Scholars Program

Updated December 10, 2007

Proposals for translational research projects will be accepted for six-month and one-year time periods. Projects should be aimed at translating basic science discoveries into clinical practice and patient care.

About the Award
The CAP Foundation Scholars Research Program gives an opportunity for experience in research for pathology residents who have completed their training and are at the threshold of their careers. This award enables young investigators to engage in independent research by providing salary support for six months or one year.

The goals of the program are to advance productive investigations, identify talent in pathology, and encourage careers in academic medicine.

Deadline
October 1.

Since the program’s implementation in 1986, the Foundation has given 60 awards totaling more than $1.5 million.

Fellowships up to $12,500 for six months and up to $25,000 for one year are intended for salary support and will be awarded beginning July 1. The recipient’s institution is expected to contribute benefits and overhead costs and may provide a support supplement. Assurance must be given that facilities and direct support sufficient for the work proposed by the applicant will be provided throughout the term of the grant. The award is made to the scholar, not the institution. It may, with cause, be terminated at any time. Recipients who choose not to accept the award may list the recognition on their curriculum vitae.

A progress report on work performed is required at the grant period midpoint (three months for a six-month award and six months for the one-year fellowship). A final report is due upon the completion of the fellowship.

The CAP Foundation Scholars Program is also supported by the Mario Werner, MD,
Clinical Pathology Research Fund.

This fund will support investigative projects in clinical pathology.

Eligibility
Applications will be accepted from residents at the PGY 2 level and up to those doing a second year fellowship. Applications will not be accepted from residents who are more than 3 years post-residency training. An applicant must be a CAP Fellow or Junior Member or have submitted a completed membership application.

Scholar research projects must be completed within one year. For those who are in a second year fellowship, the project must be completed within 3 years after completing residency. Applicants must plan to spend their fellowship year in basic or applied research and are expected to work full-time as defined in their project plan. The scholar may assume limited teaching and patient care responsibilities consistent with the objectives of the fellowship. Current CAP Foundation scholars may reapply for an extension of funding by submitting a new application.

All applicants will be considered regardless of age, race, gender, national origin, or religion.

One of the purposes of the award is to help facilitate the transition from residency to an independent investigator. Therefore, persons who have already been awarded major research support for the previous academic year will not be eligible.

Application Guidelines
Candidates should clearly describe how their proposed studies will contribute to their professional development and enhance the practice and scientific basis of pathology. In addition, candidates should describe how the proposed research project is applicable to pathology practice.

Candidates must be nominated by a senior academic officer at the sponsoring institution and are expected to designate an individual, such as a faculty member, who will serve as a sponsor at the institution and with whom they will be associated while performing the proposed work.

All applications must be submitted using the CAP Foundation Scholars Application Form. Failure to do so will result in the rejection of the application. Please refer to the application form for specific instructions.

Completed applications must be postmarked by the deadline date. Notification of the awards will be sent by mid-February.

Selection Process
The CAP Education Committee peer reviews applications and presents a ranked list of scholars to the CAP Foundation Board of Directors. Factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, the scientific merit of the proposed project, the potential future applicability of the research to pathology practice, the likelihood that significant progress can be achieved within a year of the award, and previous research experience.

Download an application form

Submit applications to:

CAP Foundation
College of American Pathologists
325 Waukegan Road
Northfield, Illinois 60093-2750

