Career Enhancement Program
Director: Andrew Futreal, Ph.D.
The Career Enhancement Program (CEP) is designed to provide the necessary resources and support to encourage talented early career investigators to develop multidisciplinary skills to pursue and enhance translational sarcoma research careers. Sarcomas are relatively uncommon and encompass a broad group of cancers including bone and connective tissue cancers. By identifying, recruiting and mentoring junior scientists and physician-scientists, we seek to enhance and increase translational research in sarcoma.
Fellows
We were able to distribute the CEP Request for Proposals (RFP) in June 2019 and fund one CEP investigator, Emily Keung, M.D., the first QuadW Willie Tichenor Fellow in Sarcoma (CEP award recipient). Based on her success, the Board of Trustees at QuadW voted to continue supporting sarcoma research career development at MD Anderson by pledging to support additional Willie Tichenor Sarcoma CEP fellows, one per year.
Emily Keung, M.D.
Fellow in Complex Surgical Oncology
Year 1 Awardee, 2019¨C2020
Topic: Evaluating sarcoma immune-based subtyping as predictor of response to neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in patients with resectable soft tissue sarcoma
Fiorela Hernandez Tejada, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics Patient Care
Year 2 Awardee, 2020¨C2021?
Topic: Targeting Neoantigens in Pediatric Sarcoma
Elise F. Nassif Haddad, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sarcoma Medical Oncology
Year 4&5 Awardee, 2022¨C2024?
Topic:?Improving Immunotherapy Efficacy in Soft-Tissue Sarcomas with B-Cell Receptors
Wen Jiang, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, Division of Radiation Oncology
Year 6 Awardee, 2024¨C2025
Topic: Targeting the Untargetable: Restoration of p53 using mRNA-therapeutic for Soft-Tissue Sarcoma
Cristopher Alvarez-Breckenridge, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Division of Surgery
Year 7 Awardee, 2025¨C2026
Topic: Leveraging oncolytic adenoviral therapy as an immunotherapeutic strategy for chordoma