Top

Summer Alumni

The foundation of the Cancer Prevention Research Training Program (CPRTP) Summer Research Experience is cancer prevention research and the cultivation of the mentoring relationship between students and professors. Our multi-disciplinary emphasis introduces the summer trainee to the idea of moving from their base of strength in a particular specialty, such as medical oncology, molecular genetics, or behavioral science, to equip them with basic knowledge in the other disciplines in cancer prevention and control research. CPRTP summer trainees have the opportunity to work under the guidance of a faculty mentor and engage in a cancer prevention research project. These projects result in publications, oral and poster presentations, and each summer student showcases their research experience at the conclusion of the 10-week fellowship during the Summer Research Exposition: Elevator Speech and Poster Session.

The alumni of the CPRTP Summer Research Experience play an essential role in the research and education missions of MD Anderson Cancer Center. We are very proud of our 24+ year history of this short-term, NCI-funded research experience which has evolved from a 3 to 6-month program of trainees appointed monthly; to a structured 10-week, institution-wide summer program beginning in 2013 with the establishment of the MD Anderson Summer Experience . After the conclusion of the summer research experience, many alumni go on to build careers as prominent leaders in the areas such as academia, cancer prevention, cancer research, consulting, patient care, health communications, and global health (to name a few), at institutions all over the United States. This page provides a roster of all participants of the NCI R25E Summer Research Experience.

This (CPRPT) program has given me so many wonderful opportunities for personal and professional growth. I know that I will be using the skills and knowledge that I have learned from this program in my future endeavors. This program also introduced me to a great group of people who I will be able to contact and potentially collaborate with in the future.

