Hernandez Vargas named Rosalie B. Hite Fellow
Servando Hernandez Vargas, PhD candidate and student at McGovern Medical School and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, has earned the 2022 Rosalie B. Hite Graduate Fellowship in Cancer Research.
The Hite Fellowship is awarded to promising graduate students in the area of cancer research, including translational and basic science by the GSBS. Selection of fellows by the Hite Fellowship Committee is on the basis of academic excellence and the relevance of their research to cancer.
“I find myself to be beyond elated and grateful to be selected as a 2022-23 recipient of such a prestigious award,” Hernandez Vargas said. “This recognition is a testament to curiosity and hard work and fuels me to continue exploring new therapeutic strategies to enhance the current standard of clinical care.”
As a PhD candidate in the Theranostics Laboratory in the Center for Translational Research at the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, Hernandez Vargas’ objective is to conceptualize and test a new biomedical technology capable of recognizing and delivering treatments to prostate cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues. If successful, this approach could allow physicians to treat patients with increased accuracy and precision, thereby improving their quality of life and lifespan.
“I am grateful to my adviser, Ali Azhdarinia, PhD, whose unparalleled mentorship has inspired me to reach new levels of creativity and independence,” Hernandez Vargas said. “I am also grateful to my colleagues, Sukhen C. Ghosh, PhD, and Solmaz AghaAmiri, PhD, with whom I share the honor of discovering new drug design and therapeutic interventions.”
The award is named after Miss Rosalie B. Hite, a champion of basic and translational science, whose generous bequest to The University of Texas has provided support to aid in the elimination of disease and human suffering.