We are applying for an administrative diversity supplement at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that would allow the talented physician-scientist Dr. Adelaja to receive additional research training within the NIH-funded parent project R01 CA213492 (contact PI: Dr. Glunde) entitled entitled ?Hypoxia-derived molecular MSI signatures to predict breast cancer outcome?. Dr. Adelaja is eligible for the NCI diversity supplement PAR-18- 906 because he is a U.S. citizen and Black or African American. He is a clinically trained, board-certified pathologist who came to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine for additional research training in 2018, right after his residency and board certification at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Science System. The T32 training grant on which Dr. Adelaja has been funded for the past 20 months of his postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins is ending in a few months. Therefore, we are herewith applying for an NCI diversity supplement for Dr. Adelaja to receive necessary additional research training to achieve his career goal of becoming a successful physician-scientist. We have put together a compelling personalized research, mentoring and career development plan for Dr. Adelaja's next two years of postdoctoral research training in Dr. Glunde's lab. Currently, Dr. Adelaja is already heavily involved in Aim 3 of the parent R01 CA213492, in which he has annotated tissue microarrays of primary and metastatic breast cancer from 17 patients and aided in data analysis. We also proposed two additional Aims directly supporting Aim 1 of the parent R01. Dr. Adelaja will be the lead investigator of these two new Aims, in which he will optimize an alternative fixative that will allow for clinically relevant metabolite and lipid MALDI imaging as well as high quality histology at the same time. Current applications typically use either fresh-frozen tissues that are optimal for metabolite and lipid imaging but compromise the quality of histology, or formalin fixation, which is optimal for histology but compromises the quality of metabolite and lipid MALDI imaging. In addition to the opportunity of leading a well- defined research project, he will also take two courses to close the last remaining gaps in his training in analytical chemistry and MALDI mass spectrometry data analysis. Dr. Adelaja will be mentored by an experienced mentoring team. Dr. Glunde, the PI of the parent R01 and a biochemist by training, will act as his main research mentor. Dr. Glunde's will be supported by pathology mentors Drs. Lotan and Eberhart. Drs. Lotan, Eberhart, and Glunde will closely work with Dr. Adelaja to help him achieve his goal of becoming a successful independent physician-scientist. They will support him in developing, writing, and submitting several career development award applications as early-state principal investigator. The proposed training plan will provide Dr. Adelaja with the necessary career skills of (i) improving his theoretical and practical understanding of all aspects of MALDI imaging, (ii) taking first-author responsibilities in a well-defined research project, and (iii) developing and refining his grant writing skills to successfully compete for independent research funding.
This NCI administrative diversity supplement will allow the talented Black physician-scientist Dr. Adelaja to receive additional necessary research training within the NIH-funded parent project R01 CA213492 (contact PI Dr. Glunde). Dr. Adelaja's research and career development plan will enable clinically relevant matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging of metabolites and lipids that is compatible with the stringent requirements for high quality histology.
| Rizwan, Asif; Paidi, Santosh Kumar; Zheng, Chao et al. (2018) Mapping the genetic basis of breast microcalcifications and their role in metastasis. Sci Rep 8:11067 |