Siddhartha Roy, MPH, DrPH

2015 CPRTP Summer Graduate Research Assistant, Health Disparities Research (Mentor: Dr. Larkin Strong)

2016 - CPRTP Summer Research Experience

#	First Name	Last Name	Institution	Fall 2016 Designation	MD Anderson Classification	Department	Mentor(s)	Project Title
1	Jacqueline	Bachand	Yale University	Graduate Student	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	Health Services Research	Dr. Sharon Giordano	Investigating the relationship between BMI, Diabetes and Breast Cancer Stage/Subtype
2	Maddy	Banerjee	University of Arizona at Tucson	Graduate Student	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	GI Medical Oncology	Dr. Scott Kopetz	Epidemiological & Clinical Factors Associated with Molecular Subtypes of Colorectal Cancer
3	Kayla	Burrell	Texas Southern University	Graduate Student	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	Epidemiology	Drs. Carrie Cameron, Melinda Yates	First-Generation Students at the Doctoral Level: Challenges, Trailblazing, and Resilience
4	Erika	Dennis	Texas Southern University	Rising Junior	College Student	Health Disparities Research	Dr. Lorna McNeill	Nutritional Behaviors in Smoking and Non-Smoking Households: How Does Tobacco/Nicotine Consumption Impact Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Adults?
5	Mae	Dobbs	Meharry Medical College	MPH Student	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	Behavioral Science	Dr. Irene Tami-Maury	Project Pride
6	Kemesha	Gabbidon	Florida International University	PhD Student	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	Health Disparities Research	Dr. Larkin Strong	Assessing self-efficacy, social support, and satisfaction of a pilot intervention study to increase physical activity among African American and Hispanic women
7	Merari	Garcia	University of Texas - Pan American	Rising Senior	College Student	Behavioral Science	Dr. Jan Blalock	Role of Anxiety in Smoking Cessation in Cancer Patients; A Pilot Study
8	Klara	Gellci	Wayne State University	Rising Junior	College Student	Cancer Systems Imaging	Drs. Pratip Bhattacharya, Nicholas Whiting	Developing a Non-Invasive Colon Screening Method using Targeted Hyperpolarized Silicon Nanoparticles.
9	Devin	Hayes	St. Edwards University	Rising Senior	College Student	Behavioral Science	Dr. Karen Basen-Engquist	Demographic and medical factors impacting participation in a lifestyle intervention for endometrial cancer survivors
10	Cimone	Husbands	Philadelphia Coll. of Osteopathic Med.	Graduate Student	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	Radiation Oncology	Dr. Ann Klopp	Analysis of Indolamine 2,3-deoxygenase and its metabolites Kynurenine and Tryptophan via HPLC-MS methods
11	Courtney	Keene	Emory University	Nursing Student	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	Behavioral Science	Dr. Mary Tripp	Formative Research on Sun Protection and Skin Examination Attitudes in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
12	Victoria	Lee	The University of Texas at Austin	Rising Junior	College Student	Cancer Systems Imaging	Dr. Pratip Bhattacharya	Metabolic Profiling of Macrophages Conditioned in Glioblastoma Stem Cell Environments
13	Catalina	Malinowski	Rice University	Rising Junior	College Student	Health Disparities Research	Dr. Larkin Strong	Looking for Change: Using the Transtheoretical Model for Behavior Change to Assess Health Trends for Dyads in Latino Households
14	Sheila	Mallenahalli	Louisiana State University	Rising Junior	College Student	Gastroenterology Hepatology Nutr.	Dr. Mala Pande	Effect of Physical Activity on Colorectal Cancer in Lynch Syndrome Patients
15	Guillermo	Marquez	Ponce Health Sciences University - School of Medicine	Medical School	Summer Exp - Medical Student	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Dr. Susan Lakoski	Physical Activity Patterns in the Cancer Prevention Setting: The M.D. Anderson Experience.
16	Kelly	McGauhey	UTHSC	MPH Student	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	Epidemiology	Dr. Shine Chang	Measuring the Financial Toxicity of Cancer Treatment
17	Wendy	Ondiek	Texas Southern University	PharmD Student	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	Behavioral Science	Dr. Irene Tami-Maury	Argentinian HIV Health Care Providers and their Competencies in Tobacco Cessation
18	Javon	Prophet	Texas Southern University	PharmD Student	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	Epidemiology	Dr. Michelle Hildebrandt	Phenotypic Changes in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC )- derived Cardiomyocytes following Doxorubicin Exposure
19	Cristina	Rosenthal	Prairie View A & M University	Nursing Student, BSN	Graduate Research Asst. GRA	Gynecologic Oncology & Reprod. Med.	Lois Ramondetta	Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Cancer Survivors' Knowledge and Attitude towards HPV Vaccination
20	Diana	Sibai	Mount Holyoke College	Rising Junior	College Student	Behavioral Science	Dr. Mary Tripp	Sunbeatables™ Sun Safety Program Implementation: A Qualitative Research Study.
21	Akhil	Sood	UTHSC	Medical School	Summer Exp - Medical Student	Epidemiology	Dr. Carrie Daniel-MacDougall	Early Risk Signatures in the Fecal Microbiota of Colonoscopy Patients
22	Aisha	Tepede	University of Illinois Urbana	Rising Senior	College Student	Health Disparities Research	Dr. Lorna McNeill	One of These Cancers is Not like the Other: Investigating the Relationship between Weight Status and Cancer Screenings
23	Tania	Torres Delgado	Ponce Health Sciences University	Medical School	Summer Exp - Medical Student	Epidemiology	Dr. Shine Chang	Pathways and Barrier to Careers in Academic Medicine and Clinical Cancer Prevention
24	Allen	Yi	The Ohio State University	Rising Senior	College Student	Lymphoma & Myeloma Research	Dr. Richard E. Davis	Using CRISPR/Cas9 For Targeted Genome Modification of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Cell Lines
25	Amanda	Zhou	University of Southern California	Rising Senior	College Student	Health Disparities Research	Dr. Lorna McNeill	Investigating Chronic Conditions as Predictors of Colorectal Cancer Screening in African Americans

Dr.

