DCP Early Career Scientist Spotlight Research Seminar Series (Upcoming Research Talks)

Upcoming Research Talks

 

Tuesday, June 9, 2026 | 11am EST
"ONC201 for Colorectal Cancer Prevention"
Alexander Raufi, MD
Alexander Raufi, MD Director, Clinical Research, Division of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Brown University Health Cancer Institute
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Alexander G. Raufi, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. As a hematologist/oncologist at Brown University Health Cancer Institute, he specializes in Gastrointestinal Oncology and serves as the Director of the Gastrointestinal Clinical Research Program. Dr. Raufi received his medical degree from The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at the University of California, Irvine in Orange, California, and his fellowship training in hematology/oncology at Columbia University/New York-Presbyterian in New York, New York. Dr. Raufi conducts both laboratory and clinical research at Brown University’s Legorreta Cancer Center and Brown University Health. His research interests include the development of novel immunotherapy combinations in gastrointestinal malignancies and preventive strategies for gastrointestinal cancers. He is a recipient of a 2019 Young Investigator Award from the Conquer Cancer Foundation/American Society of Clinical Oncology.

“Better Together: Advancing Cancer Survivorship Through Dyadic Lifestyle Interventions”
Meghan Skiba, PhD, MS, MPH, RDN
Meghan Skiba, PhD, MS, MPH, RDN Assistant Professor, University of Arizona College of Nursing, Tucson, AZ
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Dr. Meghan Skiba is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona College of Nursing and a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the University of Arizona Cancer Center. Prior, Dr. Skiba completed graduate training at the University of Arizona, a dietetic internship through the University of Houston, and a postdoctoral fellowship at Oregon Health & Science Knight Cancer Institute. A registered dietitian nutritionist, Dr. Skiba's research focuses on promoting healthy aging in cancer survivors and their caregivers through culturally and regionally tailored diet and physical activity interventions. Her work integrates of caregivers into survivorship care and employs both community engagement strategies as well as digital health technologies to enhance reach and impact. She currently leads projects investigating the effects of dyadic lifestyle interventions on physical and psychosocial outcomes in cancer survivors and their caregivers.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 | 11am EST
“Mechanisms that link diet and aging in driving intestinal cancer risk”
Jiahn Choi, PhD
Jiahn Choi, PhD Assistant Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
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Our research centers on understanding how intestinal stem cells and their surrounding niche adapt to environmental stressors—such as aging and diet—and how these adaptations influence tissue homeostasis, inflammation, and cancer risk. Our work integrates single-cell omics, in vivo imaging, and functional genomics to uncover how stem cell plasticity and niche interactions are reprogrammed in response to modifiable risk factors, including a Western-style diet. We have demonstrated that Western-style diet reshapes intestinal homeostasis by altering the primary stem cell population, thereby remodeling lineage differentiation and contributing to a pro-tumorigenic state. Building on these findings, our ongoing research aims to deconvolve the mechanisms by which cellular adaptation contributes to pathogenesis, including cancer.
By defining the mechanisms underlying mucosal remodeling and pathogenesis, our goal is to develop preventive strategies that preserve epithelial integrity and reduce the risk of diet- and age-associated diseases.

“Developing and Testing Integrative Therapies for Cancer Symptom Management”
Kevin T. Liou, MD
Kevin T. Liou, MD Assistant Attending, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
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Kevin Liou is an integrative medicine specialist, licensed acupuncturist, and assistant attending physician at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). He obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown University. He completed his internal medicine residency at Weill Cornell Medicine, followed by an integrative oncology research fellowship at MSK. He is the principal investigator on several clinical trials investigating acupuncture and music therapy for cancer symptom management. His research has been supported by the National Cancer Institute, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the Gabrielle's Angel Foundation, the Chanel Endowment for Survivorship Research, and MSK's Division of Subspecialty Medicine. He is also the director of MSK's integrative medicine fellowship program.
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