Ashley Volaric, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Deputy Program Leader for the UVM Cancer Center’s Cancer Host and Interactions research program, was recently awarded a Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award, K08, from the National Cancer Institute.
The grant mechanism provides protected time for mentored cancer research and career development activities. In recent years only 16% of NCI K08 grant applications have been funded and Dr. Volaric is one of only two clinical scientists at UVM who currently have a K08, and the only NCI K08.
Mentored by Seth Frietze, PhD, her research will focus on understanding how the genomic biology of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated diffuse large-B cell is related to clinical variables of immunodeficiency and outcomes to ultimately improve diagnostics, uncover disease associated mechanisms, and identify potential therapeutic targets.
EBV was the first oncogenic virus discovered in humans, and the only one known to cause a wide array of cancers. How and why EBV instigates these cancers across varied populations is unknown. EBV infects 95% of the global population by adulthood, but thankfully, only rarely leads to disease onset, often in the setting of immunodeficiency. Dr. Volaric is particularly interested in uncovering targetable and prognostic biomarkers of EBV-related disease onset, by utilizing spatial microscopy and epi-transcriptomic approaches.
This study will be conducted in collaboration with colleagues in Malawi and Uganda, with the hopes of creating a global biobank of clinical tissue samples of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Dr. Volaric will comprehensively evaluate EBV’s involvements in the tumor microenvironment in these samples to uncover potential diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers.
This grant was made possible with support from the UVM Cancer Center Cancer Host and Interactions research program, a UVM Cancer Center pre-pilot award, and support from UVM Core Facilities. When asked how this grant will shape her career Dr. Volaric stated “This NCI K08 grant will provide salary support for 75% dedicated research time for the next five years to pursue this study. Dedicated research time is absolutely essential for establishing an independent research program and furthering my project’s aims into R-level funding.”.