MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER named eight young researchers Andrew Sabin Family Fellows at an event honoring their benefactor, Andrew Sabin, and representatives of the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation. Eight cancer research fellowships providing $100,000 over two years are to be awarded annually in four categories: basic science, clinical, physician-scientist and population and quantitative science.
Ken Chen, assistant professor of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology: Chen is involved in analyzing The Cancer Genome Atlas and the 1000 Genomes project data and has helped develop novel methods for precise characterization of heterogeneous cancer genomes and precision oncology.
David Hui, assistant professor of Palliative, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine and General Oncology: Hui focuses on cancer-related dyspnea and is involved in clinical trials examining interventions such as rapid onset opioids, corticosteroids and oxygen delivery modalities.
Nicholas Navin, assistant professor of Genetics and Bioinformatics: Navin aims to use single cell sequencing technologies to investigate tumor evolution in breast cancer patients and understand how they evolve resistance to chemotherapy.
Katharina Schlacher, assistant professor of Cancer Biology: Schlacher studies DNA replication fork protection at in-depth molecular and biological levels to provide biological insights and the framework to develop disease understanding, enabling prevention and treatment strategies.
Ferdinandos Skoulidis, assistant professor of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology: Skoulidis’ research is building on his discovery of co-mutation-defined subsets of KRAS-mutant lung cancer, with a focus on identifying predictive biomarkers of response or resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Benjamin Smith, associate professor of Radiation Oncology and Health Services Research: Smith’s research includes population-based survey studies of a statewide cohort of older breast cancer survivors and population-based research using registry and claims data.
Cullen Taniguchi, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology: Taniguchi studies hypoxia to find therapies that protect normal tissue from chemotherapy and radiation damage without compromising tumor kill.
Shannon Westin, assistant professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine: Westin’s research focuses on the use of novel agents to treat gynecologic malignancies and the use of biomarkers to predict response and resistance to these therapies. She is the director of phase I trials in the Gynecologic Center.
Sabin has served on the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors since 2005 and is president of Sabin Metal Corporation, the largest privately owned precious metals refiner and recycler in the country.
