Rebecca Starble and Danielle Miyagishima won the 2024 Carolyn Slayman Prize in Genetics for outstanding research and service.

The Carolyn Slayman Award in Genetics recognizes students for outstanding scientific achievement and outstanding contributions to the scientific community. The award is named in honor of Dr. Carolyn Walch Slayman, Sterling Professor of Genetics. This year, the award was jointly awarded to Dr. Rebecca Starble and Dr. Danielle Miyagishima.

Starble conducted his PhD research in the laboratory of Andrew Xiao. His dissertation reports the discovery of an unexpected mechanism governing treatment resistance in lung adenocarcinoma. His work identifies a new chromatin element that controls the amplification of oncogenes, which promotes cancer development, and shows that the reduction of the chromatin component prevents resistance to treatment. This work suggests new ways to prevent lung cancer treatment resistance.

Starble served on the Alumni Conference and the Graduate and Professional Senate where he represented graduate students. One of Starble’s goals throughout his PhD was to help reduce the academic barriers within education that prevent many students from considering a career in science. in the New Haven Public School District through the science and education organizations he helped lead. “In particular, I enjoyed helping to develop and run the BioScience Club, a high school program that aims to teach experimental techniques that can be directly applied to STEM workers through hands-on laboratory experiments. This program not only confirmed the impact of early exposure to STEM, but also highlighted the importance of building long-term relationships with the community.

Next, Starble will begin as a YSM Scientific Fellow in the Yale Pathology Department, where he aims to further elucidate the function and mechanisms of oncogene amplification in tumor development. He is particularly interested in discovering new factors that promote structural differentiation in tumorigenesis with the ultimate goal of exploiting these factors. Ultimately, he hopes to establish an independent research program in the field of cancer epigenetics, combining his research interests in cancer biology with consulting.

Commenting on her time in the Department of Genetics, Starble says “I am very excited to be part of a collaborative and collaborative department. I received invaluable scientific feedback throughout my PhD from many faculty members who pushed my project forward. The department is also very diverse in terms of science, which has helped me a lot to think about science in different ways and learn about fields other than my own.”

A joint award recipient, Miyagishima conducted his PhD research in the laboratory of Murat Günel. His dissertation provides a comprehensive cellular and molecular analysis of meningiomas, tumors that grow from the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord. His work uncovers spatial distribution within meningiomas, identifies signaling mechanisms operating in meningiomas, and reveals complex hormonal regulation within the tumor microenvironment. This comprehensive understanding of the tumor environment suggests a systems-based treatment approach.

Miyagishima is a co-founder of the Yale Cushing Society, whose mission is to promote direct academic and research collaboration between Yale undergraduates and medical students and neurology residents and faculty, and has contributed to efforts to improve opportunities for members of disadvantaged communities to pursue careers. medical jobs. During the COVID-19 pandemic she has worked to combat vaccine misinformation and help increase access to vaccines for refugees and low-income communities. Miyagishima was also involved in the creation of the New Haven Global Shapers Hub, which aims to provide opportunities to work with change makers around the world in various areas of influence.

Reflecting on his service, Miyagishima says “nothing good happens without a great team and that science can take us far but getting the general public to buy in is equally important. I hope that I will continue to contribute to ensuring that knowledge and scientific progress are accessible to as many people as possible.”

Danielle is currently completing her MD as part of the Medical Science Training Program and is preparing to apply to neurosurgery residency programs. As part of her preparation, she will do internships at Massachusetts General Hospital and New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Campus this summer. Ultimately, Danielle hopes to emulate her mentors and become a neuroscientist doing basic and translational research.