T32 AWARDEES
The Cancer Biology Graduate Program is affiliated with the Training Program in Cancer Biology T32 award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). With the help of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, the T32 funds 5 predoctoral students each year.
T32 Appointees for 2023-2024
Daniela Ortiz Chavez
Lab: DeGregori
Research: Interrogating novel mechanisms that support survival in FLT3-mutated AML to facilitate the design of new therapeutic interventions that target, prevent, and/or reverse drug resistance in FLT3-mutated AML
Ellen Bamberg
Lab: Kabos
Research: I am a dedicated researcher focused on investigating the intricate relationship between obesity and breast cancer progression. Through comprehensive analyses of the ECM-modifying protein Galectin-3, my research aims to uncover how it impacts the composition and organization of the extracellular matrix (ECM) as a driver of breast cancer development and progression.
Alana Keller
Lab: Sherbenou
Research: Alana Keller’s research investigates the biomarkers of response to bispecific T cell engaging antibodies in multiple myeloma patients who have relapsed after CAR T cell therapy.
Abe Martinez
Lab: Pearson
Research: I study the molecular mechanisms by which normal and cancer cells assemble numerous centrosomes, which we know can promote chromosomal instability, aneuploidies, invasion, and tumorigenesis.
Lauren Cozzens
Lab: Lyons
Research: My research focuses on understanding how mammary gland involution contributes to post-partum breast cancer (PPBC) tumor initiation; to uncover targetable mechanisms for PPBC prevention and treatment. I am specifically interested in how Semaphorin 7a and hormone signaling promote progenitor-cell survival and maintenance during involution and how these phenotypes can promote PPBC.