2015 - CPRTP Summer Research Experience

#	First Name	Last Name	Institution	MD Anderson Classification	2015 Fall Designation	Department	Mentor(s)	Project Title
1	Nathalie	Abou Khalil	University of Houston	R25E College Student	Undergraduate Junior	Behavioral Science	Dr. Irene Tami-Maury	Oral-Self-Examination and Smoking Cessation Counseling for Cancer Patients in Texas
2	Nadia	Agha	University of Houston	R25E GRA	Doctoral Student	Stem Cell Transplantation	Dr. Katy Rezvani	NK Cells and Tumor Evasion
3	Mary	Akosile	The University of Texas School of Public Health	R25E GRA	Graduate Student	Leukemia	Dr. Jorge Cortes	Life Expectancy and Survival Impact of Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) due to Failure from the Use of One or More Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKI)
4	Jacquelin	Botello	The Commonwealth Medical College	R25E GRA	Graduate Student	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Dr. Samir Hanash	Immunoproteasome Deficiency is a Feature of Lung Adenocarcinomas with a Mesenchymal Phenotype and is Associated with Restricted Antigen Presentation and Poor Outcome
5	Casey	Cai	University of Oklahoma	R25E College Student	Undergraduate Senior	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Dr. Guang Peng	Mathematical Modeling of the Cell Cycle Regulation Network to Optimize the Tamoxifen Dosing Schedules in Breast Cancer Prevention
6	Kayleah	Cumpian	Northeast Texas Community College	R25E College Student	Undergraduate Junior	Gynecological Oncology and Reproductive Medicine	Dr. Melinda Yates	Optimizing a Drug Delivery System for Uterine Cancer Chemoprevention
7	Siedah	Garrison	The University of Texas School of Public Health	R25E GRA	Graduate Student	Behavioral Science	Dr. Mary Tripp	Pilot Study of the Implementation of a Pre-school Sun Protection Program
8	Rachel	Graff	University of Houston	R25E GRA	Doctoral Student	General Oncology	Dr. Lorenzo Cohen	The Comprehensive Lifestyle Change Program
9	Meghan	Haffey	Baylor University	R25E College Student	Undergraduate Senior	Behavioral Science	Dr. Sue Schembre	Validation of a Hedonic Eating Paradigm in Lean and Obese Individuals
10	Daniel	Isaacs	University of Houston	R25E College Student	Undergraduate Junior	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Dr. Guang Peng	Identify the Key Node in the DNA Repair Network to Restore BRCA Deficiency for Preventing Women Cancers
11	Margaret	Mayer	Yale University	R25E GRA	Graduate Student	Epidemiology	Dr. Carrie Daniel-MacDougall	Comparison of Dietary Profiles in a High-Risk Cohort of Mexican American Women to a National Sample
12	LaNisha	Patterson-Ward	Texas Southern University	R25E GRA	Graduate Student	Pediatrics	Dr. Joya Chandra	Examining Cooperativity Between the Notch Signaling and HO-1 Mediated Antioxidant Pathways in Acute Myeloid Leukemia?
13	Sonia	Paz	Texas Southern University	R25E GRA	Graduate Student	Epidemiology	Dr. Shine Chang	Statin Use and Mortality
14	Dudith	Pierre-Victor	Florida International University	R25E GRA	Doctoral Student	Health Disparities Research	Dr. Lorna McNeill	A Faith-Based Partnership to Address Obesity in African American Families
15	Michael	Robertson	The University of Texas School of Public Health	R25E GRA	Graduate Student	Behavioral Science	Dr. Karen Basen-Engquist	Formative Research for the Development of a Mobile application (App) to Promote Physical Activity in Cancer Survivors
16	Siddhartha	Roy	Georgia Southern	R25E GRA	Doctoral Student	Health Disparities Research	Dr. Larkin Strong	Project FITT (Fitness Tracking Together)
17	Adeel	Sajid	University of Texas at Arlington	R25E College Student	Undergraduate Senior	Cancer Systems Imaging	Dr. Pratip Bhattacharya	Hyperpolarized Catheters for Enhanced MRI-Guided Cancer Screening
18	Meghan	Strom	University of Arizona	R25E GRA	Graduate Student	Behavioral Science	Dr. Karen Basen-Engquist	HEALTH4 FAMILIES / HEALTH4 MDANDERSON (Pilot Tests to Optimize the Delivery of Energy Balance Interventions)”
19	Ashley	Ugarte	Rice University	R25E College Student	Undergraduate Senior	General Oncology	Dr. Peiying Yang and Robin Haddad, M.P.H. Department of General Oncology	Organically vs. Conventionally Grown Kale and Collard Greens: Effects of Agricultural Practices, Storage Methods and Food Miles on Phenolic Content, Antioxidant Activity and Overall Chemopreventative Abilities
20	Sid	Venkataraman	University of Texas at Austin	R25E Med. Student	Medical School Student	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Dr. Abenaa Brewster	Sedentary Behavior, Physical Activity, and the Association with Proliferative Breast Lesions

