CGB Fellows Successfully Defend Dissertations
, by DCEG Staff
In May 2018, fellows from the Clinical Genetics Branch successfully defended their dissertations. Rotana Alsaggaf successfully defended her dissertation titled “Neoplasms and Factors Associated with Their Development in Patients Diagnosed with Myotonic Dystrophy Type I,” and received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. Dr. Alsaggaf conducted her research as a predoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator Shahinaz Gadalla, Ph.D. As a postdoctoral fellow, she continues her work with Dr. Gadalla on epidemiological and molecular analyses to inform cancer predisposition in myotonic dystrophy, and to study the role of telomere biology in cancer susceptibility.
Kelvin C. de Andrade successfully defended his dissertation titled “Population prevalence of potentially pathogenic germline TP53 variants,” and received a Ph.D. from the A.C. Camargo Cancer Center in São Paulo, Brazil. As a predoctoral fellow in CGB, he conducted his doctoral research under the mentorship CGB Branch Chief Sharon A. Savage, M.D. As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. de Andrade continues to investigate genetic and behavioral factors that could be associated with cancer risk, progression, and phenotypic variability in Li-Fraumeni patients.
Jennifer Young successfully defended her dissertation “Couples Coping with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome: A Mixed-Methods Study of Family Strengths,” and received her doctoral degree in Family Science from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Young worked with Dr. Savage and Mark H. Greene, M.D. over the last three years, conducting and analyzing family interviews from the Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Study. She recently accepted a postdoctoral position at Stanford University.