Mayo Clinic Gerstner Family Career Development Awards announced
The Mayo Clinic Gerstner Family Career Development Awards are given each year to early-stage investigators to advance individualized therapies and to promote a specialized workforce capable of moving individualized medicine from discovery into patient care. The 2019 recipients are:
Elena Myasoedova, M.D., Ph.D. (HSR '10, RHEU '13, I '16)
Division of Rheumatology
Department of Medicine
Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Building an algorithm using artificial intelligence that can predict an individual's response to methotrexate. The algorithm incorporates genomic, clinical, sociodemographic and blood test data from people with early rheumatic arthritis who have been treated with methotrexate. Undertaken with the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine Pharmacogenomics Program, the pilot project can potentially provide a foundation for studies of emerging rheumatoid arthritis treatments including biologics and small molecule therapies.
Bhavika Patel, M.D. (RD '15)
Division of Breast Imaging
Department of Radiology
Mayo Clinic in Arizona
Using a state-of-the-art blood test to detect residual tumor DNA circulating in patients' blood after breast cancer treatment. The blood test was developed in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and TGen and was recently described in Science Translational Medicine. Using quantitative image analysis tools to identify patterns and metrics detectable on breast cancer patients' contrast-enhanced imaging studies before, during and after treatment. The goal is that these biomarkers can inform personalized therapies to improve breast cancer patients' quality of life and avoid unnecessary treatments.