First awarded in 2016, the Dr. Richard and Vera Siegel Translational Award was generously endowed by NIH M.D./Ph.D. Partnership Program co-founder, Dr. Richard Siegel, and his wife, Vera. This annual award recognizes advances in the field of medical science that move fundamental discoveries from the bench to the bedside. This year, incoming NIH OxCam Scholars Program Scientific Co-Director, Dr. Mary Dasso, presented the award to the Class of 2019 Ph.D. Scholar Marya Sabir.
Marya Sabir is mentored by Dr. William Gahl at the National Human Genome Research Institute and Professor Frances Platt at the University of Oxford. Marya played a major leadership role in the investigation of a very rare, neurodegenerative disease called free sialic acid storage disease (FSASD). She conducted translational studies, including the development of a novel FSASD-specific cell assay to be used for high-throughput drug screening for both mouse and cell models and human-derived tissues. Marya also characterized the neurobehavioral and biochemical aspects of the FSASD knock-in mouse model and is currently testing a potential small-molecule drug and options for gene therapy in the mouse model.
While Marya’s work has dramatically accelerated the road to therapeutic options for FSASD, she explores implications for a more common disease, as the variants are risk factors for developing Parkinson’s Disease.
“I am truly humbled to have been awarded the Dr. Richard and Vera Siegel Translational Award at the 2023 NIH Global Doctoral Partnerships Annual Workshop Awards Ceremony, for my work in FSASD. I would like to first dedicate this award to my mentors, Drs. May Malicdan, Bill Gahl, and Frances Platt, for their countless hours of guidance and unwavering support. Over the past few years, I have also had the privilege of engaging with the Salla Treatment and Research Foundation, the patient advocacy group for FSASD. This connection with the patient community and their families, and the urgent need for therapies now is what drives me day in and day out. My hope and vision is that within the next five years, we will have several symptomatic and disease-modifying candidates in clinical trials for FSASD. I am grateful to the NIH OxCam program for giving me the unique opportunity to do this work and to Dr. and Mrs. Siegel for endowing this award,” remarked Marya.
Marya is currently completing her DPhil studies in Oxford and writing her dissertation. Marya plans to pursue medical training in the hopes of improving bench-to-bedside care for patients suffering with rare neurological diseases.
First awarded in 2016, the International Biomedical Research Alliance’s Innovation Award recognizes novel solutions in biology or medicine and acknowledges discoveries of unusual importance, application, or magnitude that make use of new or unusual methods, paradigms, or approaches to solve important problems in biology or medicine. This award has been endowed by Dr. John O’Shea, a member of the faculty co-founding team and long-time supporter of the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program and presented by Dr. Irini Sereti.
Congratulations to the Class of 2019 NIH-Cambridge M.D./Ph.D. Scholar Dr. Stephen Gadomski on being named the 2023 recipient of The John and Alice O’Shea Innovation Award for Novel Solutions in Biology or Medicine. His mentors are Dr. Pam Robey at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and Professors Simon Mendez and Andrew McCaskie at the University of Cambridge.
Stephen has made major advances in several areas by applying innovative and novel techniques to musculoskeletal tissues. Using these tools, he has contributed greatly not only to our basic understanding of skeletal tissue but has also provided new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of degenerative diseases. During his time at Cambridge, he made novel discoveries at the interface between the neural and skeletal systems that significantly advanced the scientific understanding of biological processes, and provided new and innovative approaches for the treatment of osteopenia and osteoporosis. Stephen was a recipient of an NIH FARE Award for this work.
Upon Stephen’s return to NIH, he made major advances in the Robey lab’s efforts to develop reliable methods to restore cartilage lost due to disease or trauma. These studies provided key mechanistic insights into cartilage biology, which can be applied to advance clinical therapies for degenerative joint diseases including Osteoarthritis. Based on this work, the NIH and Cambridge have supported the filing of a provisional patent application.
“It’s a great privilege to have the opportunity to work in a supportive, collaborative environment,” noted Stephen. “Finding novel solutions that can make a difference and advance medical therapies is a team effort. Dr. O’Shea and my mentors have sacrificed time and effort in founding and cultivating the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Program, as well as supporting my passion for science.” Stephen is currently finishing his medical degree at the Medical University of South Carolina with an aim to become a Principal Investigator in biomedical research.
