Inaugural Clinical Trialist Early Career Development Scholars Award

February 15, 2023

The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research have awarded six investigators a Clinical Trialist Early Career Development Scholars Award -- Joel Gabre, MD, Jerard Z. Kneifati-Hayek, MD, MS, Ryan Moy, MD, PhD, Maria Diaz, MD, Benjamin Ranard, MD, MSHP, and Deborah Theodore, MD. Their exciting projects are widely diverse, from investigating screening and early detection method for sepsis to the study of a novel combination therapy for diffuse gastric cancer and examining treatment resistance in esophageal cancer to exploring a mindfulness-based intervention geared for patients suffering from long Covid.

“We look forward to the exciting outcomes of these studies,” says Andrew Lassman, MD, associate director for clinical trials at the HICCC, scientific director for Network Capacity Resource in the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, and associate dean of clinical research compliance at Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons and John Harris Professor of Neurology at CUIMC. “This group’s work represents an important step forward in clinical trials research, seeking to diversify clinical trial participation for the betterment of all patients.”

Maria Diaz, MD  

Maria Diaz, MD

Maria Diaz, MD

Assistant Professor of Neurology, CUIMC 
Project: Multimodality imaging for distinction between pseudo-progression and early tumor progression in glioblastoma 

To date in glioblastoma, no imaging or non-invasive laboratory test reliably differentiates true disease progression from pseudo-progression (transient changes related to treatment effects), yet the distinction is critical for continuing treatment decisions. This project investigates, and aims to ultimately determine, the sensitivity and specificity of imaging procedures - magnetic resonance (MR)-perfusion, MR-spectroscopy, and positron emission tomography (PET) - alone and in combination, in differentiating true progression from pseudo-progression.

[read about the award and other recipients]

Source: Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research