Sarbajit Mukherjee, MD, MS
Roswell Park
Comprehensive Cancer Center
NCIS

NANETS congratulates Sarbajit Mukherjee, MD, MS of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, as the NANETS 2019 Clinical Investigator Scholarship (NCIS) Award recipient. The NCIS award focuses on supporting a clinical project as well as the investigator's potential to make future clinical contributions to the neuroendocrine tumor field. This award is in honor of Edda Gomez-Panzani, MD for her dedication and work on behalf of patients living with neuroendocrine tumors.

Dr. Mukherjee received the grant for his proposal on Circulating Tumor DNA (Ct DNA) as a Biomarker in High-Grade Neuroendocrine Tumor.

The goal of this research will use patients’ blood samples to identify those genetic alterations in the circulating tumor DNA (Ct DNA) which may allow for the development of personalized treatments for this rare disease. The proposed study will collect serial blood samples from patients and monitor their Ct DNA over time. Analysis of that data will provide insight into the biology of disease evolution which may help Dr. Mukherjee build an optimal sequence of targeted therapeutic interventions. It will also inform whether Ct DNA can predict response to therapy in high-grade GEP-NETs.

IPSEN is proud to sponsor the continuation of Dr. Gomez-Panzani's work on behalf of NET patients through this Clinical Investigator Scholarship. IPSEN Biopharmaceuticals supports this research scholarship in the form of a $100,000 grant directed to NANETS to administer over the course of the two year grant period. The NANETS Research Committee establishes the award criteria, reviews process, and independently selects the recipient.

Po Hien Ear, PhD
University of Iowa
BTSI Grant

NANETS congratulates Po Hien Ear, PhD, of the University of Iowa, as the NANETS 2019 Basic/Translational Science Investigator (BTSI) Award recipient.

Dr. Ear received the grant for her proposal on Development of in vitro pre-clinical models for small bowel neuroendocrine tumor drug testing.

Dr. Ear's current capabilities support a promising future in the field of NET research. Dr. Ear has a unique background suited for discovering novel therapeutic agents for NETs because she has a profound understanding of cell cycle regulation and large scale-data analysis/integration. Her work has been published in numerous prestigious journals. She has 14 publications (five additional manuscripts in preparation) and three patents.

Dr. Ear’s research will utilize her expertise in proteomics and metabolomics to the field of neuroendocrine tumors. Bridging these fields will allow for the identification of new therapies for patients with neuroendocrine tumors and to better understand their mechanism of action.

The Basic/Translational Science Investigator (BTSI) Grant is funded by the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF). The $100,000 BTSI Grant is administered over the course of two years. The NANETS Research Committee establishes the award criteria, reviews process and independently selects the recipient.