2025 Predoctoral Awardees

Explore the UF Health Cancer Institute’s 2025 Predoctoral Award recipients, highlighting the students selected for their promising cancer research including their mentor and dissertation title.

Karl Ensberg, B.S.

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

Headshot of Karl Ensberg, wearing a white collared shirt and posed in front of a soft gray studio backdrop

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”

“Headshot of Yilin Jia, wearing a black T‑shirt with a rectangular graphic design on the front, standing indoors with large windows and soft greenery visible in the background.

Alessandro Leo, B.S.

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

Headshot of Alessandro Leo, wearing a light blue collared shirt and posed in front of a soft gray studio backdrop.

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”

Headshot of Caitland Love, wearing a light blazer over a dark top, posed in front of a textured gray studio backdrop.

Kyle Scheller, B.S.

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

Kyle Scheller
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