Postdoctoral scholar Jason Zhang, PhD, has received a K99 NIH Pathway to Independence Award from the National Cancer Institute. Aimed at scientists who seek to understand and target cancer, the award provides support over five years to bridge postdoctoral training and independent faculty research.
Jason is focused on the complexities of cancer signaling. Using AI-based protein design, he’s building new biosensors to study the interplay between cancer, cancer treatments, and cell signaling. His long-term goal is to counteract cancer drug resistance, a leading driver of cancer deaths today.
Specifically, Jason’s K99 proposed research will lead to a better understanding of the causes and drug resistance mechanisms of Ras-driven cancers, which account for a third of all cancers. By developing tools to profile, track, and perturb specific Ras isoforms in physiologically relevant cancer models, he intends to use these tools to understand how cancer cells reorganize Ras signaling during Ras inhibitor treatment to reactive oncogenic cellular programs. This will provide critically needed tools and address how cell signaling dynamically adapts during drug treatment.
The NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) helps outstanding postdoctoral researchers complete needed training and transition to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. Learn more and apply at cancer.gov or researchtraining.nih.gov.