Debbie's Dream Foundation and MSK Gastroesophageal Cancer Therapeutics Accelerator Jointly Name Inaugural Early Career Investigator in Gastroesophageal Cancer Research

Dr. Jessica Posada to Join Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center This August, Training with Dr. Yelena Janjigian as Part of the Accelerator Program

NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) and the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Gastroesophageal Cancer Therapeutics Accelerator are proud to announce that Dr. Jessica Posada has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Debbie's Dream Early Career Investigator in Gastroesophageal Cancer Translational Research Award.

This prestigious training position, awarded through a competitive national selection process led by Dr. Yelena Janjigian, was established to cultivate the next generation of physician-scientists focused on translational research in gastroesophageal cancer. Dr. Posada will join MSK this August as a postdoctoral trainee embedded in the Janjigian Lab and the broader Gastroesophageal Cancer Therapeutics Accelerator, a multidisciplinary initiative designed to accelerate biomarker-driven clinical research and therapeutic innovation. Dr. Posada will work closely with a team of oncologists, pathologists, and translational scientists on projects integrating tissue- and blood-based biomarkers with preclinical models to advance new treatment strategies for patients with gastroesophageal cancer.

Dr. Posada brings a strong foundation in molecular biology and clinical pathology to this role. She earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Cell and Molecular Biology from San Francisco State University, received her MD from the University of Colorado Denver, and completed an Anatomic Pathology Residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, followed by a Surgical Pathology Fellowship at Rhode Island Hospital, part of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is currently a Postdoctoral Associate in the Laboratory of Systems Cancer Biology at Rockefeller University.

Her appointment represents a shared commitment by MSK and Debbie's Dream Foundation to foster early-career translational researchers and to advance innovative science in gastroesophageal cancer.

To learn more about Debbie's Dream Foundation, visit www.debbiesdream.org.

About Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer
DDF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about gastric cancer, advancing research funding, and providing international education and support to patients, families, and caregivers. DDF's ultimate goal is to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality.

DDF was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with stage IV incurable gastric cancer in 2008 and given only weeks to live. Debbie is considered a pioneer by many for bringing awareness to the plight of stomach cancer patients worldwide, as well as to the lack of federal funding for stomach cancer research. She did all of this while receiving hundreds of rounds of chemo and daily oral treatments. Debbie passed away on December 23, 2017, at 50, almost a decade later. As a result of her leadership, DDF now has a Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of world-renowned doctors and chapters throughout Canada and Germany. DDF strives to continue Debbie's mission to make her dream a reality. To learn more, visit www.DebbiesDream.org.

Media Contact:
Brittnay Starks, Communications Director
Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer
(954) 475-1200
[email protected] 
www.DebbiesDream.org

SOURCE Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer