Richard Bennett, Ph.D., a research associate professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the UF College of Medicine, has received a prestigious five-year, $850,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to support research investigating epigenetic mechanisms of cancer.
Bennett received the competitive R50 Research Specialist Award, designed to encourage stable research career opportunities for exceptional scientists pursuing research in the context of an existing NCI-funded cancer research program. The awards go to researchers who are vital to sustaining the biomedical research enterprise.
Since 2016, Bennett has supervised teams of researchers and performed key experiments for the NCI-funded research program of UF Health Cancer Center Director Jonathan Licht, M.D., studying how epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in cancer. By identifying epigenetic dependencies and pathways involved in tumor progression and spread, research in the Licht lab aims to improve targeted therapies and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
The award will allow Bennett to continue making valuable contributions to cancer research through Licht’s NCI-funded grants, which are investigating epigenetic mechanisms in uveal melanoma, melanoma, blood cancers, and other malignancies.
The funding will propel Bennett to pioneer new directions for research projects by applying cutting-edge technologies. A member of the center’s Mechanisms of Oncogenesis research program, Bennett is an expert in numerous epigenomics techniques essential for the success of the lab’s research, such as biochemical assays, gene expression analysis, chromatin profiling, and CRISPR screens.
The award will also foster collaborations with other NCI-funded investigators, ensuring multidisciplinary research is sustained and impactful.
A Passion for Discovery
Researcher Spotlight: Richard Bennett, Ph.D.
Richard Bennett, Ph.D., was recently featured in a UF Health Cancer Center member profile, where he shares more details on his current research, what inspired him to pursue this career, why he decided to focus on cancer, and more.
