Four UC Davis Health scholars received a Paul Calabresi Career Development Award for Clinical Oncology to conduct research at the cancer center. Intended to increase the number of clinician scientists trained in clinical and translational cancer research, the funding comes from a National Cancer Institute K12 grant.
The career development program began in 1991. It was designated in honor of the late Paul Calabresi, a pioneering oncologist who led the development of cancer drugs. Calabresi was the former chair of the Cancer Advisory Board at the National Cancer Institute.
Scholars are selected by individual cancer centers through a rigorous process. They are expected to develop their own investigator-initiated clinical trial during a training period.
“This is a high-impact program to nurture patient-oriented cancer researchers early in their career to become independent investigators,” said UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center Director Primo “Lucky” Lara Jr. He is the program director and principal investigator for the grant-funded project.
The mentored research training plan will be supervised by two senior, independently funded faculty members (one basic-translational mentor and one clinical mentor). They will guide participating scholars in the development and conduct of their research projects.
| TRAINEE | MENTORS | PROJECT |
| Surbhi Singhal | David Gandara, Jonathan Riess | A novel plasma proteomic biomarker to predict treatment efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors among older adults and patients with refractory non-small cell lung cancer |
| Shiruyeh Schokrpur | Jonathan Riess, Xiao-Jing Wang | Using novel preclinical models of lung squamous cell carcinoma to guide breakthroughs in combination immunotherapies |
| Ebaa Al-Obeidi | Edward J. Kim, Aiming Yu | Signed in blood: Plasma circulating tumor DNA kinetics as an early biomarker of treatment response and disease |
| Siao Yi Wang | Xiao-Jing Wang, Andrew Birkeland | Recurrence improving a cell-based immunotherapeutic model from patient-derived head and neck squamous cell carcinoma through modulation of the tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer |
Selected scholars will receive 75% protected time for research and formal mentored training in clinical cancer research. They will also receive $100,000 per year (for up to three years) to support salary and benefits, and $13,000 per year (for up to three years) for research and travel expenses.
The cancer center uses the program to train junior faculty (basic or translational scientists and clinician scientists) as investigators in team-based, patient-oriented cancer research. Upon successful completion of a three-year, salary-supported core curriculum, scholars receive a UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center Certificate in clinical cancer research.
