving Infusion Treatments” received best poster. The author’s were Barbra A. Pesata, D.N.P., R.N., O.C.N.; Tina Farrar, A.S.N.; Lori Harris, A.S.N. from the adult infusion center. Special thanks to Wayne Ford for assisting with graphs and Michele Scavone for supporting the project.
60th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology
Bradford Hoppe, M.D., MPH and Zhong Su, Ph.D.
Congratulations to UFHCC members, Dr. Hoppe and Dr. Su who were selected to be featured at the upcoming 60th Annual Meeting of ASTRO, the American Society for Radiation Oncology. The meeting, which will be held October 21-24 in San Antonio, is the world’s largest scientific meeting dedicated to radiation oncology. You can read more about this year’s meeting here and see news highlights from last year’s meeting here.
Outstanding Accrual Efforts to S1602
At the SWOG Annual Meeting, key members were recognized for their accrual efforts to S1602. S1602 would not have been possible without the following members:
- Study Coordinator Melissa Lynn
- Clinical Research Coordinator Diana Spies
- Clinical Research Coordinator Sherri Mizrahy
- Clinical Research Assistant Debbie Diep
Cancer Therapeutics & Host Response Awardees
Liang Zhou, Ph.D., Christian Jobin, Ph.D., Maryam Rahman, M.D. and Ashley Ghiaseddin, M.D.
Congratulations to the four Cancer Therapeutics & Host Response awardees! The two award-winning projects include:
- “Modulation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and the microbiome enhances anti-tumor immunity,” led by principal investigators Dr. Zhou and Dr. Jobin
- “Overcoming immune exhaustion to improve immunotherapy efficacy in patients with brain tumors,” led by Dr. Rahman and Dr. Ghiaseddin and Dr. Tran
SPORE in Brain Cancer Awardees
Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., Rinaldi, Ph.D., Huang, M.D., Ph.D. and Ghiaseddin, M.D.
Congratulations to the four SPORE in Brain Cancer awardees! The two award-winning projects include:
- “Translatable theranostic RNA-nanoparticles as biomarkers and biomodulators of GBM immunogenicity” led by principal investigators Dr. Sayour and Dr. Rinaldi
- “Test the safety and antitumor efficacy of CD70 CAR-2.0 in GBM” led by principal investigators Dr. Huang and Dr. Ghiaseddin