The International Biomedical Research Alliance congratulates the Class of 2019 NIH-Cambridge M.D./Ph.D. Scholar Dr. Mario Shammas on being named the 2023 recipient of the Gregory Paul Lenardo Basic Science Award for Discoveries in Cellular and Molecular Biology, endowed by NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program Co-Founder, Dr. Michael Lenardo, in loving memory of his brother, Gregory Paul Lenardo. This award recognizes discoveries of fundamental cellular, molecular, or genetic processes using model systems that advance scientific understanding of biological processes in higher organisms. This award was presented by NIH OxCam Executive Committee member, Dr. Trevor Archer. Dr. Shammas was jointly mentored by Professor Patrick Chinnery at the University of Cambridge and Dr. Derek Narendra at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Mario is being honored with this award as a result of his published work that exemplifies using model systems to uncover fundamental biological processes in higher organisms. Mario characterized a family with myopathy caused by a dominant p.G58R mutation in the mitochondrial protein CHCHD10. Autosomal dominant isolated mitochondrial myopathy (IMMD) is characterized by the onset of proximal lower limb weakness and exercise intolerance in the first decade of life, progressing later to a generalized myopathy. In addition, it can also lead to the development of severe fatal cardiomyopathy.
To understand the disease etiology, he developed a knockin mouse model and found that mutant CHCHD10 aggregated in affected tissues, applying a toxic protein stress to the inner mitochondrial membrane. Unexpectedly, the survival of CHCHD10-KI mice depended on a protective stress response mediated by the mitochondrial metalloendopeptidase OMA1. The results demonstrated that OMA1 was critical for neonatal survival in the setting of inner mitochondrial membrane stress, coordinating local and global stress responses to reshape the mitochondrial network and proteome.
“I am deeply appreciative to receive this award from the International Biomedical Research Alliance and the NIH OxCam Program, and I am thankful to Dr. Lenardo for endowing it. In large part it is a reflection of the remarkable mentorship and unwavering guidance I received over the past four years from my two mentors, Dr. Derek Narendra and Prof. Patrick Chinnery; I will forever be grateful for their steadfast support and for everything they have taught me. Previous in vivo research had suggested that the OMA1 stress response is maladaptive in certain conditions, and since there were no studies showing it to be helpful, it was not known whether the OMA1 response is ever beneficial. This did not sit well with me, as I believe that every biological function has to serve a purpose. Indeed, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the OMA1 stress response was necessary for the survival of our CHCHD10 G58R mouse model, as it mitigated the severity of the cardiomyopathy neonatally. I hope that my research will open up avenues for exploring how we can manipulate mitochondrial stress responses to treat or prevent myopathic and neurodegenerative diseases.”
Mario successfully defended his thesis in May and is now back at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, where he is finishing up his clinical years. Afterward, he will apply to residency programs in neurology.
Before I share my experience attending the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) National Conference, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Jenny Hsin and I am a Class of 2020 Scholar in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge (OxCam) Scholars Program. I completed my undergraduate studies at Caltech with a B.S. in Biology in 2018. During my time at Caltech, I performed undergraduate research in the lab of Dr. Marianne Bronner studying neural crest development in chicken embryos. After graduating, I decided to accept a post-bac position at the NIH in the newly started lab of Dr. Laura Kerosuo, a Stadtman Tenure Track Investigator in the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), who had been my postdoc mentor at Caltech. I grew to love doing research at the NIH during my time as a post-bac and jumped at the opportunity to be part of the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program. I applied as a Track 1 MD-PhD Scholar and was fortunate to be admitted as an NIH-Cambridge Scholar in partnership with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP).
Dr. Laura Kerosuo and Jenny Hsin
Being part of programs like the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program can be an amazing experience because all of the Scholars are so passionate about science and medicine. It feels comforting to be surrounded by a community of people who are equally as motivated and excited about science. Yet, science is not the only part of our identities. Recognizing, welcoming, and embracing diverse experiences in the Scholars Program is as important as supporting academic and scientific achievements.
