Kevin J. Contrera, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, has won the Franklin H. Martin, MD, FACS, Faculty Research Fellowship from the American College of Surgeons. The two-year $80,000 award supports faculty at the beginning of their academic careers.
Dr. Contrera’s research proposal, “Precision Treatment of HPV+ Oropharyngeal Cancer Through Early Perioperative Circulating Tumor DNA,” comes after the ACS Scholarship Committee’s extensive review and recommendation.
“The grant will allow me to evaluate the role of liquid biopsy in guiding treatment as part of a precision oncology approach,” Dr. Contrera said. “We hypothesize that circulating tumor DNA can be used as a novel biomarker to assess tumor burden and treatment response. This will lead to clinical trials in which patients’ treatment is informed by real-time assessment of disease.”
Dr. José P. Zevallos, MD, MPH, FACS, Chair of the Department, and Dr. Matthew Spector, MD, FACS, Division Chief, Head and Neck Surgical Oncology & Microvascular Reconstruction, are Dr. Contrera’s mentors on the project.