Meet the 2021–2022 Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Fellows

Established in 2021, the Andrew Sabin Family Endowment and Initiative in Cancer Prevention at MSK provides support to young scientists whose research focuses on prevention and early detection of cancers caused by genetic and environmental factors or other causes that can be measured and reduced. The Andrew Sabin Family Foundation, which funds initiatives in environmental science as well as cancer research, makes this farsighted opportunity possible through its generosity and dedication to the education and training of future leaders in cancer care.

The Sabin Family Foundation Fellowships provide crucial funding at a stage in the recipients’ academic and research careers when such support can have the greatest impact on their transition to becoming independent investigators. “By investing in emerging talent, we hope to expand our programs in cancer genetics to discover new approaches to targeted prevention,” says Kenneth Offit, MD, Robert and Kate Niehaus Chair in Inherited Cancer Genomics and Chief of the Clinical Genetics Service, who oversees the program.

Three promising scientists were selected for the 2021–2022 class of Sabin Family Foundation Fellows.

Jian Carrot-Zhang, PhD
Departmental Service: Computational Oncology, Clinical Genetics
Position: Assistant Attending
Research focus: Develop leading-edge computational methods to study inherited and acquired gene mutations in diverse groups and how they relate to cancer risk and responses to treatment

Yonina Murciano-Goroff, MD, MSc, DPhil
Departmental Service: Early Drug Development, Clinical Genetics
Position: Assistant Attending
Research focus: Design and lead first-in-human clinical trials testing genetically targeted treatments and preventions for several types of cancer, with a focus on inherited syndromes of cancer predisposition

Marie Will, MD, PhD
Departmental Service: Breast Medicine, Clinical Genetics
Position: Assistant Attending
Research focus: Develop a model system to study how tumors form in mammary tissue and how genetic variations modify cancer risk in people with inherited BRCA1/2 mutations

From left: Jian Carrot-Zhang, PhD, Yonina Murciano-Goroff, MD, MSc, DPhil, and Marie Will, MD, PhD