Winners of the CAP Foundation Scholars Program
2007-2008
Andrew E. Schade, MD, PhD Cleveland Clinic
	Research Project: Regulation of JAK-STAT signaling by Src family kinases: Novel diagnostic tools and therapeutic options for myeloproliferative disorders Significance of Research: Defining pathophysiology based on aberrant activation of signal transduction pathways allows for simultaneous diagnosis and identification of potential therapeutic targets, such as with Bcr-Abl in CML and ALL. Certain myeloproliferative disorders are characterized by a mutation in JAK2 (V617F), causing constitutive activation of this enzyme and several downstream pathways, leading to dysregulated cellular proliferation and survival. However, JAK2 V617F still requires interaction with intact cytokine receptors to initiate signaling, suggesting that additional pathway interactions may be necessary as well. Identification of these associated signaling networks will offer new insights into the pathophysiology of MPD and define novel therapeutic targets.
Rosemary Chia-Jeng She, MD University of Utah HSC
	Research Project: Genotyping and Flow Cytometric Applications for Viruses: Enterovirus as a Prototype Significance of Research: Human enteroviruses (HEV) are among the most common human pathogens, causing a wide range of disease. In this study, HEV will serve as a prototype for molecular serotyping and flow cytometric analysis of viral pathogens. We will genetically characterize HEV isolates by RT-PCR and nucleotide sequencing of the VP1 region of the HEV genome. The performance of flow cytometric analysis for serotyping cultured isolates will be compared to traditional IFA methods. If these techniques prove superior to traditional methods, they can serve as a model for laboratory detection and typing of other viruses such as influenza virus, adenovirus, and emerging coronaviruses.
Elizabeth Johnston, MD Vanderbilt University Medical Center
	Research Project: Defining the role of spasmolytic polypeptide-expressing metaplasia (SPEM) in gastric biopsies from patients at high risk for development of gastric adenocarcinoma. Significance of Research: Gastric cancer is an aggressive malignancy; the best chance for successful treatment is through early diagnosis. Intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma is believed to develop through the following histologic changes: chronic active gastritis, increased epithelial proliferation and apoptosis, mucosal atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, epithelial dysplasia, and carcinoma. SPEM is a recently characterized fundic metaplasia that has been shown to be related to H. pylori infection and gastric dysplasia. Examination of a large number of gastric biopsies in human patient populations at high- and low-risk for development of gastric adenocarcinoma will provide insights into the mechanisms through which SPEM may mediate carcinogenesis and may improve our ability to detect early histopathologic changes of cancer.
Randall J. Olsen, MD, PhD The Methodist Hospital
	Research Project: Molecular Analysis of the Host Response to Necrotizing Fasciitis Significance of Research: Recent advances have significantly improved our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of Group A Streptococcus (GAS); however, little attention has been devoted to investigating the host factors that also contribute to the severe tissue damage characteristic of invasive infections such as necrotizing fasciitis (NF). Our project will use state-of-the-art biomarker analysis and transcriptome profiling in a non-human primate model of NF to characterize the molecular events underlying the host response to GAS. The long-term goal is to leverage this newfound knowledge in subsequent translational studies seeking to develop new diagnostic tools, vaccine strategies and therapeutic agents that will improve patient care.
Winners of the CAP Foundation Scholars Program
2006-2007
Bradley Miller, MD, PhD University of Virginia Health System
	Research Project: Oxidative Metabolism Defects in Gliomas and Neurodegenerative Disease Significance of Research: Although the technique of mitochondrial enzyme histochemistry is well established as a screening test for mitochondrial genetic defects in muscle biopsy evaluations, it has not been more widely applied. This is surprising, considering the increasing evidence that mitochondrial genetic mutations may participate in a number of sporadic diseases, including both neurodegenerative and oncologic diseases. Should this technique prove capable of identifying mitochondrial genetic defects in these disease processes, it would add a new category of diagnostic testing (with novel therapeutic implications) to both the clinical and basic science arenas.
Lara Harik, MD Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
	Research Project: Risk assessment model for superficial urothelial carcinoma Significance of Research: This project will have a direct and tremendous impact on patient management and follow-up. Our findings could also influence the histologic and ancillary data that the pathologists should include in their daily reports pertaining to these tumors. This will be a great opportunity for me to learn how to establish nomograms that incorporate multidisciplinary data for the betterment of prediction of prognosis.
Rodney Miles, MD, PhD University of Utah health Science Center
	Research Project: Identification of YY1-regulated genes: A step towards understanding the dysregulation of germinal center B-cells in B-cell Lymphoma Significance of Research: B-cell non Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) make up the majority of adult NHL, and the B-cell lymphoma (BCL) gene is frequently altered in these malignancies. BCL6 functions as a transcriptional repressor and is expressed in B-cell of germinal center origin. Recent work in our laboratory has shown that BCL6 and YY1 interact. Although little is known about the role of transcription factor YY1 in lymphoma, it can negatively regulate apoptosis and has been implicated in epithelial malignancies. Our studies will determine the role of YY1 in B-cell lymphoma genesis and establish its relationship to BCL6 in germinal center derived B-cell lymphomas.
2005-2006
Neil Renwick, MD Columbia University Medical Center
	Research Project: Development and evaluation of DNA microarrays for viral detection, speciation, and discovery. Significance of Research: The objectives are to develop and evaluate PCR-based DNA microarrays that speciate adenoviruses and herpesviruses and design a DNA microarray that is capable of detecting all vertebrate viruses. The DNA microarrays can be designed to detect distantly-related viral pathogens and can serve an ancillary role in viral diagnostics. The translational component will be to examine the prevalence and clinical associations of adenoviruses and herpesviruses in lung transplant recipients.
