Faculty Research Fellows for 2019–2021 announced

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has awarded four Faculty Research Fellowships for 2019–2021. The fellowships are offered to encourage young academic surgeon-scientists to establish their own laboratories and carry awards of $40,000 for each of two years, beginning July 1, 2019. These fellowships are supported by the ACS Scholarship Endowment Fund.

The recipients are as follows:

Franklin H. Martin, MD, FACS, Fellow: Amar Nijagal, MD, University of California, San Francisco. Specialty: Pediatric surgery. Research project: The cooperative relationship between neutrophils and monocytes during neonatal liver inflammation: Insight into the pathogenesis of biliary atresia.

Christina L. Roland, MD, FACS, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. Specialty: Surgical oncology. Research project: Exploring molecular and immune mechanisms of response and resistance to neoadjuvant checkpoint blockade in patients with surgically resectable soft tissue sarcoma.

Mustafa Raoof, MD, City of Hope, Duarte, CA. Specialty: Surgical oncology. Research project: Pre-clinical studies of first-in-class therapy (AOH1996) targeting pancreatic cancer.

Stephanie Downs-Canner, MD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Specialty: Surgical oncology. Research project: Inhibition of Th17 into Treg conversion as a novel component of immunotherapy in triple negative breast cancer.

Applying for and supporting fellowships

An updated description and requirements for this program will be posted to the Scholarships web page. The application deadline for the 2020 Faculty Research Fellowships is November 15, 2019.

The Scholarship Endowment Fund was established to provide income for scholarships and fellowships awarded by the ACS Board of Regents. Direct contributions to support the Scholarship Endowment Fund are welcome. Fellows who would like to make tax-deductible gifts to fund these vital programs are encouraged to contact the ACS Foundation at 312-202-5338.