Career Enhancement Program (CEP) Awardees

Vishal Chandra, PhDAssistant Professor, OBGYN, Oklahoma UniversityTargeting Obesity and Progesterone Resistance in Endometrial Cancer
Deirdre Hill, PhDResearch Associate Professor, Internal Medicine, University of New MexicoAssessing etiology and survival by Endometrial Cancer histology
Jason Weber, PhDProfessor, Medicine – Molecular Oncology, Washington UniversityIdentifying a new IFN pathway vulnerability in serous-like endometrial cancer
John Krais, PhDAssistant Professor, Oncology, Washington UniversityTargeting altered DNA damage signaling in endometrial cancer
Kelly Bolton, MD PhDAssistant Professor, Oncology, Washington UniversityImpact of Weight Loss on the Endometrial Cancer Mutational Landscape
Shailendra Dwivedi, PhDAssistant Professor, Pathology, Oklahoma UniversityBiomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Uterine Carcinosarcoma: The Role of Extracellular Vesicles and the Tumor Microenvironment
Rajani Rai, PhDAssistant Professor, OBGYN, Oklahoma UniversityTargeting Obesity-Driven Endometrial Cancer
Robert Lake, PhDResearch Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine, University of New MexicoTargeting epigenetic regulators to treat p53 gain-of-function driven endometrial cancer

Career Enhancement Program Directors


Developmental Research Program (DRP) Awardees

Lindsay Kuroki, MDAssociate Professor, OBGYN, Washington UniversityMolecular classification of early stage endometrial cancer: Prognosis and treatment efficacy a GOG-249 Ancillary Study
Bethany Hannafon, MDAssistant Professor, OBGYN, University of OklahomaTargeting Immunometabolism and Inflammation-Mediated Immune
Escape in Endometrial Cancer
Hua-Ying Fan, PhDAssociate Professor, Internal Medicine, University of New MexicoRepurposing Auranofin: A Novel Notch Pathway Inhibitor in Endometrial Cancer Therapy
Paul DeAngelis, PhDProfessor, Physiology and Biochemistry, University of OklahomaNext-Generation Heparanase Inhibitors for Treatment of Endometrial Cancer
Mary M. Mullen, MDAssistant Professor, OBGYN, Washington UniversityHER2 expression in early stage endometrial cancer: Ancillary analysis of GOG-0249
Quing Zhu, PhDEdwin H. Murty Professor of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Washington UniversityNon-invasive, high resolution, subsurface imaging of the endometrial cavity for
cancer detection and diagnosis
Mara Steinkamp, PhDAssociate Professor, Pathology, University of New MexicoTesting macrophage repolarization agents in autologous humanized models of endometrial cancer
Priyanka Verma, PhDAssistant Professor, Oncology, Washington UniversityDefining new vulnerabilities in Fbxw7-mutated endometrial cancers
Liang Ma, PhDAssociate Professor, Dermatology, Washington UniversityTargeting SALL1 in endometrial cancer
Xiang Xue, PhDAssociate Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of New MexicoTargeting endometrial cancer with novel ferroptosis-inducing curcumin analogues

Developmental Research Program Directors


CEP/DRP Expectations and Opportunities

  • Consistently attend SPORE meetings
  • Present to the SPORE Internal and External Advisory Boards
  • Present at least once per year at a Route 66 SPORE Monthly Meeting to receive feedback and guidance
  • Fully develop and submit at least one extramural grant application, with guidance available from SPORE colleagues and CEP and DRP leadership

For the Career Enhancement Program

  • Devote at least 25% of their time to translational endometrial cancer research (15% for established investigators)
  • Attend at least one national SPORE meeting each year, as appropriate
  • Present posters at the annual NCI Translational Science Meeting or equivalent