The first cohort of pre-and postdoctoral trainees joined the TICaRT Program in August 2021. They spent two years in the program, working as teams on joint projects.
Team Project: Identification of miRNA-Associated Therapeutic Targets in Colorectal Cancer Through Cutting-Edge Biochemical and Bioinformatics Methods
Nicholas Hiers, Predoctoral Fellow
Mentor: Mingyi Xie, Ph.D., Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dissertation Project: Determination of the target RNA-directed miRNA degradation interactome in colorectal cancer tissue
Daniel Stribling, Predoctoral Fellow
Mentor: Rolf Renne, Ph.D., Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Dissertation Project: Elucidating the Role of Oncogenic Viral miRNAs in Kaposi’s Sarcoma via Development of Novel Computational Methods
Team Project: Discovery and Development of Novel Cancer Therapies
Peter Dib, Predoctoral Fellow
Mentor: Maria Zajac-Kaye, Ph.D., Anatomy & Cell Biology
Dissertation Project: Thymidylate in Cancer Development and Therapeutics
Derek Leas, Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor: Robert Huigens, Ph.D., Medicinal Chemistry
Research Project: Cleavage of Indole Alkaloids to Discover New Anticancer Agents
Team Project: The Role of the Human Gut Microbiome in Combinatorial Cancer Therapy Response in Pansolid Tumors
Rachel Newsome, Predoctoral Fellow
Mentor: Christian Jobin, Ph.D., Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
Dissertation Project: The role of the human gut microbiome in cancer immunotherapy response
Bayli DiVita-Dean, Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor: Catherine Flores, Ph.D., Neurosurgery
Research Project: The impact of solid tumors on hematopoietic stem cells
Team Project: Tailoring Virtual Human Voice and Character Customization as a Part of a Telehealth Intervention to Promote Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Black Adults
Andrew Maxim, Predoctoral Fellow
Mentor: Benjamin Lok, Ph.D., Computer Science
Dissertation Project: Modeling Dynamic Virtual Human Interventions – Leveraging Computer – Generated Voices.
Eric Cooks, Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor: Janice Krieger, Ph.D., Advertising
Research Project: Choices for character customization as part of a telehealth intervention to increase colorectal cancer screening among racial minorities.
Publications
- Cooks EJ, Duke KA, Neil JM, Vilaro MJ, Wilson-Howard D, Modave F, George TJ, Odedina FT, Lok BC, Carek P, Laber EB, Davidian M, Krieger JL. Telehealth and racial disparities in colorectal cancer screening: A pilot study of how virtual clinician characteristics influence screening intentions. J Clin Transl Sci. 2022 Apr 8;6(1):e48. doi: 10.1017/cts.2022.386. PMID: 35619640; PMCID: PMC9108377.
- Cooks EJ, Duke KA, Flood-Grady E, Vilaro MJ, Ghosh R, Parker N, Te P, George TJ, Lok BC, Williams M, Carek P, Krieger JL. Can virtual human clinicians help close the gap in colorectal cancer screening for rural adults in the United States? The influence of rural identity on perceptions of virtual human clinicians. Prev Med Rep. 2022 Oct 28;30:102034. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.102034. PMID: 36531088; PMCID: PMC9747643.
- Cooks EJ, Vilaro MJ, Dyal BW, Wang S, Mertens G, Raisa A, Kim B, Campbell-Salome G, Wilkie DJ, Odedina F, Johnson-Mallard V, Yao Y, Krieger JL. What did the pandemic teach us about effective health communication? Unpacking the COVID-19 infodemic. BMC Public Health. 2022 Dec 13;22(1):2339. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14707-3. PMID: 36514047; PMCID: PMC9747260.
- Sebastian M, Dean BD, Flores CT. Immunotherapy against Gliomas. In (Ed.), Brain Tumors. IntechOpen. Link, 2021.
- DiVita Dean B, Wildes T, Dean J, Yegorov O, Yang C, Shin D, Francis C, Figg JW, Sebastian M, Font LF, Jin D, Reid A, Moore G, Fernandez B, Wummer B, Kuizon C, Mitchell D, Flores CT. Immunotherapy reverses glioma-driven dysfunction of immune system homeostasis. J Immunother Cancer. 2023 Feb;11(2):e004805. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2022-004805. PMID: 36750252; PMCID: PMC9906384.
- Newsome RC, Yang Y, Jobin C. The microbiome, gastrointestinal cancer, and immunotherapy. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022 Feb;37(2):263-272. doi: 10.1111/jgh.15742. Epub 2021 Dec 3. PMID: 34820895.
- Newsome RC, Gharaibeh RZ, Pierce CM, da Silva WV, Paul S, Hogue SR, Yu Q, Antonia S, Conejo-Garcia JR, Robinson LA, Jobin C. Interaction of bacterial genera associated with therapeutic response to immune checkpoint PD-1 blockade in a United States cohort. Genome Med. 2022 Mar 29;14(1):35. doi: 10.1186/s13073-022-01037-7. PMID: 35346337; PMCID: PMC8961902.
- Newsome R, Jobin C. Finding clues in unexpected places: detection of pancreatic cancer through the faecal microbiome. Gut. 2022 Jul;71(7):1247-1248. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2021-326710. Epub 2022 Mar 8. PMID: 35260443; PMCID: PMC9177648.
- Newsome R, Yang Y, Jobin C. Western diet influences on microbiome and carcinogenesis. Semin Immunol. 2023 May;67:101756. doi: 10.1016/j.smim.2023.101756. Epub 2023 Apr 3. PMID: 37018910.
- Li L, Sheng P, Li T, Fields CJ, Hiers NM, Wang Y, Li J, Guardia CM, Licht JD, Xie M. Widespread microRNA degradation elements in target mRNAs can assist the encoded proteins. Genes Dev. 2021 Dec 1;35(23-24):1595-1609. doi: 10.1101/gad.348874.121. Epub 2021 Nov 24. PMID: 34819352; PMCID: PMC8653786.
- Sheng P, Li L, Li T, Wang Y, Hiers NM, Mejia JS, Sanchez JS, Zhou L, Xie M. Screening of Drosophila microRNA-degradation sequences reveals Argonaute1 mRNA’s role in regulating miR-999. Nat Commun. 2023 Apr 13;14(1):2108. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37819-9. PMID: 37055443; PMCID: PMC10102002.
- Fields CJ, Li L, Hiers NM, Li T, Sheng P, Huda T, Shan J, Gay L, Gu T, Bian J, Kilberg MS, Renne R, Xie M. Sequencing of Argonaute-bound microRNA/mRNA hybrids reveals regulation of the unfolded protein response by microRNA-320a. PLoS Genet. 2021 Dec 16;17(12):e1009934. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009934. PMID: 34914716; PMCID: PMC8675727.
