The Cancer Biology Graduate Program in the Department of Oncology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute held its 14th annual Graduate Research Symposium on March 7 at the School of Medicine’s Margherio Family Conference Center and the Louis M. Elliman Atrium.
The annual Cancer Biology symposium began when the Cancer Biology Graduate Program found a permanent departmental home in the Department of Oncology in 2010. The principal goal of the symposium is to highlight the accomplishments of the students by giving them opportunities to present their research.
“This event was organized by our graduate students and was designed to highlight the high caliber research of our Ph.D., M.D.-Ph.D. and master of science students in Cancer Biology,” said Program Director and Professor of Oncology Larry Matherly, Ph.D.
Special symposium guests included program alumni John Timothy Caldwell Jr., M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and Anthony Guastella, Ph.D., director of Molecular Science Liaisons for Caris Life Sciences.
“The science presented at this year’s symposium was consistently outstanding. I was delighted that our prospective and incoming graduate students for fall 2025 attended this year’s event to meet our current students,” Dr. Matherly said.
Each year at the Leonard N. Simons Award for Exemplary Research and Scholarly Achievement is presented to a Cancer Biology student who has distinguished him- or herself in scholarship and leadership. This year’s Simons Award was presented to Sahar Bannoura. Bannoura, mentored by Professor of Oncology Asfar Azmi, Ph.D., is a doctoral candidate in her fifth year in the Cancer Biology Graduate Program. She was recently awarded a prestigious F99/K00 Predoctoral-to-Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
The Simons Award was established in the Cancer Biology Graduate Program in 2016. Simons served as the first chair of the board of the Michigan Cancer Foundation (now the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute) and throughout his life was a passionate supporter of Detroit’s efforts in the fight against cancer. The award pays tribute to Simons and his dedication to excellence in science and education. The Leonard N. Simons Cancer Research Endowment provides funding for the award.
This year’s symposium included six oral presentations and 18 poster presentations from Cancer Biology graduate students. Best presentations were announced at the end of the event.
Oral Presentation
First place: Sahar Bannoura, “RCC1 Regulates Subcellular Protein Localization via Ran GTPase to Drive Growth in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma”
Second place: Mark Gregory, “Dopamine D2 Receptor Pharmacologic Targeting Impacts Immune Checkpoint Blockade Efficacy in Melanoma”
Poster Presentation
First place: Mathew Schneider, “Multitargeting of SHMT2 and Purine Biosynthesis is an Effective Antitumor Treatment Under Hypoxia”
Second place: Jenna Thibodeau, “Loss of CBS Contributes to Elevated OXPHOS, a Vulnerability in Ara-C-Resistant Myeloid Leukemia in Down Syndrome”
Third place: Aaron Lotvola, “c-Myc is Downregulated by ABHD5 in Prostate Cancer Cells (PCa)”
Learn more about the Cancer Biology Graduate Program at cancerbiologyprogram.med.wayne.edu/