We are proud to announce that CTS Ph.D. student Stephanie Tribble was recently appointed as one of six National Cancer Institute (NCI) - T32 Integrative Cancer Scholars. She joined the CTS master's program in 2019 and completed her M.S. degree in the lab of Dr. Justin Wilson, where she is continuing her research as a 3rd year doctoral candidate. Her work explores the role of Absent in Melanoma 2 (AIM2), an innate immune pattern recognition receptor, in limiting the intestinal epithelial inflammation that can act as a precursor for many GI neoplasias. Through her research she has discovered that AIM2 promotes Tuft cell development, a terminally differentiated epithelial cell that can limit pro-inflammatory signaling in the intestine.
In addition to basic science, a key component of the T32 is an integrative pairing with a clinical research mentor; Stephanie will be working with Dr. Juanita Merchant, chief of the UA Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Through this collaborative mentoring, she will begin the translational component of her project using patient derived intestinal organoids to further examine the role of AIM2 in inflammation associated cancers and other relevant disease models. Please join us in congratulating Stephanie!