Research Showcase accelerates cancer research collaborations

The UF Health Cancer Institute’s annual Research Showcase on Jan. 29 at the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom drew nearly 150 abstracts from cancer research trainees across the University of Florida. The event provided an outstanding opportunity to celebrate trainees’ work, recognize their mentors and stimulate new collaborations to advance cancer research.

Collaborative research spanned all four of the institute’s research programs, with trainees representing nine UF colleges. Research ranged from precision medicine approaches to personalize leukemia treatment, to mathematical modeling to optimize therapy schedules in ovarian cancer. Researchers are looking at how the gut microbiota influences colorectal cancer progression influenced by chronic sleep deprivation, while others are exploring how novel RNA lipid nanoparticle therapies activate an immune response against cancer.

Population science researchers are studying all facets of cancer prevention and screening, with topics including financial toxicity, smoking cessation interventions, the impact of frailty, palliative care approaches and more.

“New collaborations lead to new ideas, new publications, new funding — and, most importantly, new discoveries that advance the scientific field, lessen the burden of cancer and improve the outcomes for the patients we serve,” said Thomas George, M.D., FACP, FASCO, the institute’s interim director. “We prioritize the translation of these innovative discoveries into the clinic to benefit of our patients, and, importantly, those who we work toward never having to be our patients.”

Sandra Swain, M.D., FACP, FASCO, a professor of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center and a nationally renowned breast cancer researcher, gave the keynote address, titled “Treatment of Premenopausal Breast Cancer with Ovarian Suppression.”

Of the 146 trainee posters, 36 were from precollegiate, undergraduate and postbaccalaureate trainees; 87 were graduate and predoctoral; and 23 were postdoctoral, residents and clinical fellows. In addition, there were 18 posters from UF Health Cancer Institute Shared Resources, cores and programs.

The showcase allowed trainees to discuss ideas for future collaborations with their peers. It gave student researchers a chance to practice pitching their work live to judges from different disciplines, helping them tailor their message, sharpen their communication skills and make their science accessible beyond their own field. Fifty UF faculty members served as poster judges. There were also eight lay judges, including Community Advisory Board members, Community Scientists and a member of the Ocala Royal Dames for Cancer Research.

“It’s great public speaking practice and the judges always give meaningful feedback,” said Caitlyn Hodges, a graduate student who conducts research in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the UF College of Medicine with Jeffrey Harrison, Ph.D. “It’s a good opportunity to practice breaking down research into simpler terms that everybody understands, which is a main challenge in scientific communication.”

“It’s great public speaking practice and the judges always give meaningful feedback.” — Caitlyn Hodges, poster presenter

Hodges joined Harrison’s lab as an undergraduate and hopes to pursue an M.D.-Ph.D. Her research investigates the role of tumor cell cilia loss in high-grade glioma. When her team knocked out cilia-associated proteins in cells, they observed an increase in survival, which they’re trying to understand from an immune perspective.

“Glioblastoma is a very aggressive cancer and there’s been a lot of advances with immunotherapy for other cancers, but it’s failed in glioblastoma,” Hodges said. “It’s a big gap in knowledge and there’s a lot of work to do. I would love to put everything together to make a meaningful connection in the field. If this leads to finding a therapeutic target that we could combine with standard of care, that would be great. I think that’s always the goal of basic science research, to translate our work to the clinic.”

Zsolt Toth, Ph.D., a faculty judge and associate professor in the UF College of Dentistry, said he was impressed by how much research the trainees had done independently.

“I was really impressed that there were so many early-stage investigators,” Toth said. “Everyone was very well-prepared and engaging.”

Julia Carey, a doctoral student in the UF College of Medicine who’s researching molecular changes in cells, said the showcase was a meaningful glimpse into different disciplines.

“I think one of the biggest takeaways from this symposium has been being able to talk to judges from different departments and being able to work with tailoring your talk to the audience you’re talking to,” she said.

The showcase included the UF Health Cancer Institute’s novel Career Explorations Program for promising undergraduate students from across the country. The program provided an opportunity for 41 accomplished students from 25 universities to get a firsthand look at UF cancer research and learn from UF students and faculty about training pathways and career options.

Predoctoral Awards fund innovative projects

Through its Predoctoral Awards, the Cancer Institute recognizes and supports standout UF predoctoral candidates who are conducting innovative cancer research. This year, five trainees were selected from an exceptionally talented pool of applications. The awardees, who receive a $10,000 award, gave three-minute presentations at the showcase.

Since the program began, 46 trainees have received the award, representing an investment of nearly $500,000 in the next generation of cancer researchers. This year, the Ocala Royal Dames for Cancer Research sponsored the Predoctoral Awards.

“This award not only reassures me that my hard work over the past few years has been meaningful, but it also motivates me to continue pursuing impactful discoveries in the fields of condensate biology and cancer biology,” said awardee Scheller, a graduate student in the Cancer Biology Concentration who works in the lab of Lizi Wu, Ph.D.

