Biochemistry graduate student Kerry Bauer recently received an Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) Predoctorial Trainee Award. The award includes an annual stipend, partial tuition for coursework relevant to her research, and travel support to attend a national meeting for similar trainees from 40 other medical schools and research institutions around the country.
Molecular biomarkers for relapse risk are of clinical interest, and lead to insight into how a tumor progresses to metastasis. In order to gain a more thorough understanding of the progression of colon cancer to metastasis, Bauer will perform molecular expression profiling in primary colon cancer tissue to evaluate the differential expression of a previously identified panel of genes that are significant predictors of relapse in colon cancer to determine their full predictive value. This work is framed around the clinical problem of identifying those patients who can avoid adjuvant chemotherapy with no significant risk of metastasis.
The Indiana CTSI Predoctoral Trainee Award in translational research is given to second or third year predoctoral graduate students at Indiana University, Purdue University or the University of Notre Dame. Translational research refers to the process by which research in the lab translates into patient treatment. Translation may involve applying discoveries made during research to the development of clinical trials and studies in humans, or carrying out research aimed at enhancing the adoption of best practices, or both.