#MIZZOUMADE May 30 - July 30 - The University of Iowa

Ellis Fischel Cancer Center
                                                                      2022 Program Dates:

                                                                   May 30 – July 30
                                                                      Application Deadline:

                                                                5:00 pm CST, Feb. 20

                                                                #MIZZOUMADE

Program Overview
As part of the University of Missouri’s NextGen Precision Health Initiative, join us for the MU
Ellis Fischel Cancer Center Summer Research Program. An immersive 9-week research
experience for undergraduates interested in a career in the cancer field. Scholars select a faculty
mentor conducting world-class research from 24+ internationally recognized departments
across the University of Missouri System.

Students in this program will carry out a cancer research project under the guidance of MU Ellis
Fischel Cancer Center faculty mentors and participate in seminars and other activities that will
enrich their understanding of new technologies that are revolutionizing the diagnosis and
treatment of cancer. Students in the MU Ellis Fischel Cancer Center Summer Research
Program will participate in a fully loaded and exciting series of events including
professional development seminars, key-note speakers, professional headshots,
networking receptions, and immersive experiences. Ever wonder how cancer connects a
research reactor, a veterinary medical center, and a cancer center? Throughout this experience
you will see firsthand how the MU Ellis Fischel Cancer Center is moving cancer research and
treatment forward.
   https://undergradresearch.missouri.edu/ellis-fischel-cancer-center-
                      summer-research-program/

Eligibility
MU Ellis Fischel Cancer Center Scholars U.S. Program applicants must be:
  • U.S. Citizens or U.S. permanent residents; and
  • Undergraduate students enrolled in accredited four-year colleges or universities in the
      United States, Puerto Rico, or other U.S. territories; and
  • Have completed their sophomore or junior year in an undergraduate STEM major; and
  • Possess a strong interest in pursuing a career in cancer research or treatment
U.S. Program applicants must also have:
   • An interest in pursuing a graduate degree in the cancer field
   • Prior laboratory experience is preferred for laboratory programming.

Financial Support
MU Ellis Fischel Cancer Center Scholars receive the following support and benefits:
  • Stipend ($4,770)
  • Housing – Scholars will live in on-campus MU housing with other MU Summer Research
      Program Scholars
  • Meals – Scholars will be provided a stipend for meals
  • Travel – Funding for travel to and from the MU Summer Research Program will be
      provided

Important Information
Students must complete the application form and provide an unofficial transcript (including
Fall 2021 grades); letters of recommendation (two preferred); a resumé; and a personal
statement indicating career plans, prior research experience, and research interests.
Documents will be submitted with the online application.

Contact
The MU Ellis Fischel Cancer Center Summer Research Program is administered through the
University of Missouri Office of Undergraduate Research (UGR). Letters of recommendation may
be sent directly to the Office of Undergraduate Research via e-mail to ugr@missouri.edu.

Please reach out with any questions about our programming by e-mail or phone, 573-882-5979.

