View Larger Image The 2023-2024 KL2 Scholars are (l-r, clockwise from top): Mary “Katy” Allison, Michail Mavros, Brian D. Piccolo, Megha Sharma, Ankita Shukla and Alicja Urbaniak.
The 2023-2024 KL2 Scholars are (l-r, clockwise from top): Mary “Katy” Allison, Michail Mavros, Brian D. Piccolo, Megha Sharma, Ankita Shukla and Alicja Urbaniak.

Six Early-Career UAMS Researchers Receive KL2 Scholar Awards

By David Robinson

| Six early-career researchers have been selected to receive two years of funded translational research training and support in the UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) KL2 Mentored Research Career Development Scholar Awards Program.

The promising junior faculty researchers were selected for the 2023-2024 program through a competitive application process. KL2 scholars receive two years of mentored translational research training, 75% salary support and up to $25,000 a year for research, tuition, travel and education.

Funding for the program comes from TRI, supported by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Clinical and Translational Science Award KL2 TR003108; UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and Arkansas Children’s Research Institute.

The scholars, their project titles and primary mentors are:

  • Mary “Katy” Allison, Ph.D., MPH, research assistant professor, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health Department of Health Behavior & Health Education
    “Optimized Implementation Strategies to Support Pregnancy-Related Remote Patient Monitoring”

    Primary Mentor: Geoffrey Curran, Ph.D.

  • Michail Mavros, M.D., assistant professor, College of Medicine Department of Surgery (Oncology)
    “Venous Thromboembolism in Pancreatic Cancer Patients Undergoing Pancreatectomy: Risk Factors and Effectiveness of Pharmacoprophylaxis”

    Primary Mentor: Mario Schootman, Ph.D.

  • Brian D. Piccolo, Ph.D., assistant professor, College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
    “Mechanisms by Which Culturally Specific Foods Influence Infant Gut Development and Barrier Function”

    Primary Mentor: Mario Ferruzzi, Ph.D.

  • Megha Sharma, M.D., assistant professor, College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology
    “Beyond Race: Objectively Assessed Skin Color and its Association with Pulse Oximeter Bias in Critically Ill Infants”

    Primary Mentor: Mario Schootman, Ph.D.

  • Ankita Shukla, M.D., assistant professor, College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology
    “PERFORM: Persistent Effects of Intrauterine Growth Restriction on Infant Brain Development: A Comparative MEG Study”

    Primary Mentor: Hari Eswaran, Ph.D.

  • Alicja Urbaniak, Ph.D., instructor, College of Medicine Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biolog
    “Monensin and its Derivatives as Adjuvants to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer”

    Primary Mentor: Alan Tackett, Ph.D.