2014 - CPRTP Summer Research Experience

#	First Name	Last Name	MD Anderson Classification Title	Current Institution	Primary Mentor	Home Department	Project Title
1	Chelsea	Anderson	GRA	Yale University	Dr. Wong-Ho Chow	Epidemiology	Acculturation and breast cancer risk among Latinas in the Mexican American Cohort
2	Emilyn	Banfield	GRA	UTSPH	Dr. Shine Chang	Epidemiology	Effects of modifiable risk factors and lifestyle patterns on health and mortality
3	Winston	Chan	GRA	UTSPH	Dr. Hui Zhao	Health Services Research	The risk prediction model for second primary malignancy in Head and neck cancer patients
4	Treena	Chatterjee	College Student	Columbia University	Dr. Kimberly Schluns	Immunology	Regulating homeostasis of antigen-specific CD8 T cells
5	Alice	Djotsa Nono	GRA	UTSPH	Dr. Bo Peng	Bioinformatics & Computational Biology	Identification of structural variants that might predispose members of a large family to multiple cancers
6	Samantha	Holt	College Student	University of Illinois - Urbana	Dr. Samir Hanash	Clinical Cancer Prevention	A Mouse Model of Lung Cancer Chemoprevention
7	Diana	Kirov	College Student	UT - Dallas	Dr. Wendy Woodward	Radiation Oncology	Polarized normal cells promote radiation resistance of inflammatory breast cancer
8	Hillary	Lapham	GRA	UTSPH	Dr. Ellen Gritz	Behavioral Science	Behavioral and Cultural Determinants of Betel Quid Chewing and Withdrawal in Taiwan
9	Adam	Lyon	GRA	University of Arizona	Dr. Powel Brown	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Identification of Novel Targets for the Treatment and Prevention of “Triple-negative” Breast Cancer
10	Natasha	Mitra	College Student	Tufts University	Dr. Alexander Prokhorov	Behavioral Science	Evaluating adolescents’ emotional reaction to a smoking prevention interactive program
11	Andrew	Nguyen	Research Medical Student	Indiana University - School of Medicine	Dr. Samir Hanash	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Genomic and proteomic profiling of LKB1-mutant non-small cell lung cancer
12	Alexandra	Palmer	GRA	Texas A & M Rural Public Health	Dr. Bob Volk	General Internal Medicine - Research	Promoting Informed Decisions about Lung Cancer Screening
13	Katrina	Polivka	GRA	UTSPH	Dr. Susan Peterson	Behavioral Science	Cancer Prevention Behaviors in Individuals and Families with Hereditary Cancers
14	Jornae	Rideaux	GRA	University of Illinois - Chicago	Dr. Lorna McNeill	Health Disparities Research	Faith-based interventions to address cancer disparities among African Americans in Houston
15	Pragna	Shetty	College Student	Wake Forest University	Dr. Lorna McNeill	Health Disparities Research	Social contextual influences on physical activity among sedentary minority adults
16	Marcos	Valdez	College Student	UT - Austin	Dr. Eduardo Vilar-Sanchez	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Blood miR-21 levels as a biomarker of premalignant intestinal polyps in a polyposis mouse model
17	David	Wang	College Student	Rice University	Dr. Qiang Shen	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Role of the HIPK family kinases in breast cancer progression

2013 - CPRTP Summer Research Experience

#	First	Last	CPRTP Classification	Mentor(s)	Mentor Dept.	Institution	Fall Academic Designation 2013	Project Title
1	Charles	Adelmann	R25E College Student	Dr. Kenneth Tsai	Immunology	Rice University	Undergraduate Junior	Discovering Novel Genetic And Epigenetic Biomarkers Of UV Risk
2	Corbin	Ester	College Student	Dr. Qiang Shen	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Appalachian State University	Undergraduate Junior	Targeting STAT3 Signaling Pathway for Cancer Prevention
3	Thomas	Lowrey	College Student	Dr. Jason Robinson	Behavioral Science	University of North Carolina	Undergraduate Senior	The Treatment Of Alcohol-Dependent Smokers
4	Robiel	Abraha	R25E GRA	Dr. Lorna McNeill	Health Disparities Research	Rollins SPH, Emory University	Graduate	Challenges With Minority Recruitment In A Physical Activity Trial
5	Fatimata	Ba	GRA	Dr. Susan Peterson	Behavioral Science	Texas A&M University - College Station	Graduate	Health Information Needs and Technology Use Among Cancer Survivors
6	Laura	Mena	R25E GRA	Dr. Karen Basen-Engquist	Behavioral Science	University of Texas - El Paso	Graduate	Exercise In Hispanic Breast Cancer Survivors
7	Sarah	Rush	GRA	Drs. Ellen Gritz & Irene Tami-Maury	Behavioral Science	University of Alabama	Graduate	Acculturation And Its Association With Tobacco Use In The Mexican-American Cohort (MAC)
8	Scott	Nimmons	Medical Student	Dr. Abenaa Brewster	Clinical Cancer Prevention	Texas A & M, HSC, College of Medicine	Medical Student - 2nd Year	Epidemiological Characteristics Of A High Risk Breast Cohort

1992-2012: CPRTP Short-Term Alumni

CPRTP Short-Term Undergraduate, Graduate and Health Professional Students from 1992 to 2012.

Request an Appointment

Summer Alumni

2016 - CPRTP Summer Research Experience

2015 - CPRTP Summer Research Experience

2014 - CPRTP Summer Research Experience

2013 - CPRTP Summer Research Experience

1992-2012: CPRTP Short-Term Alumni

Our Labs

Conferences

Subscribe