I was born and raised in the Greater Los Angeles Area, which has the largest Taiwanese community in the United States. I grew up speaking Mandarin at home, going to Chinese after-school programs, and eating at hole-in-the-wall restaurants run by Taiwanese immigrants. In California, I always felt I had a connection to a Taiwanese-American community. However, when I moved to medical school in Alabama, there were stark differences. As much as I enjoyed experiencing the slow pace of life in the South and learning about Southern charm, in Alabama the Asian population is less than 2%. I also moved during the peak of the COVID pandemic, at a time when anti-Asian hate was on the rise throughout the country. Tragically, the Atlanta spa shootings happened in my first year of medical school. Personally, I also experienced microaggressions from patients – such as statements like “When are you going back to China?” These experiences contributed heavily to my involvement in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine chapter of the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association, which provided me with a community and helped with some of the adjustments to living in the South.
After transitioning back to the NIH for my PhD training, I still wanted to maintain connections to APAMSA so I applied for a Travel Award sponsored by the International Biomedical Research Alliance (IBRA) to attend the 2023 National Conference in Portland, Oregon in March of 2023. In attending the conference in Portland, Oregon this year, I was able to discuss with other medical students about our experiences as Asian-American students in the clinic; learn about health disparities affecting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities; and also talk about different areas of research. Serendipitously, I also met and connected with Dr. Lindy Zhang, who is currently a clinical and research fellow in the Johns Hopkins/NIH Pediatric Hematology/Oncology program. I ended up inviting Dr. Zhang to give one of our monthly IBRA Clinical Case Conferences and speak on an NIH OxCam AANHPI Heritage Month panel along with other NIH investigators, which was featured in an IBRA news article in May. Having the opportunity to maintain connections with my peers, bond over shared experiences and culture, and create new connections to bring back to the NIH was an incredibly rewarding part of attending the APAMSA national conference. Thank you to IBRA for supporting my Travel Award to attend the APAMSA National Conference and for providing me with opportunities that not only enhance my training as a Scholar but also as a future physician-scientist.
This spring, the International Biomedical Research Alliance sponsored a Career Development and Exploration Initiative for the NIH Oxford-Cambridge (OxCam) Scholars based at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford In the United Kingdom to the Novartis Campus in Basel, Switzerland. Dr. Richard Siegel, the Global Head, Translational Medicine, Immunology at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) hosted the Scholars and introduced them to NIBR’s research mission. Dr. Siegel co-founded and directed the NIH MD/PhD Partnership Training Program prior to his move to Novartis.
After the welcome and introductions to NIBR, the Scholars embarked on a tour of the Novartis Pavillion’s “Wonders of Medicine” which includes four multimedia exhibition areas that explore life, disease, the history of medicine, and the future of healthcare.
Presentations followed the interactive tour and Scholars listened to Drug Discovery and Translational medicine talks. Drs. Ina Kramer, Elisabetta Traggiai, Frank Kolbinger, Alain Marti, Christoph Kalis, and Christoph Burkhart shared insight on various topics from tissue regeneration to protein engineering to antibody development. Afterward, Dr. Olivier Leupin discussed the Novartis Post-Doc Program and provided an overview of career tracks at Novartis.
Over lunch, the Scholars introduced themselves to a range of Novartis scientists including Post-Doc Researchers and Lab Heads. This round table discussion included short presentations on Scholars’ research projects and their ideas for career paths, which concluded with further discussion and Q&A. This discussion continued with a “Meet the Scholars” coffee break and networking session. “It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about physician-scientist careers in industry and network with scientists who are truly changing the face of medicine,” stated NIH-Cambridge MD/PhD Scholar Katherine Masih. The final talk provided an overview of low-molecular weight (LMW) Drug Development and Dr. Robert Pulz presented “From Target to Drug – the magic of medicinal chemistry in drug discovery’ Focus on BTK inhibitors.”
After the networking and educational lectures, the Scholars were invited to visit the High Throughput Screening Facility and they had a lab tour that explored a range from biotherapeutic identification to cell line development. Concluding the Career Development and Exploration Initiative to Novartis Campus, the Scholars had a dinner and networking event with Novartis scientists. A special thank you was extended to Dr. Richard Siegel and Robin Wamister for organizing this visit to learn about industry in Europe.
