Career Enhancement Program
Career Enhancement Program
Director: Jennifer Wargo, M.D., M.M.Sc; Co-Director: Stephanie Watowich, Ph.D.
Based on our experience in developing the careers of melanoma investigators, our Career Enhancement Program continues to aggressively recruit junior as well as established faculty members for a melanoma career focus with special emphasis on the inclusion of qualified minorities and women, to become leaders in melanoma research. We will provide at least one year of career and research mentorship (clinical- and/or laboratory-based, as appropriate for that person). Individualized career enhancement plans may include didactic courses, melanoma seminars and rounds, grant-writing and protocol development, attendance at national melanoma and/or cancer meetings, and completing and publishing a translational melanoma cancer research project. We will monitor the success of our awardees and provide long-term mentorship support and advocacy even after the funding for the specific Career Enhancement Program funding ends.
Solicitations for applications are published each spring; contact Paula Orban for details.
Past Awardees
2021
Jennifer L. McQuade, M.D., M.S., M.A., Assistant Professor, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology
“A novel human-to-mouse fecal microbiota transplant model to examine the effect of diet-induced changes in the microbiota of anti-tumor immunity”
2020
Tracy Liu, Ph.D., Instructor, Department of Cancer Systems Imaging
“PET imaging of the innate immune system predicts immune checkpoint therapy response”
Sherise Ferguson, Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery
"Expanded Aims of original CEP project titled "Preclinical Modeling of Melanoma Leptomeningeal Disease (LMD) and Intrathecal Checkpoint Inhibitor Immunotherapy"
Devarati Mitra, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology
“Adjuvant radiation therapy for sentinel node positive melanoma”
Florian Muller, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Cancer Systems Imaging
“Targeting Immuno-therapy Resistant PTEN-deleted Tumors by Collateral Lethality”
2019
Sherise Ferguson, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery
"Preclinical Modeling of Melanoma Leptomeningeal Disease (LMD) and Intrathecal Checkpoint Inhibitor Immunotherapy"