News Briefs | January 2022

Broxmeyer Fellowship announced

The Dr. Hal Broxmeyer Fellowship in the IU School of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology was announced during a celebration of life earlier this month.

Though all the remembrances were special during the event, the comments from several of Hal’s trainees stood out and as a reminder of his ongoing legacy as a devoted mentor and his passion for nurturing young scientists. The fundraising goal for this fellowship is $250,000. If you have any questions, please reach out to Amber Senseny. 

Welcome new social media specialist

Mika Mokko has been named the cancer center’s social media specialist. In her short time here, she has launched the cancer center’s LinkedIn page and Instagram account. She is responsible for those as well as the center’s other social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube).

Mokko was most recently with IUPUI’s Health and Life Sciences Advising Center, where she significantly increased its social media following. A native of New York City, Mokko holds a BA in English and secondary education from Marymount Manhattan College, an M.S. in Teaching English to Students of Other Languages from Fordham University, a M.A. in Teaching English to Students of Other Languages from Columbia University, and a doctorate in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education from IU Bloomington.

Mokko will primarily work from home, while her on-campus office is located in the AOC, Suite 5100. Her email address is mmokko@indiana.edu and her campus phone number is 278-6601. She joins Michael Schug and Candace Gwaltney in the cancer center’s communications office.

Pilot project awards announced

The cancer center has awarded American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant pilot project funding to the following researchers:

• Travis Johnson, Ph.D., “Identifying High-risk Components of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Biopsies Using Deep Transfer Learning”
• Elizabeth Sierra Potchanant, Ph.D. (HHM), “Targeting PLK1 as a novel synthetic lethality strategy for acute myeloid leukemias with Fanconi anemia pathway disruptions”
• Xiaoling Zhong, Ph.D. (TMM), “Targeting of cancer-evoked systemic inflammation to counteract cachexia”

Cancer center members in the news

• Kara Wools-Kaloustian, M.D. (CPC), is the 2022 recipient of Indiana University’s John W. Ryan Award for Distinguished Contributions to International Programs and Studies. Wools-Kaloustian’s contributions to international programs and studies include leadership positions at IU School of Medicine, AMPATH Kenya and East Africa IeDEA.
• Kristin Levoy, Ph.D., R.N. (CPC), has been named a 2022 Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation Emerging Leader. This award celebrates hospice and palliative care nurses who have exhibited leadership and made unique contributions early in their careers.
• Elliot Androphy, M.D. (TMM), is a recipient of a 2021 Mary Kay Ash Foundation research grant for his project “Pharmacology of human papillomavirus inhibitory compounds in mice.” See a full list of grant recipients.
• Chandru Sundaram, M.D. (affiliate), was selected for the 2022 Distinguished Contribution Award by the American Urological Association (AUA). These awards are presented annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the science and practice of urology.
• Patrick Loehrer, M.D. (EDT) is a co-host for the American Society of Clinical Oncology podcast called “Oncology, Etc.” New episodes drop on the first Tuesday of every month. Listen here.
• Bryan Schneider, M.D. (CPC), was interviewed by Inside Indiana Business to discuss his findings from a recent clinical trial. Read the full story: IU Discoveries, New Trial Build Hope for Aggressive Breast Cancer.
• Nasser Hanna, M.D. (EDT), wrote a Perspective column for Life Sciences Indiana, Advocates can help end lung cancer — now.