CCR Milestones - 2019

Jack Shern, M.D. Jack Shern, M.D., has been appointed as an NIH Lasker Scholar Tenure Track Investigator in the Pediatric Oncology Branch. His research is aimed at defining and developing precision therapies targeting the genetic mutations that drive tumorigenesis. Yousuke Takahama, Ph.D. Yousuke Takahama, Ph.D., has joined the Experimental Immunology Branch as a Senior Investigator. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in building functionally competent thymus microenvironments and in governing thymic selection to generate a functionally competent repertoire of mature T cells. Naomi Taylor, M.D., Ph.D. Naomi Taylor, M.D., Ph.D., has joined CCR as a Senior Investigator in the Pediatric Oncology Branch. During the next few years, she aims to combine fundamental and translational approaches to respond to key questions addressing the metabolic regulation of T-cell effector function and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) differen- tiation in pediatric cancer patients and develop intrathymic-based strategies that enhance thymocyte differentiation and T-cell function. Joana Vidigal, Ph.D. Joana Vidigal, Ph.D., has joined the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as a Stadtman Tenure Track Investigator. She will work toward understanding the mechanisms through which small noncoding- RNA pathways regulate gene expression during animal development, tissue homeostasis and disease. Jing Wu, M.D., Ph.D. Jing Wu, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as an NIH Lasker Scholar Tenure Track Investigator in the Neuro-Oncology Branch. She is interested in translational research in neuro-oncology focusing on developing preclinical testing and hypothesis-based clinical trials of glioma treatments. 31