As part of the continued support of the Accelerate Forward Together Strategic Plan, the UNC School of Medicine Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) supports a small number of clinicians committed to translating research findings to advance the practice of medicine in addition to providing clinical care and teaching. PSTP is a pipeline to recruit, train, and retain promising individuals and provide them with support and mentorship to cultivate their research programs.
Among the four award honorees, Cecilia Levandowski, MD, PhD, hematology/oncology fellow, and Jose Martinez, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology, received support from the SOM PSTP.
“The transition point between fellowship training and becoming an independent faculty researcher presents one of the most daunting hurdles in the long-term career development of physician scientists. The UNC School of Medicine Physician Scientist Training Program has sought to support physicians at or near this critical transition point in order to maintain the pipeline of the physician scientist workforce at UNC.” said Joseph (Alex) Duncan, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the UNC School of Medicine Physician Scientists Training Program.
Levandowski’s research will focus on understanding how Cancer Associated Fibroblasts in the tumor micro-environment influence response to immunotherapy in bladder cancer. Martinez is interested in understanding how aberrant splicing and mutations in splicing factors lead to oncogenic transformation and influence response to therapies in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
More information on the SOM PSTP program can be found on the website.