Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate Students Receive 2024-2025 Fellowships

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Close up of an MSK researcher's hands and arms handling test tubes in the lab.

This year GSK students again received prestigious fellowships recognizing their achievements.

This past academic year, nine PhD students enrolled at the Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSK) were awarded competitive fellowships from prestigious external agencies such as the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Science Foundation (NSF). Several of our students also received internal fellowships made possible by generous benefactors of the graduate school.

External Fellowships

Ana Rosu

Ana Rosu is a first-year PhD student in the Cancer Engineering program. She was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for her proposal, titled “MRI and MPI-Guided Radiotherapy of Prostate Cancer Using Stem Cell-Mediated Delivery of Albumin-Bismuth-Resovist (ABR) Nanoparticles.”

Kathleen Luckett

Kathleen Luckett is a fourth-year MD/PhD student in the lab of Karuna Ganesh, MD, PhD. Her project, “Dissecting the Functional Consequences of Mutations in ZFP36L2 on Tumor Progression and Inflammation in the Tumor Immune Microenvironment of Colorectal Cancer,” was awarded an NIH F30 Individual Predoctoral Dual Degree Fellows Award.

Lucia Wang

Lucia Wang is a third-year Cancer Biology student in the laboratory of Dirk Remus, PhD. She was awarded the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship for her project, titled “Elucidation of the Mechanism and Regulation of PCNA Unloading by ATAD5-RFC.”

Marimar Benitez De La Vega

Marimar Benitez De La Vega is a Cancer Biology sixth-year student in the laboratory of Andrew Koff, PhD. Her project, “Investigating the Role of ANGPTL4 During Geroconversion and the Inflammatory SASP Program in Tumor Cells,” was awarded the Janssen SODEP Scholar Fellowship.

Thomas McNamara

Thomas McNamara is a sixth-year Cancer Biology student in the laboratory of Andrew Intlekofer, MD, PhD. His project, titled “Investigating the Role of L-2-Hydroxyglutarate in Helper T Cell Differentiation and Function,” was awarded an NIH Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31).

Tiffany Merlinsky

Tiffany Merlinsky is a third-year Cancer Biology MD/PhD student in the laboratory of Santosha Vardhana, MD, PhD. She was awarded the NIH F30 Individual Predoctoral Dual Degree Fellows Award to fund her project, titled “Investigating the Redox-Sensitive E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Pellino-1 as a Driver of T Cell Dysfunction During Severe Lung Infection.”

Won Jun Kim

Won Jun Kim is a fourth-year Cancer Biology MD/PhD student in the laboratory of Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD. He was awarded the NIH F30 Individual Predoctoral Dual Degree Fellows Award to fund his project, titled “Identifying Mis-Splicing-Derived Antigens in Spliceosomal Mutant Myelodysplasia and Targeting Via T Cell Receptor Therapeutics.”

Yan-Ting (Kevin) Chen

Yan-Ting (Kevin) Chen is a fifth-year Cancer Biology student in the laboratory of Santosha Vardhana, MD, PhD. He was awarded the NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00) for his project, titled “Identifying and Targeting Drivers of Impaired Translation in Tumor-Infiltrating CD8+ T Cells.”

Yassmin Elbanna

Yassmin Elbanna is a fourth-year Cancer Biology student in the laboratory of Morgan Huse, PhD. Her project, titled “A Mechanoimmunological Basis for Metastatic Site Preference,” was awarded an NIH Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31).

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Internal Fellowships

In addition to the competitive external fellowships awarded, several students received internal fellowships made possible by generous benefactors to the school.

Grayer Fellowship 

The Grayer Fellowship supports part of the stipends of two GSK students who are entering their third year. This one-year award is given annually to recognize achieved excellence as demonstrated on a student’s thesis proposal examination. The fellowship was established by Jonathan Grayer, former member of MSK’s Board of Overseers and Managers, and Chairman and CEO of Weld North, an investment company. This year’s recipients are:

Geoffrey Beene Graduate Student Fellowship

The Geoffrey Beene Graduate Student Fellowship provides full stipends for one year for students who work in the lab of a Memorial Sloan Kettering faculty member and are conducting research with direct cancer relevance. These fellowships are supported by the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center, which is focused on achieving major advances in controlling cancer and producing better outcomes for cancer patients, with the goal of making cancer a more manageable, and perhaps one day more curable, disease. This year’s recipients are:

Harold Varmus Fellowship

The Harold Varmus Fellowship supports the stipend of two second-year students for two years. Funded scholars also enjoy opportunities to discuss their research and academic and personal goals with Dr. Varmus, who is a Nobel Laureate in Medicine or Physiology and former Director of the National Institutes of Health. He was also instrumental in the creation of GSK during his tenure as President of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) from 2000 to 2010. This year’s recipients are:

Robert B. Catell Fellowship

The Robert B. Catell Fellowship supports the stipend of a GSK student for one year. Established by former Chairman and CEO of KeySpan, Robert B. Catell, the fellowship grew out of his commitment to advancing cancer research. Mr. Catell currently chairs the Advisory Board for the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University and the New York State Smart Grid Consortium. This year’s recipient is:

GSK Palestin Fellowship

The GSK Palestin Fellowship was established in 2006 by the family of Beatrice Palestin to support the stipend of a GSK student for one year. Mrs. Palestin was a New York philanthropist with a longtime interest in cancer research. This year’s recipient is:

GSK Olayan Fellowship

The GSK Olayan Fellowship supports the stipend of a GSK student for one year. It was established by The Olayan Group, a multinational corporation of more than 50 companies and affiliated businesses. The group’s Chair, Ms. Hutham Olayan, serves on MSK’s Boards of Overseers and Managers. This year’s recipient is:

 

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