News & Activities

Resident Olivia Sears, MD Awarded Focused Ultrasound Preclinical Award

The Tsung-Zhang lab, in collaboration with Dr. Sheybani’s Lab, has been awarded a $150,000 grant to investigate how histotripsy (focused ultrasound) can reprogram neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibition in triple-negative breast cancer and colorectal cancer. Using complementary preclinical models and translational biomarker studies, we will define how mechanical tumor disruption reshapes the tumor microenvironment to enhance CD8⁺ T-cell activation and immunotherapy response. This project integrates mechanistic immune profiling with peri-procedural patient sampling at UVA to establish a biomarker-driven pathway toward future combination histotripsy–immunotherapy clinical trials.

Resident Kaelyn Cummins, MD Awarded Multiple Grants from UVA Data Analytics and Cancer Centers

**Data Analytics Center Small Resource Pilot Award: “From Community Distress to Tumor Biology: Investigating Environmental and Genomic Links” ($5,000)

**Data Analytics Center Small Resource Pilot Award: “Genome-Wide Association Study to Identify Genetic Factors Related to Large Bowel Volvulus” ($5,000)

**Cancer Center Trainee Fellowship: “Exploring the Role of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in the Tumor Microenvironment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer to Improve Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors” ($25,000)

Resident Mohamad El Moheb, MD Receives $30,000 AAS Research Fellowship Award

Congratulations to Dr. Mohamad El Moheb who received the 2024 Basic Science/Translational Research Trainee Fellowship Award from the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS). This is a highly competitive award, worth $30,000, given to a one surgery resident in the nation to pursue their project. Dr. El Moheb’s project will investigate how preoperative exercise therapy modulates the immune microenvironment to protect the liver from colorectal cancer metastasis. He will work on this project under the mentorship of Dr. Allan Tsung and will present his work at the 2026 ASC meeting. This is the first time a surgery resident from UVA has received this award!

Susan Kim, MD Awarded $25,000 UVA Cancer Center Trainee Fellowship

Congratulations to Dr. Susan Kim, whose application Preoperative Exercise Therapy Attenuates Surgical-Stress Induced Liver Metastases and Preserves Anti-Tumor Immunity has been selected as an awardee for Cancer Center Trainee Fellowship FY2024. Dr. Kim has been awarded $25,000 to be used during a funding period of July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025, for her current research project.

Hongji Zhang, PhD Awarded $25,000 CRX Pilot Award

Congratulations to Dr. Hongji Zhang, whose application Targeting Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) to Improve Response to Immunotherapy has been selected as an awardee for Cancer Therapeutics (CRX) Research Program Pilot Awards FY2024. Dr. Zhang has been awarded $25,000.