David Severson, MD, general surgery resident, has been awarded a research grant from the American Cancer Society (ACS) for his project titled, “Decoding tumor-defining crosstalk between mesothelioma malignant cells and their microenvironment.”
The goal of the project is to understand drivers of prognostic and predictive heterogeneity in mesothelioma, through the use of cell line in mouse models.
Dr. Severson received support from mentor David Harpole, MD, Professor of Surgery in the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, who also directs the F32 course for Duke general surgery residents.
The course provides residents with invaluable step-by-step guidance on how to apply for research awards. Though tailored to National Institutes of Health (NIH) F32 grants, the course allowed Dr. Severson to apply the base knowledge and understanding in his application for the ACS award.
“Without the course, because of how clinically busy we are as residents, it might have been virtually impossible to apply for an award like this,” says Dr. Severson.