Andrew Sabin Family Fellows to receive $100,000 in research funding
Awardees meet benefactor, share passion for MD Anderson's mission to end cancer
May 08, 2017, 17:22 ET
HOUSTON, May 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has named eight researchers to the second annual class of Andrew Sabin Family Fellows. The Andrew Sabin Family Fellowship Program provides $100,000 in funding per fellow over two years through a $30 million endowed gift by the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation to encourage research creativity, independent thinking and high-impact cancer research.
"It's been exciting to observe the inaugural eight fellows as their research has progressed during the first year of the Andrew Sabin Family Fellowship Program, and we're equally impressed with the 2017 class," said Andrew Sabin, of East Hampton, New York, and a member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors since 2005. "The program now nurtures 16 brilliant minds focused on finding an end to this terrible disease. My family looks forward to seeing their impact grow exponentially over the coming year. We're proud to know our gift already is making a difference for people suffering from cancer."
The 2017 awardees are:
- Margarida Albuquerque Almeida Santos, Ph.D., assistant professor, Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis
- Swathi Arur, Ph.D., associate professor, Genetics
- Boyi Gan, Ph.D., assistant professor, Experimental Radiation Oncology
- Clifton Fuller, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, Radiation Oncology
- Chad Huff, Ph.D., assistant professor, Epidemiology
- Eugene Koay, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, Radiation Oncology
- Andrew Rhim, M.D., assistant professor, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
- Jennifer Wargo, M.D., MMSc, associate professor, Surgical Oncology and Genomic Medicine
The Andrew Sabin Family Fellowship program awards up to eight cancer research fellowships annually to support research that pushes the envelope in four categories: basic science, clinical, physician-scientist and population and quantitative science. The generous funding over two years frees young researchers to pursue potentially practice-changing science rather than spend the bulk of their time writing grants.
"The Andrew Sabin Family Foundation is nurturing outstanding young researchers' intellectual curiosity, accelerating progress in the fight against cancer and helping advance nontraditional research with lifesaving potential," said Ethan Dmitrovsky, M.D., executive vice president and provost. "Thanks to Andy Sabin and his family, these scientists are Making Cancer History."
About MD Anderson
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The institution's sole mission is to end cancer for patients and their families around the world. MD Anderson is one of only 47 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). MD Anderson is ranked No.1 for cancer care in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals" survey. It has ranked as one of the nation's top two hospitals since the survey began in 1990, and has ranked first for nine of the past 10 years. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).
SOURCE The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center