image: Minna Roh-Johnson, PhD, Headshot
Credit: University of Utah Health
In the lab of Minna Roh-Johnson, PhD, great science and great mentorship are inseparable. “In a scientific setting, using diverse approaches is always considered a strength,” says Roh-Johnson, investigator, Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U) and associate professor of biochemistry at the School of Medicine. “Diversity and high-quality science are intertwined.”
Now, up to $250,000 in federal funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has made that philosophy concrete.
The NCI award is an administrative supplement to recognize excellence in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility mentorship, specifically “scientists who have demonstrated compelling commitments and contributions to enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the biomedical sciences.”
Under the Programs to Enhance Diversity (PED) component of the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG), Huntsman Cancer Institute is tasked with developing programs, initiatives, and infrastructure to enhance the participation of underrepresented populations in the research workforce and cancer center leadership by supporting career-enhancing opportunities for faculty, staff, and learners from all backgrounds.
“This recognition from the National Cancer Institute not only honors Dr. Minna Roh-Johnson’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility but also significantly advances our understanding of cancer biology, which is central to Huntsman Cancer Institute’s mission,” says Gita Suneja, MD, senior director of Programs to Enhance Diversity and a radiation oncologist at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of radiation oncology at the U. “This work exemplifies our dedication to fostering an inclusive research environment that drives innovation and ultimately improves health outcomes for all communities we serve.”
Advancing Cancer Research
While the award recognizes excellence in DEIA mentorship, the funds are used mostly to continue Roh-Johnson’s research at Huntsman Cancer Institute. The premise is that commitment to diversity initiatives and community enhancement takes a lot of time, and investigators are being rewarded for providing that commitment.
Specifically, her study aims to learn what triggers cancer cells to divide more than they should. Roh Johnson and her team are looking at macrophages, a type of immune cell that plays a significant role in breast cancer progression and are a key component of the tumor microenvironment.
Previous research in the Roh-Johnson Lab found that immune cells can trigger cancer cell division by offloading some of their own mitochondria into the cancer cell. Surprisingly, the extra mitochondria don’t seem to be boosting cancer growth by providing more energy. Instead, they produce other chemicals that cancer cells interpret as a signal to divide.
Figuring out how and why this happens is a main focus of the funded research. Tay Stevens, IM-PREP trainee in biochemistry at the U, is interested in what’s going on with the mitochondrial donor cell. Does it have to be a specific kind of immune cell to trigger cancer progression, or will mitochondria transferred from other cells have the same effect? Noah Bressler, graduate researcher in biochemistry at the U, aims to figure out what’s happening in the tumor cell itself that increases cancer aggressiveness. Answering these questions could reveal new targets to slow or halt cancer progression.
Building Scientific Community
The award will fund the lab’s research directly, provide support to Huntsman Cancer Institute and to University of Utah Health (U of U Health) more broadly, and support two initiatives to improve scientific mentorship and community: the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and the Graduate Student Rising Stars program at the U.
As the recipients see it, the award’s multiple funding outputs acknowledge the link between good science and good science mentorship.
“Our lab really embodies not only diversity in background but diversity of thought,” Stevens says. “When researchers bring multiple perspectives, knowledge bases, and goals to the table, they help each other find creative new ways of thinking about tough problems. It helps round you out as both a scientist and an individual because you’re taking home more than you think.”
As an officer for SACNAS, Stevens is an expert on the benefits that come with a strong scientific community. SACNAS organizes both career development opportunities and social events for scientists from all backgrounds. “We’re building a community where you can not only interact with people like you but also people who are not like you,” Stevens explains. “People come from different backgrounds, different relationships, different communities, and we all come together as one to advance science.”
While SACNAS aims to connect researchers across a broad swath of career stages, the other program funded by the grant, the Graduate Student Rising Stars program, specifically targets graduate students nearing the end of their PhD. Researchers from across the country come to U of U Health to share their work and make connections.
It’s great for the students and the university, according to Roh-Johnson. Top-notch graduate researchers get a stellar professional development opportunity and an impressive line on their CV. They also get an introduction to the research environment at U of U Health, which helps the university recruit some of the best scientists in the country as future post-docs.
Making Science for Everyone
Bressler explains that the addition of expertise from many sources is one reason inclusion in science is so important. “When you’re gatekeeping or when certain people are excluded, you’re missing out on knowledge and experience,” he says. “I was really drawn to this lab for that reason.”
He looks forward to paying it forward as a research mentor, he adds. “I’m really excited to give back. Who knows where a future student will come from or what backgrounds and life experiences they have? But because our lab puts that at the forefront, they’ll know that they’re welcome as they are.”
“The diversity initiatives that have been run and will hopefully continue to run at this institution help everybody,” Roh-Johnson says. “It helps our community be a better scientific community.” The fact that part of the award funds will go to the university shows that such an approach is practical as well as ethical, she adds. “Dollars don’t lie. The university benefits financially when we simply do the right thing.”
Given the tough problems scientists aim to solve, Stevens adds, building a strong scientific community that includes all people is a necessity. “Everyone is welcome because we need everyone.”
These programs are organized as part of a federally funded grant (NIH/NCI P30CA042014).
Roh-Johnson’s research is also funded by grant P30 CA02014 through the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, as well as by Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
About Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah is the National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center for Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming. With a legacy of innovative cancer research, groundbreaking discoveries, and world-class patient care, we are transforming the way cancer is understood, prevented, diagnosed, treated, and survived. Huntsman Cancer Institute focuses on delivering the most advanced cancer healing and prevention through scientific breakthroughs and cutting-edge technology to advance cancer treatments of the future beyond the standard of care today. We have more than 300 open clinical trials and 250 research teams studying cancer. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at Huntsman Cancer Institute than at any other cancer center. Our scientists are world-renowned for understanding how cancer begins and using that knowledge to develop innovative approaches to treat each patient’s unique disease. Huntsman Cancer Institute was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.
About University of Utah Health
University of Utah Health provides leading-edge and compassionate care for a referral area that encompasses Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and much of Nevada. A hub for health sciences research and education in the region, U of U Health has a $492 million research enterprise and trains the majority of Utah’s physicians, and more than 1,670 scientists and 1,460 health care providers at its Colleges of Health, Nursing, and Pharmacy and Schools of Dentistry and Medicine. With more than 20,000 employees, the system includes 12 community clinics and five hospitals. U of U Health is recognized nationally as a transformative health care system and provider of world-class care.