“The International Biomedical Research Alliance is one of the best parts of NIH OxCam Program,” remarked NIH-Cambridge MD/PhD Scholar John Hancock. “They provide opportunities for experiences that are not characteristic of traditional PhD or MD/PhD programs. I am very grateful for the comprehensive education that I am receiving all because of the support of program leadership.”
The International Biomedical Research Alliance is committed to providing Career Development and Exploration Initiatives to Scholars in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program. These initiatives aim to ignite Scholar thinking around career opportunities where they can play a key role in the future of biomedical research enterprise. Please reach out to our Director of Communication, Education, and Professional Development, Alexandra Ambrico, at aja@biomedalliance.org if you would like to be involved in hosting future exposure visits.
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) Month arose in the 1970s from former congressional staffer Jeanie Jew who approached Rep. Frank Horton about designating a month to recognize Asian Pacific Americans. In the early 1990s, President Bush proclaimed May to be the official Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month and May was chosen to commemorate the migration of the first Japanese immigrants in the mid-1800s and the completion of the transcontinental railroad by over 20,000 Asian immigrants.
NIH Oxford-Cambridge (OxCam) Scholars Jenny Hsin and Olive Jung collaborated with Student Programming Vice Chair Theressa Ewa to create the first AANHPI Heritage Month event for the NIH OxCam Scholars. To kick off the event, Jenny Hsin, who organizes the monthly IBRA Clinical Case Conferences, invited Dr. Lindy Zhang, Clinical and Research Fellow, Johns Hopkins/NIH Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Program to present her research on Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor (MPNST) associated with the disorder Neurofibromatosis Type I (NF1).
Dr. Zhang first went through a thorough case presentation of NF1, explaining the criteria for clinical diagnoses and the progression of the disease. She then went on to explain that MPNST is an aggressive tumor that commonly arises in patients with NF1 and her research focuses on finding ways to treat MPNST. Specifically, Dr. Zhang works on identifying small molecule inhibitors to target the RAS signaling pathway involved with the growth of MPNST.
Following Dr. Zhang’s talk, Jenny invited four speakers to highlight the range of diverse experiences of AANHPI scientists at the NIH:
Lindy Zhang, MDis currently a clinical and research fellow in the Johns Hopkins/NIH Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Program.
T. Jake Liang, MDis the NIH Distinguished Investigator, Chief: Liver Diseases Branch, Section Chief: Liver Diseases Virology Section, Liver Diseases Branch, Section Chief: Clinical Research Section, Liver Diseases Branch.
Avindra Nath, MD is a Senior Investigator in the Section of Infections of the Nervous System at NINDS and Clinical Director of NINDS, NIH.
The NIH’s theme for this year’s AANHPI Heritage Month is “Reclaiming My Identity.” To this effect, the speakers talked about their experiences with learning to embrace their identities. Dr. Thein, who has lived in Malaysia, the UK, and the US, wisely commented, “Blossom where you are planted.” Meanwhile, Dr. Liang encouraged us to take pride in our heritage and learn to speak up. To Dr. Liang, “silence is not an option.” Despite whatever differences we might have – appearances, culture, or language – we still belong.
Our speakers also discussed the importance of mentorship and helping to support the next generation of scientists. Dr. Zhang explained to us that there is a bamboo ceiling in academic medicine. The barriers to Asian Americans finding leadership positions in academia often revolve around lack of access to mentorship. Consequently, Dr. Nath talked about different types of mentorship. While we all may have mentors and advisors, we should also seek out advocates – people who are willing to help you advance your career by putting you forward for opportunities.
Jenny remarked, “In recent years, DEI efforts revolving around AANHPI communities have grown and we’re learning that the ‘model minority’ is a myth that is more harmful than helpful. We’re finding our voices and I wanted to celebrate that by inviting speakers with rich experiences and backgrounds to talk to us about the importance of AANHPI heritage. I’m proud to see our OxCam community come together to support these efforts. It was amazing to have such inspiring speakers for our first AANHPI Heritage Month event. The diverse experiences and perspectives of our panelists have encouraged me to continue what I’m doing and make a space where I feel that I belong in science and medicine.”
The International Biomedical Research Alliance is proud to sponsor events aimed at creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community and training experience for Scholars in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program. Please reach out to our Director of Communication, Education, and Professional Development, Alexandra Ambrico, at aja@biomedalliance.org if you would like to be involved in hosting and/or supporting future events.