2022 Summer Program Application

2022 MU Ellis Fischel Cancer Center Summer
Program Faculty Mentors
Carolyn Anderson, PhD –
The development of novel radiometal tracers, molecular imaging and theranostic agents targeting various types
of cancer, with a focus on metastatic melanoma, from chemistry to first-in-human studies.
Jeffrey Bryan, DVM, PhD, MS –
Comparative examination of cancers in companion animals to better understand cancers in all species; targeted
imaging and therapy and epigenetics of cancer.
Donald Burke-Aguero, PhD –
Exploring the many roles of ribonucleic acid, or RNA; using cell biology, biochemistry, and sophisticated
computational approaches to compare millions of RNA molecules, looking for the ones that can do helpful jobs.
Chiswili Yves Chabu, PhD –
Oncogenic mutations in EGFR or RAS activate a complex network of cell-cell signaling events in the cancer
microenvironment. These signals promote cancer growth, metastasis, cancer immune escape, and drug
resistance. We are interested in delineating these mechanisms to identify actionable targets against EGFR/RAS
cancers.
Ye Duan, PhD –
Interested in furthering the fields of computer graphics, computer vision, machine learning, and biomedical
imaging; electrical engineering and computer science; 3D Deep learning; fully automated deep neural networks;
hybrid deep convolutional neural network model.
W. Barry Edwards, PhD –
Developing radiotracers for diagnostic imaging and targeted radiotherapy of cancer. PHI Focus Area:
Radiology. Research interests include development optical probes for optical imaging of enzyme activity and
the development of phage displayed and combinatorial peptide libraries for discovery of ligands for molecular
imaging.
Aaron Ericsson, DVM, PhD –
Identifying the molecular mechanisms by which host-associated microbiomes influence susceptibility to disease
and adverse health conditions, as well as response to treatment to those diseases. Understanding the relative
influence of maternal and neonatal microbiomes on immuno- and neurodevelopment, and susceptibility to
disease later in life, ranging from colorectal cancer to neuropsychiatric disorders.
Jorge G. Gomez-Gutierrez, PhD –
Microbial-Based Cancer Therapy; virus and bacteria-based therapies effect on tumorigenesis; inducing
oncolysis and/or immune responses in cancers when conventional therapy is inadequate; conditional replication
of adenovirus (CRAd), conditional replication of oncolytic adenovirus (OAd); lactic acid bacteria Lactococcus
lactis (L. Lactis) which is generally regarded as a safe (GRAS) organism and is used in dairy industry to make
cheese and yogurt.
Mark Hannink, PhD –
Novel mitochondrial targets for cancer therapeutics. Our laboratory has identified an E3 ubiquitin ligase
complex that is regulated by oxidative stress. The major substrate of this ubiquitin ligase complex is the Nrf2
transcription factor, which is brought into the ubiquitin ligase complex by the Keap1 protein. Keap1 contains
redox-sensitive cysteine residues that, when modified by reactive electrophilic compounds, including reactive
oxygen species (ROS), alter the ability of Keap1 to target Nrf2 for ubiquitin-dependent degradation. This leads

to increased stabilization of Nrf2 and to activation of a transcriptional program that enables cells to neutralize
reactive molecules and maintain cellular redox homeostasis. We have identified several new partners for Keap1,
including a protein termed PGAM5 that anchors the Keap1-Nrf2 complex to the outer mitochondrial membrane.
PGAM5 also regulates the morphological appearance of mitochondria. We propose that PGAM5 is a critical
link between generation of ROS by mitochondria and Nrf2-dependent anti-oxidant genes. We are currently
characterizing a gene knockout mouse model for PGAM5.
Heather Hennkens, PhD –
The primary focus areas of the Hennkens research program are 1) the production and purification of medical
radionuclides and 2) their use in the development of theranostic (combination therapeutic and diagnostic)
metals-based radiopharmaceuticals. Radionuclide production projects involve targetry, separations and target
material recycling, while radiopharmaceutical projects involve ligand development, metal/radiometal chelation,
and the radiochemical synthesis and in vitro/vivo evaluation of new radiopharmaceuticals. The
multidisciplinary nature of these projects results in a collaborative environment that offers a wide range of
research experiences to student and postdoctoral trainees.
Jussuf Kaifi, MD, PhD –
Identifying the molecular mechanisms of micro metastatic tumor spread by which malignant cells detach from
the primary tumor undetected by standard imaging and eventually cause metastases in distant organs as the
major final cause of cancer-associated deaths. Mechanisms in which tumor cells circulate in the blood and settle
in other organs to grow to solid tumors will allow for the identification of pharmacological targets that can be
exploited to destroy malignant disease and increase cure rates of cancer patients.
Xunlei Kang, MD, PhD –
Hematopoietic stem cell study; Leukemia stem cell study; SUMO modification study; Fasting selectively blocks
development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia via leptin-receptor upregulation; Inhibitory leukocyte
immunoglobulin-like receptors: immune checkpoint proteins and tumor sustaining factors; A novel ITIM
receptor-mediated signaling pathway is essential for acute myeloid leukemia development.
Margaret Lange-Osborn, PhD –
Understanding the mechanisms underlying recognition of nucleic acids by pattern recognition receptors and
how these recognition events shape immune responses to inform design and development of novel
immunomodulators for precise, tunable regulation of cellular signaling pathways across diverse cancer types.
Jane McElroy, PhD –
Studies health issues, both in the general population and among LGBTQ individuals. She co-created Project
LOLA (Living Out and Living Actively) to help lesbian and bisexual women better understand health matters
and to provide more access to resources. McElroy found that, due in part to health inequalities, demographic
trends indicate an increase in chronic conditions among gender and sexual minorities. She has examined causes
of endometrial cancer and has worked with geographical information systems. And, in collaboration with
physician Shamita Misra, she discovered that daily practice of Pranayama yoga could significantly lower blood
pressure.
Jonathan Mitchem, MD –
Applicability and efficacy of immune based therapy in colorectal cancer, chemotherapy on T cell exhaustion
and the utility of bioinformatic techniques to determine dysregulated immune pathways in CRC, impact of
innate immune cell activation in the tumor microenvironment, immune modeling of human tumors using
organoid models, genomic/biomedical informatics in cancer, deconvolutional approaches to bulk RNA-
sequencing data and single nucleus RNA-sequencing.
Michael Petris, PhD –
Pathways of copper acquisition and handling to promote tumor survival and metastasis. Copper; Cancer;
Infectious disease; Nutrition; Metals. Molecular biology; Cancer biology; Nutrition; Cell biology;
Biochemistry; Metabolism; Animal models of disease.

