Honors, Awards + Achievements
Cottler Lab
In July, the Cottler Lab, as the Community Engagement arm of the CTSI, was awarded PANDEMIC — a $6M grant from CDC to increase vaccination uptake among populations with COVID skepticism and system distrust. Drs. Linda Cottler, Catherine Striley, Sonja Rasmussen, Catalina Lopez-Quintero as well as IFAS, FSU, the DOH and a national CAB partner to further transform the science of community engagement.
Dejana Braithwaite, Ph.D.
Dejana Braithwaite, Ph.D., provided a commentary for Reuters Health on breast cancer screening among childhood cancer survivors treated without chest radiation.
Paul Okunieff, M.D.
Paul Okunieff, M.D., used the clamps he made for a rapid SARS-CoV variant detection system that is now approved in Europe as their equivalent of a USA IVD. Further, using the bDNA for Alu the treatment induced toxicity test received a de-novo CMS code from Medicare as an IVD.
Elizabeth Shenkman, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Shenkman, Ph.D., received a $950K grant for her study titled, “Optimizing Infrastructure for Conducting Patient-Centered Outcomes Research: PCORnet, The National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network.”
Carma Bylund, Ph.D., Carla Fisher, Ph.D.
Carma Bylund, Ph.D., and Carla Fisher, Ph.D., received a $54,961K Leukemia & Lymphoma Society grant for their study titled “Understanding Older Adults’ Cancer Experiences, Support Needs and Communication Needs.”
Christian Jobin, Ph.D., Thomas Schmittgen, Ph.D.
Christian Jobin, Ph.D., and Thomas Schmittgen, Ph.D., received a $414,000 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant for their study titled, “Modulation of microbiome function by host-derived noncoding small RNA.”
Christian Jobin, Ph.D.
Christian Jobin, Ph.D., received a $466,325K Department of Defense grant for his study titled, “Exploiting microbiota metabolism for colorectal cancer prevention.”
Juan Guan, Xin Tang, Ph.D, Hayley Sussman, Miao Huang
Juan Guan, Ph.D. , Xin Tang, Ph.D, Hayley Sussman, Miao Huang, investigated YAP Activity in Response to Mechanical Stimuli in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells.
Jatinder Lamba, Ph.D., Qing Lu, Ph.D.
Jatinder Lamba, Ph.D., and Qing Lu, Ph.D., received a $1.9M National Cancer Institute grant for their 5-year study titled “Genomics of AML Prognosis.”
Jonathan Licht, M.D.
Jonathan Licht, M.D., Keiran Smalley, Ph.D. and James Harbour, M.D., received a $1.2M National Cancer Institute, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute grant for their study titled, “Characterization and Targeting of the Epigenetic State Underlying Uveal Melanoma Liver Metastasis.”
Additionally, Dr. Licht spoke at the USDCF Pediatric Malignancy Retreat at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Dongyu Zhang, Ph.D.
Dongyu Zhang, Ph.D., received a Rising Star Award from the American Geriatrics Society. The conference will be held at Washington, DC on Oct 18-19. Its mission is to heighten research attention on emerging geriatrics clinical issues related to cancer and cardiovascular disease. The Rising Star will be invited for an in-person one-on-one mentoring meeting and be recognized during the conference.
Liang Zhou, M.D., Ph.D.
Liang Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., received a $2.8M National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases study for his study titled, “Role of RORgt+ lymphocytes in Gut Tissue Homeostasis.”
Yan Gong, Ph.D., Qing Lu, Ph.D.
Yan Gong, Ph.D., and Qing Lu Ph.D., received a 4-year $1.6M National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute grant for their study titled “A multi-comics evaluation of carfilzomib-related cardiotoxicity in multiple myeloma patients.”
Olga Guryanova, M.D., Ph.D.
Olga Guryanova, M.D., Ph.D., presented and moderated a session at the International Society of Experimental Hematology (ISEH) annual meeting.
Nayade Caldes
A trainee of Florida International University was awarded Best Presentation at the annual ReTOOL Showcase. Her work was also selected for presentation at the upcoming 2021 Radiation Research Society annual meeting.