NIEHS Medical Student Research Fellowships

Portrait of Dennis Akrobatu during his fellowship

Year: 2019-2020

Medical School: Duke University School of Medicine

Mentor: Natalie Shaw, M.D.

Current Position: Ophthalmology Residency Program, Harvard Medical School (Resident)

Project: Proximity-dependent biotin identification as a novel technique for discovering SMCHD1 binding partners

Manuscripts/Publications

Burkholder A, Akrobetu D, Pandiri AR, Ton K, Kim S, Labow BI, Nuzzi LC, Firriolo JM, Schneider SS, Fenton SE, Shaw ND. 2020. Investigation of the adolescent female breast transcriptome and the impact of obesity. Breast Cancer Res. 22(1):44. doi: 10.1186/s13058-020-01279-6. PMID: 32393308; PMCID: PMC7216667. [Abstract Burkholder A, Akrobetu D, Pandiri AR, Ton K, Kim S, Labow BI, Nuzzi LC, Firriolo JM, Schneider SS, Fenton SE, Shaw ND. 2020. Investigation of the adolescent female breast transcriptome and the impact of obesity. Breast Cancer Res. 22(1):44. doi: 10.1186/s13058-020-01279-6. PMID: 32393308; PMCID: PMC7216667.]

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I have had a wonderful time participating in this yearlong fellowship. Not only have I been able to hone my skills in basic and clinical research, I have also benefited from a number of informative talks and wonderful mentors while at the NIEHS. My principal mentor, Dr. Shaw has been excellent and has provided me with ample opportunity to present my research at both the local and national level, and we hope to publish a few manuscripts by the end of the year. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a more useful way to spend the year gaining hands on experience learning about the intersection of research and medicine."