Dr. Tracess Smalley Receives NIH K99/R00 Award
Congratulations to Dr. Tracess Smalley, a postdoctoral fellow in the Cancer Biology and Evolution Program in the Molecular Oncology Department under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Binning, who recently received the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00). This award is for promising postdoctoral scientists seeking to complete mentored research career development that will facilitate their timely transition to an independent, tenure-track faculty position.
The K99/R00 Award provides up to five years of grant support consisting of two phases: the Mentored Phase (K99) supports one to two years of mentored postdoctoral research training; the Independent Research Phase (R00) is a research project grant for up to three years, contingent on the scientist securing an independent, tenure-track faculty position.
This award will support Dr. Smalley in pursuing her long-term career goals of continuing her academic career to become “a lead investigator at a prominent university, managing an active research laboratory that investigates relevant problems at the intersection of host immunity and viral pathology, and teaching both graduate and undergraduate students.”
Dr. Smalley’s project explores the antagonism of the dual E3 ligase TRIM25, a modulator of the innate immune response pathway, by HPV E6. By understanding the molecular mechanism that dictates TRIM25 inhibition, they will gain valuable insight into the complexity and regulation of innate immune signaling.
“This award will position me to not only be competitive in the job market but will help me quickly transition to an independent laboratory where I can continue to work on the science in this proposal,” said Dr. Smalley.
When she began her college journey at Hillsborough Community College, Dr. Smalley expressed that she did not have a research focus, let alone research skills. Considering this, Dr. Smalley would like to share this piece of advice, “If you want something, it does not matter where you start, you just have to start.” She then continued her education to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry and impressively earned her PhD in Chemistry in three and a half years at the University of South Florida.
Join us in congratulating Dr. Tracess Smalley for this accomplishment and furthering her career!