“This award not only reassures me that my hard work over the past few years has been meaningful, but it also motivates me to continue pursuing impactful discoveries in the fields of condensate biology and cancer biology.” — Kyle Scheller, Predoctoral Awardee

The award will allow him to perform additional experiments that will strengthen the foundation of his project and broaden his technical expertise. It will also support his attendance at scientific conferences, where he can share his work, learn from others and build collaborations within the research community.

Scheller is studying a fusion protein called CRTC1-MAML2 that causes mucoepidermoid carcinoma, or MEC, the most common salivary gland cancer. His lab discovered that this protein forms liquid-like clumps in the nucleus, similar to how oil and vinegar separate in a salad dressing. These clumps, or condensates, can then permanently switch on the expression of cancer-promoting genes.

“By understanding how these condensates form and function, we hope to uncover new therapeutic strategies to disrupt them and suppress MEC,” Scheller said.

Yilin Jia, a graduate student in the lab of Matthew Disney, Ph.D., at The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology and another 2025 awardee, studies how the shapes of RNA influence cancer and how we can target those shapes with small molecules for cancer intervention.

By mapping the structure of a cancer-driving long non-coding RNA, she aims to identify “druggable” regions and develop chemical tools to disable or degrade the RNA, with the long-term goal of opening new RNA-based therapies for cancer treatment.

“As a graduate student based at UF Scripps, it is especially rewarding to feel connected to the broader UF Health Cancer Institute community and to have our work recognized at the institute level,” she said of receiving a Predoctoral Award. “It motivates me to keep pushing forward on developing new ways to target cancer-driving RNAs and to translate early discoveries into potential therapeutic approaches.”

Please help us congratulate our poster winners and Predoctoral Award recipients, listed below. Special thanks to our faculty and lay poster judges and to everyone who worked hard to make this event a great success.

Poster Winners

Pre-Collegiate, Undergraduate & Postbaccalaureate Student Category

Maryam Imran
Mentor: Maryam Rahman, M.D.
Microgel-chemokine matrix loaded with RNA induces anti-glioma immunity

Lauren Hellwege
Mentor: Richard Bennett, Ph.D.
Targeting the proliferation of GNAQ-mutant uveal melanoma

Niccolo’ Rugger
Mentor: Maryam Rahman, M.D.
Leveraging LITT-induced Immune-Dynamics for Synergistic Cancer Immunotherapy

Graduate & Predoctoral Student Category

Bairu Zhao
Mentor: Jennifer LeLaurin, Ph.D.
Project Title: Adaptations for Sustainability in NCI-Designated Cancer Center Tobacco Treatment Programs: A Qualitative Analysis

Aniela Nozka
Mentor: Carlos Rinaldi-Ramos, Ph.D.
Project title: Magnetic particle imaging guided thermal dosimetry approach for magnetic hyperthermia

Seyedehalaleh Anvar
Mentor: Lina Cui, Ph.D.
Project title: Senescent cancer cells facilitate metastasis by adhesion-mediated clustering and immune modulation

Caitland Love
Mentor: Catherine Flores, Ph.D.
Project title: Hitting the Roots: RGC-Derived Antigens Power Stem-Targeted Immunotherapy in GBM

Maria Hernandez
Mentor: Christian Jobin, Ph.D.
Project title: The gut microbiota influences chronic sleep deprivation-induced CRC progression and treatment response

Postdoctoral Trainee, Resident & Clinical Fellow Category

Grace Thompson, M.D., M.S.
Mentor: Steven Hughes, M.D.
Project title: Machine learning analysis of pancreatic cancer tissue immune markers for prognostic model development

Mu Yu, Ph.D.
Mentor: Lizi Wu, Ph.D.
Project title: Characterize the Growth-Promoting Role of a Novel Secreted Molecule in LKB1-mutated NSCLC

Mahya Aghaee, Ph.D.
Mentor: Helen Moore, Ph.D.
Project title: A novel computational method to discover potential therapeutic targets in melanoma

UF Health Cancer Institute Predoctoral Awardees

Karl Ensberg, B.S.

Mentor: Scott Tibbetts, Ph.D.
Dissertation Title: “Dissecting the molecular heterogeneity and proliferative drivers of MHV68-induced lymphomas”

Yilin Jia, B.S.

Mentor: Matthew Disney, Ph.D.
Dissertation Title: “Streamlined Fragment-Based Discovery Platform for Targeting Structured RNAs and Investigation of Small Molecules Targeting RNA-Protein Complexes”

Alessandro Leo, B.S.

Mentor: Bernadett Papp, Ph.D.
Dissertation Title: “Role of BAP1 in the biphasic life cycle of KSHV”

Caitland Love, B.S.

Mentor: Catherine Flores, Ph.D.
Dissertation Title: “Ontogeny-guided immuno-oncology: leveraging radial glial cells for glioblastoma-directed T cell therapy”

Kyle Scheller, B.S.

Mentor: Lizi Wu, Ph.D.
Dissertation Title: “Roles of CRTC1-MAML2 transcriptional condensates in mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC)”

Thank you to our poster judges!

Thanks to all who attended!