MARF is pleased to announce that the 2024 research funding grant cycle is now open and accepting pre-application letters of intent (LOI) until 11:59 PM ET Sunday, December 15, 2024. Thanks to the generous supporters of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, our research grant program offers $100,000 grants for two years ($50,000 per year).
Check out the MARF 2024 Symposium Livestream!
If you missed the MARF 2024 Symposium, you can catch a livestream of it here!
Siena Martin
Siena Martin is a research specialist at the University of Pennsylvania Tumor Tissue and Biospecimen Bank (TTAB) and serves as a liaison and member of the NMVB working group. TTAB works closely with the NMVB to facilitate access to high-quality, well-documented human-derived samples for basic, clinical, and translational research, along with associated clinical and pathologic data. TTAB has collected and managed specimens and data from nearly 500 unique mesothelioma cases, with malignant tissue and often paired normal tissue available. These specimens encompass a variety of histological types, cancer stages, and anatomic sites, and are distributed upon request to researchers.
Siena collects fresh mesothelioma tissue from surgical pathology for processing, freezing, fixation, and banking, and documents associated demographic, clinical, and pathologic data in a centralized database (RedCap). She also works under pathologist guidance with retrospective collections, allowing TTAB to create de-identified research blocks from past clinical cases while maintaining the diagnostic integrity of the original clinical blocks.
Siena graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a degree in biology with departmental honors and a minor in psychology. Her previous experience includes a role as a neurobiology research specialist in the Betley lab at the University of Pennsylvania.
New TMA Page
The newest addition to the website is the TMA page! You can now get a look at what cases are available for each our TMAs.
Upcoming Conferences to Attend
NMVB Annual Virtual Meeting (September 23, 2024)
Save the date for the online conference to be held on September 23, 2024. We will have a variety of speakers and presentations all related to how NMVB is doing and where it is headed in the future.
MARF Presents: The International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma (October 17 and 18, 2024 in Chicago)
The Meso Foundation’s International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma is a unique conference that brings together the entire mesothelioma community. We invite patients, their families, caregivers, and the bereaved community, to learn about the latest in treatment options, speak face-to-face with top mesothelioma experts, and find community and support with others walking in their shoes.
Monticello III (October 21 – 25 in Charlottesville, VA)
NMVB’s lead Michael J. Becich will be at the conference to present the topic of “A Path to Asbestos Threshold Determination for Mesothelioma Using Biobanks” on October 23rd between 1:20 PM and 5:40. Contact us for more information.
Karthika Venugopalan
Karthika Venugopalan is a 2nd-year medical student at Lincoln Memorial University – DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM) in Tennessee. Before medical school, she spent 2 years at Quest Diagnostics in a Leadership Development Program, which focused on operations-based project management and continuous improvement initiatives. This experience sparked her interest in laboratory medicine and deepened her passion for pathology. She is fascinated by the world of pathology, and its profound impact on patients’ lives – every “patient” (slide) tells a unique story, and each diagnosis can significantly influence a patient’s care plan/treatment trajectory.
This summer, she spent 8 weeks in the Klionsky Pathology Summer Research Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Becich and Dr. Ye Ye on the NMVB team. She is incredibly grateful for the knowledge and experiences she has gained during her time with this fantastic team. NMVB plays a crucial role in patient care for those with mesothelioma, and she is glad to have contributed in a small but meaningful way. She learned about pathology informatics, computational pathology, the research process, and mesothelioma – a rare, aggressive form of cancer.
Her primary focus this summer was to establish a framework and explore the integration potential of Prov-GigaPath, a foundational model created by Microsoft, with the National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank (NMVB). By developing this integration framework, the goal is to gain deeper insights into mesothelioma, enhancing research outcomes and improving data sharing capabilities through collaboration with other institutions and researchers. The study aims to create more enhanced and robust workflows for integration. This will enable researchers to handle large datasets effectively and will drive forward innovations in computational pathology.
She is deeply grateful for this opportunity and excited about the future of pathology informatics and digital pathology. She looks forward to applying the knowledge and skills she has gained from her summer experiences as she continues her journey to becoming a pathologist.