Late Spring 2025 Travel Award Recipients
Bell Travel Awards
Priyani Harsha Hapugaswatta (M. Azuma Lab), Anika James (Neufeld Lab), and Evan Schulz (M. Azuma Lab) each received a Bell Travel award to attend the 2025 American Association of Cancer Research (AARC) Annual Meeting in Chicago, Il, held on April 25-30, 2025.
Priyani Harsha Hapugaswatta presented a poster titled “Aneuploidy induction mechanism in Ewing sarcoma.” Hapugaswatta shared that “I had a great opportunity to meet peers in the same field who work on Ewing Sarcoma and share the knowledge and my thoughts on their research. Apart from that, it was really eye-opening to get to know the different fields under cancer research that I was not aware of. There were many drug interventions in different stages targeting many cancer types, and it was interesting to hear how they overcame each step to make the most viable drugs that exist today. I had the opportunity to interact with many people from industries and other labs which gave an impression of what I could expect to pursue after graduation. Overall, it is a different level of exposure than I expected about the field of cancer and research.”
Anika James presented a poster entitled "Nuclear APC maintains colon homeostasis and mitigates inflammation" at the AARC meeting in Chicago. James said "Attending this conference was invaluable for my research development, allowing me to present our findings on how nuclear APC affects inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer mechanisms. The feedback I received from experts in the field provided new perspectives on our work with APC and its role in intestinal homeostasis. Networking with researchers studying similar molecular pathways opened doors for potential collaborations that will strengthen our research moving forward. I'm grateful to the Molecular Biosciences Travel Award Committee for this opportunity that significantly contributed to my professional growth and allowed me to share our findings with the broader scientific community."
Evan Schulz presented a poster entitled “Role of Ewing sarcoma proteins in the mitotic spindle.” Schulz shared that “this experience enabled me to connect with and receive feedback from many other scientists in my field, resulting in new opportunities for collaboration. Not only was this a valuable experience in learning about scientific communication and career development, attending this conference taught me a lot about the broader field of cancer research and fostered new perspectives and ideas I can use to improve my research. Attending this conference has provided numerous benefits to my research and career, for which I would like to thank the Molecular Biosciences Travel Award Committee for their support.”