Haval Shirwan, PhD –
Immune engineering as a platform to modulate immune responses in health and disease. Development of novel
immune ligands (biologics) and their targeted delivery using various platforms (biomaterials, live vectors) for
immunomodulation with focus on cancer immunotherapy and immunoprevention, vaccinology, autoimmunity
(type 1 diabetes as primary focus) and transplantation.
Charles Jeffrey Smith, PhD –
Radiopharmaceutical sciences design, focusing on development of novel theranostic probes for prostate and
breast cancer detection and therapy. 1. Main group chemistry including inorganic and organometallic polymers;
2) Design and development of polydentate, water-soluble, complexing agents for technetium and rhenium
radiometals; 3. Radiopharmaceutical design and development including isotope processing and purification,
radiotracer design based upon small molecule ligand frameworks and large molecule cell-targeting agents, and
in vitro and in vivo diagnostic/therapeutic probe development investigations. 4) Monovalent and bivalent
analogs and nanoparticles of gastrin releasing peptide (GRP), prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), and
RGD (arginine-glycine-glutamic acid) radiolabeled with In-111, Y-86/90, Lu-177, Au-198/199, Ga-67/68, and
Cu-64.
Jack Tanner, PhD –
Structural biology; development of proline analogues as cancer therapeutics.
Bret Ulery, PhD –
Design of biomaterials for medicinal applications, specifically focusing on generating engineered solutions
capable of providing the cues necessary to facilitate in situ bioactivity. Current efforts are on addressing new
approaches for cancer therapy, vaccine delivery, autoimmune treatment, and orthopedic tissue repair.
Gary Weisman, PhD –
Targeting P2X7 and P2Y2 receptors for extracellular nucleotides to prevent tumor growth, immune cells
activation and inflammatory disease. Key Terms: Nucleotides; Autoimmune Diseases; Nucleotide receptors;
Autoimmune exocrine diseases; Inflammation in signaling.
Timothy Wolf, PhD –
Concepts of Neuroscience, application of evidence-based practice, and functional cognition. Key interests:
nucleotides; Autoimmune Diseases; Nucleotide receptors; Autoimmune exocrine diseases; Inflammation in
signaling. stroke; mcst; rehabilitation; mild; efpt; participation; pqrs; performance; nihtb; cognitive; individuals;
ctpa; care; ot; participants; post; battery; op; self; occupational; activities; validity; executive; work; activity.
Dong Xu, PhD –
Bioinformatics, machine learning, protein structure prediction, post-translational modification prediction, high-
throughput biological data analyses, silico studies of plants, microbes and cancers, and mobile App
development for healthcare.
Iris Zachary, PhD –
Cancer Registry, SEER, Public health informatics, chronic disease and condition data, public health research
development, cancer informatics, connected communities.