Each year the Professional Development Core selects qualified Scholars into the program. The Roadmap Scholars are junior faculty members whose goals are to become sustainable independent researchers. This year, in addition to a submitted application, Scholars were interviewed by all three Co-Directors and the Research Navigator. Please join us in welcoming the 10th Cohort of Roadmap Scholars: Maria D. Sanchez-Pino, MSc, PhD (LSUH-New Orleans), S. Nicole Fearnbach, PhD (Pennington Biomedical), and Crystal Zheng, MD (Tulane University).

All three Scholars began on July 1st and have enrolled in the Masters of Science in Clinical Research program. Dr. Sanchez-Pino's project is titled "Revealing the epigenetic signature in obesity-induced MDSC and its association with weight loss by bariatric surgery" and she will evaluate the effect of obesity and bariatric surgery in the epigenetic landscape of myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Dr. Fearnbach's project is titled "Reproductive hormones and energy balance regulation among adolescent girls at risk for obesity" and will examine reproductive hormone levels and energy balance components among adolescent girls. Dr. Zheng’s project is titled "Prevalence and Pathophysiologic Mechanisms of Amenorrhea Among Women Survivors of the 2014 – 2016 Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone" and she will determine the prevalence and pathophysiologic mechanisms of amenorrhea among women Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone.

For further detail about each Scholar's project, please visit the following link on the Professional Development Core website: Roadmap Scholars Projects