Georgia CTSA TL1 Trainee Receives 2017 American Brain Tumor Association Lucien Rubinstein Award

The American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) awards Sameer H. Halani with the 2017 ABTA Lucien Rubinstein Award for his project, “Mechanisms of risk and disease progression in isocitrate dehydrogenase mutant astrocytomas.” Halani was one of five students in the country awarded the Medical Student Summer Fellowship from ABTA, for which he received $3,000 to continue his brain tumor research. Halani was then selected as the winner of the Lucien Rubinstein award, for which he will receive $1,000 to continue his work under the guidance of esteemed scientist-mentors.
 
The Rubinstein Award was awarded to the student who received the highest marks from a panel of scientific reviewers on their project’s final progress report. ABTA also recognizes his mentor, Daniel Brat, MD, PhD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, Emory University, on Halani’s achievement.
 
Halani will graduate with a dual Medical and Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) Degree as part of the TL1-Medical Scientist Training Program in May 2018. The Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance (Georgia CTSA) established this NIH-supported TL1 Medical Scientist training program which includes two tracks: a MD/MSCR track and a PhD/MSCR track. The goal is to equip trainees with the skills required to develop a career in multidisciplinary clinical and translational research. The TL1 program uses a team-science approach and provides mentored and didactic training for predoctoral students performing clinical and/or translational research in health-related fields. The TL1 program supports a select group of trainees as they embark on careers as outstanding patient-oriented researchers, teaching them how to design and conduct clinical research, analyze data, consider relevant ethical and legal issues, write manuscripts and grants, develop and present scientific grants, develop and present scientific posters, and compete for research funding. The goal of the program is to increase the number of well-trained clinical and translational scientists who can lead the design and oversight of future clinical investigations critical to the overall mission of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the National Institute of Health (NIH). Georgia CTSA is a state-wide partnership between Emory, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia Tech, and University of Georgia, and all partners participate in the TL1-program.

The American Brain Tumor Association Medical Student Summer Fellowship is named in honor of Lucien J. Rubinstein, MD, a pioneer in neuropathology at the University of Virginia and a world-renowned brain tumor researcher. The grant encourages motivated physician-scientists to enter and remain in the brain tumor research field.

Georgia CTSA is one of nearly 60 in a national consortium striving to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country. The consortium, funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards, shares a common vision to translate laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, engage communities in clinical research efforts, and train the next generation of clinical investigators.