Kenichi Tamama, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
	Research Project:.Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling in cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSC) Significance of Research: Tissue engineering for repair and replacement of injured organs requires an accessible and expandable source of cell progenitors. BMMSC are easily obtainable from patients. The pluripotency of BMMSC prompts speculation as to their utility in cell engineering ex-vivo and tissue regeneration following BMMSC transplantation in vivo, in which cell migration, proliferation and differentiation play significant roles. This project will provide the solid basis for ex-vivo BMMSC expansion in large-culture setting, which might lead to the application of BMMSC transplantation and tissue regeneration therapies to organs such as brain or heart, when infracted heart or brain tissues could be rescued by implanted BMMSC differentiating into cardiomyocytes or neurons in the future.
Omar Hameed, MBChB Washington University School of Medicine
	Research Project: Indoleamine Dioxygenase (IDO) Expression Levels and Relationship to Clinicopathological Features and Survival in Breast Cancer Significance of Research: Currently available drug therapies for adjuvant treatment of breast cancer include chemotherapeutic and hormonal agents, and tyrosine kinase-receptor targeted therapies. Many breast cancer patients, however, are either not eligible for these treatment (hormone receptor negative and/or HER2-negative), or fail to respond to available treatment regiments. There is an immediate need for new therapeutic options. Inhibition of IDO is a novel therapeutic option that appears to have great potential. Characterization of IDO expression in breast cancer and its relationship, if any, to the development of metastasis and survival is of paramount importance. If IDO expression proves to be related to breast cancer survival and/or response to therapy with IDO antagonists, the use of immunohistochemistry or RT-PCR to assess IDO expression may be required from laboratories for patient enrollment into clinical trials or for selection of appropriate therapy.
2004-2005
Hikmat Al-Ahmadie, MD Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
	Research Project:The role of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in the early diagnosis of renal epithelial neoplasms
Marc Barry, MBChB Brigham and Women’s Hospital
	Research Project: Study of early events in invasion and metastasis and the role of tumor-stromal interactions.
Dinesh Rakheja, MD University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
	Research Project: Comparative proteomic analyses of normal placentas and placental tissue from pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia; hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets (HELLP) syndrome; and/or acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP)
2003-2004
Rose C. Beck, MD, PhD The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
	Research Project: Molecular characterization of the T cell repertoire in graft-versus-host disease. Significance of Research: The proposed use of molecular immunology for the diagnosis of GVHD will greatly impact the laboratory diagnosis of other T cell processes, such as host responses in infectious disease, autoimmune disease, chronic allograft rejection, and T cell malignancy. The molecular immunology techniques presented here can be incorporated into the modern molecular pathology lab and used for the evaluation of an antigen-specific T cell response. Not only would these techniques be useful for noninvasive monitoring of T cell responses in blood, but they would also be an asset to histologic diagnosis of T cell responses in tissue.
Mark K. Fung, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
	Research Project: The use of psoralen and UV irradiation for pathogen inactivation of tumors used in generating dendritic cell-based cancer vaccines. Significance of Research: The frequency of death from squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, including carcinoma of the oral cavity and oropharynx, has remained essentially unchanged for the past three decades. The proposed study will help with the development of novel adjunct treatment strategies such as immunotherapy with dendritic cell based-cancer vaccines and may improve overall morbidity and mortality associated with current neoplasms that are difficult to affect a cure.
Federico Monzon, MD University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
	Research Project: Real Time Tumor Profiling of Prostate Cancer Significance of Research: The molecular reclassification of tumors is a NIH initiative to define comprehensive profiles of molecular alterations in tumors, which can be used to identify patient subsets. These molecular profiles are expected to provide the basis for future studies (similar to this one) to validate the clinical utility of molecular-based classification schemes. The ultimate goal of this national program is transforming the massive information into clinically useful data. Our project will focus on the clinical application of the expression analysis of prostate cancer.
2002-2003
Maamoun M. Al-Aynati, MD Mc Master University, Hamilton, ON
	Research Project: Comparative gene expression profiling of normal duct, precursor lesions and ductal carcinoma of human pancreas by cDNA microarray and tissue array. Significance of Research: Establishing the profiles of progressive gene expression changes that occur in normal pancreatic duct epithelium, pancreatic intra-epithelial neoplastic (PanIN) and ductal carcinoma cells will significantly increase our knowledge on the mechanism of cell carcinogenesis, with significant impact on early diagnosis, prevention and decreasing the mortality of this deadly disease
John Frater, MD Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL
	Research Project: Angiogenesis in the pathophysiology of chronic lymphocytic leukemia Significance of Research: Significance of research: Since CLL is the most common leukemia in the United States and is largely incurable, novel therapeutic regimens such as antiangiogenic agents would be helpful. The fellowship would also provide me useful experience in translational research.
Suman Setty, MD
	Research Project: Tissue factor and angiogenesis factors in prostate carcinoma Significance of Research: This research aims at characterizing two different molecules which have been attributed a role in the aggressive behavior of prostrate carcinoma. Correlation of our result with PSA, histologic studies and tumor stage may provide us with insights into the molecular mechanism of prostrate carcinoma.

Related Links

• CAP Foundation John H. Rippey Grant for Quality Assurance Award
• CAP Foundation/Abbott Molecular Pathology Training in Technology Award