2026 News & Events
INAUGURAL IPRD SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP AT THE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
IPRD is proud to announce its first year supporting the College of Medicine Summer Research Fellowship. We are excited to share that the inaugural IPRD Rare Disease Fellowship has been awarded to Minh Quan Le, Class of 2029, who will be working with IPRD-supported researcher Qing-Xiang “Amy” Sang, Ph.D., the Diane & Michael Bruton Professor for Cancer Research.
The FSU College of Medicine Summer Research Fellowship (SRF) Program awards $5,000 stipends to medical students who participate in research with support from an FSU faculty mentor. This long-standing program provides students with opportunities and support to engage in research.
The research project focuses on understanding how Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) survives at the molecular level. In ATRT the SMARCB1gene is turned off, forcing the tumor to rely on another protein, SMARCA4, to keep growing. The research project will test whether turning off SMARCA4 can cause the tumor cells to die. This approach could lead to treatments that specifically target cancer cells while reducing harm to healthy cells, ultimately improving outcomes and quality of life for young patients.