Maximizing the Impact of Cancer Research Through Mentorship
The team of third-year doctoral student Dakota Reinartz, Justin E. Wilson, PhD, and Julie E. Bauman, MD, MPH, is investigating the link between inflammation and cancer.
As part of the Integrative Cancer Scholars training program (ICS), the University of Arizona Cancer Center pairs future translational scientists with mentors who teach them how to bridge the bench and the bedside to maximize the impact and significance of cancer research.
Specifically, ICS scholars choose one basic science mentor and one clinical science mentor from among nationally competitive basic scientists and physician-scientists.
During their training in the lab, mentees acquire new targeted skills under the guidance of nationally recognized basic scientists and physician-scientists, including Anne E. Cress, PhD, a University of Arizona Cancer Center member and senior associate dean for academic faculty and basic science research at the College of Medicine – Tucson.
Three of the six selected scholars were photographed at the UArizona Cancer Center while conducting original research under the guidance of their chosen mentor-pair. The teams featured include:
- Doctoral student Corbin Jensen and mentors Andrew Kraft, MD, director emeritus and professor of medicine, and Noel Warfel, PhD, assistant professor of cellular and molecular medicine at the College of Medicine – Tucson. Jensen is in the cancer biology program, with a project focus of PIM kinases in hypoxia-induced prostate cancer invasion.
- Doctoral student Dakota Reinartz is partnered with mentors Julie Bauman, MD, MPH, deputy director of the UArizona Cancer Center, and Justin Wilson, PhD, assistant professor of immunobiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson and member of the BIO5 Institute. Reinartz is in the immunobiology program, focusing on immune system regulation of inflammation in head-and-neck squamous cell carcinomas.
- Doctoral student Shekha Tahsin is paired with mentors Benjamin Lee, MD, interim department chair of urology, and Cindy Miranti, PhD, professor of cellular and molecular medicine at the College of Medicine – Tucson and member of BIO5. Tahsin is in the cancer biology program, focusing on loss of stromal androgen receptor regulation in prostate cancer.
Doctoral student Corbin Jensen (right), alongside Noel Warfel, PhD, takes his research under the microscope.
Doctoral student Dakota Reinartz and Justin E. Wilson, PhD, are on a quest to understand how inflammation plays a role in the development and spread of certain head-and-neck cancers.
The ICS program helps fund doctoral students like Dakota Reinartz during their year of participation. The experience and training they receive during the program position them to write and apply for their own grants to secure future funding.
Along with mentors Cindy K. Miranti, PhD and Benjamin R. Lee, MD, doctoral student Shekha Tahsin is conducting research that may be a used for prostate cancer treatment and diagnosis.
The ICS paired-mentor teams work with scholars to maximize the impact and significance of cancer research.
Anne E. Cress, PhD, is one of 11 founding faculty members of the UArizona Cancer Center, which has maintained an active NCI training grant, known as a T32, since 1978. The current grant is funding the ICS program.
The ICS program also sparks collaborations between researchers, such as Drs. Bauman and Wilson, to drive translational research that can improve patient care.
Doctoral student Corbin Jensen (right) alongside mentors Drs. Noel Warfel and Andrew Kraft. Each scholar is expected to conduct original research under the guidance of their chosen mentor-pair, and to participate in clinical cases with their chosen physician mentor.
Progress of each trainee is ensured through compulsory committee meetings and annual evaluations by the mentor-pair.
Dr. Cress describes the scholars as “the engine that drives the research.” Once they complete the program, they have a foundation for putting together their own research programs.
Doctoral student Corbin Jensen (right), photographed with Dr. Noel Warfel, is one of six selected scholars who will participate in career development and national networking opportunities.