Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center biostatistician Dr. Yingqi Zhao has been awarded the Dr. Charles A. Coltman Jr. Fellowship, which recognizes and funds prolific early- and mid-career scientists from affiliated institutions within SWOG, a national clinical trials network.
The Coltman Fellowship, which is sponsored by SWOG’s public charity, The Hope Foundation, includes a two-year, $50,000-a-year grant to support the development of cutting-edge clinical trials within an academic environment.
“I’m really grateful that SWOG and The Hope Foundation are interested in my research,” said Zhao, whose work centers on improving immunotherapy trials and patient outcomes. Unlike chemotherapy, which targets fast-growing cells, immunotherapy encompasses a number of different approaches to harness the patient’s own immune system to destroy the cancer. It is an active area of research across many types of cancers; a growing number of immunotherapies have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
