Wayne State University School of Medicine student Najibah Rehman of Detroit was awarded the 2012 Carolyn Kuckein Student Research Fellowship by the national office of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.
The scholarship will provide Rehman, 29, with $5,000 to study bi-specific antibody targets for acute myeloid leukemia. Rehman said targets have shown preliminary success in tumor markers associated with other cancers responsive to immunotherapy.
The AOA limits the fellowship to one per participating medical school, and only 50 are awarded annually.
Rehman will begin work on the one-year project this fall under the direction of Abhinav Deol, M.D., WSU assistant professor of Oncology and a member of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute's Bone Marrow Transplant Team.
"I will be working on it primarily during my elective rotation and throughout the year during my other rotations," she said.
The lab she will study in is led by Lawrence Lum, M.D., WSU professor of Oncology and scientific director of the Bone Marrow Transplantation and Immunotherapy Program at KCI.
Dr. Deol's main research interest is the study of innovative ways to harness and redirect the immune system to target malignancies.
"Immunotherapy is a form of targeted therapy directed at specific cancer cell markers, and Dr. Lum has been an innovative leader in this emerging field of cancer therapy," Rehman said. "This project is important because AML treatment has not improved significantly in the past few decades and it provides a more individualized approach to cancer therapeutics.
"As the field of oncology evolves, genetics and environmental influences are showing increasingly significant roles in the pathogenesis of cancer, thereby requiring treatment approaches specific to one's genetic profile, age, race, sex, and in the case of immunotherapy, specific characteristics of tumors that may aid in its proliferation," she added. "With hopeful success of this project, the goal would be to implement a phase one clinical for future AML patients."
Rehman was nominated for the award by Michael White, M.D., assistant professor of Surgery and AOA faculty advisor, and Lisa MacLean, M.D., assistant dean of Student Affairs and Career Development.
"Since entering medical school, Ms. Rehman has performed at the highest level," Dr. MacLean said. "She is a bright, articulate and appropriately self-directing student who is highly respected by both faculty and peers alike."
Rehman has volunteered at Cass Clinic, a free clinic run by medical students, and has been involved in the Hematology/Oncology Peer Education interest program, serving as its president for the 2011-2012 school year. She also served as seminar coordinator for the Internal Medicine Interest Group.
In addition to the $5,000 award, Rehman may use an additional $1,000 for conference travel to present the final research project, titled "Enhanced Cytotoxicity directed at CD33-Expressing Acute leukemia Cell Lines by Activated T Cells (ATC) Armed with Anti-CD3/Anti-CD33 Bispecific Antibodies."
She is working with other students and faculty to introduce a research curriculum at WSU. "This fellowship could not have come at a more perfect time with my initiatives, along with another (second-year) student, to make research a more integral part of the medical school experience at the School of Medicine," she said. "I believe the exposure to scientific investigation is important for anyone entering the medical field. Regardless of one's interest to pursue an academic career in medicine, research promotes critical thinking skills that are crucial to the day-to-day requirements necessary for the diagnosis of diseases."
Rehman holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University, and completed a master's of Public Health degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health in Baltimore.