2019 BCAN Young Investigator Awardees

The New Discoveries Research Young Investigator Awards, support the development of outstanding early career research scientists and clinical cancer research investigators who have demonstrated a commitment to improving the understanding and treatment of bladder cancer.  Each Young Investigator Award provides a $50,000 grant that supports one year of bladder cancer research.

The three young investigators funded in 2019 gave presentations of their final study results at our 2021 Bladder Cancer Think Tank. Click here to watch their video presentations and learn about the important work of the New Discoveries Young Investigators; Drs. Mukherjee, Psutka and Bhanvadia.

A New Discoveries Research Young Investigator Award is presented to Dr. Neelam Mukherjee for her research proposal, “Recombinant CCL2 as a Novel Treatment Strategy for Bladder Cancer” Dr. Mukerjee, a BCAN John Quale Travel Fellow in 2017, is a post-doctoral fellow at University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and her research is focused on studying how immune cells are recruited into the body environment.

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A New Discoveries Research Young Investigator Award is presented

to Dr. Sarah Psutka, for her research proposal, “Quantifying Risk and Resilience Among Patients with Bladder Cancer:  A Novel Personalized, Comprehensive Risk Stratification Program.”  Dr. Psutka is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and her research proposal addresses the need to identify a more objective way for physicians to assess a patient’s ability to tolerate surgery.

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The New Discoveries Research Young Investigator Awards for Patient Centered Clinical Research is presented to Dr. Sumeet Bhanvadia for her research proposal, “Understanding the Burden and Impact of Financial Toxicity in Bladder Cancer—A Mixed Methods Study of Two Diverse Patient Populations.” Dr. Bhanvadia is Assistant Professor of Urology at the University of Southern California and her study is focused on assessing the extent of financial toxicity experienced by bladder cancer patients across a broad range of race, ethnicity, insurance type and socioeconomic status.