Current Fellows

Mignonne Guy, PhD. Dr. Guy is a social and behavioral scientist pursuing a career in biobehavioral and cancer health disparities research. Her R25 training began in March 2011. Dr. Guy completed her doctoral studies in Higher Education at the University of Arizona. Her dissertation examined how stereotypes influence African American and Black African high school students’ perceptions of higher education. Dr. Guy initially received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classics from the University of Arizona before going on to complete a Master of Arts in Higher Education and Sociological Theory. As a public school teacher, Dr. Guy designed, facilitated and evaluated programs for pre- to low-literate refugee families. While pursuing her Doctoral degree, Dr. Guy served as both an Assistant Research Scientist and Program Manager in the UA’s Center for Health Outcomes and PharmacoEconomic Research. Her postgraduate research training in tobacco control has included a two-year NIH/NCI Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research. Mirroring her work in education, Dr. Guy’s interests in health sciences focus on the relationship between social inequalities and cancer health disparities; namely, socio-cultural, environmental factors and institutional practices that present barriers to health service access and quality, as well as to the prevention and treatment of cancer. This research interest has led her to work with R25 primary mentor Judith Gordon, PhD (family and community medicine), as well as Scott Carvajal, PhD (public health). The focus of Dr. Guy’s R25 research project is to assess the effectiveness of U.S. tobacco cessation quitlines in terms of reach to priority populations including racial/ethnic minority groups and individuals of lower socioeconomic status.

Elizabeth Hibler, PhD. Dr. Hibler is a recent graduate who completed her doctoral degree in April 2011 in Epidemiology at the University of Arizona. Her dissertation explored genetic and environmental factors associated with circulating levels of vitamin D metabolite. Dr. Hibler initially received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Purdue University before going on to complete a Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan. During her post-baccalaureate studies, Dr. Hibler was awarded the Public Health Leadership Fellowship from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Hibler worked for the Indiana State Department of Health as a District Public Health Coordinator, U.S. Healthcare and Public Health Policy Teaching Assistant, Public Health Preparedness and Emergency Response Program Director, and Quality Assurance Epidemiologist. Dr. Hibler will begin her R25 fellowship in May 2011, and will undergo training in molecular epidemiology and genetic analysis in cancer prevention and control. Her R25 research aims to test the hypothesis that GC genotypes affect autocrine vitamin D metabolite synthesis in colon cells, with measurable biological endpoints relevant to tumorigenesis. She will work with primary mentor Peter Jurutka, PhD (basic medical sciences), as well as Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD (epidemiology and biostatistics), and Chengcheng Hu, PhD (epidemiology and biostatistics). Dr. Hibler selected this team of mentors for their substantial experience in laboratory work, analysis of high-dimensional genetic data, as well as expertise in the vitamin D endocrine system.

Jessica Miller, PhD. Dr. Miller is a recent graduate, who completed her doctoral degree in November 2010 from the Nutritional Sciences program at the University of Arizona. Her dissertation research explored the bioavailability and disposition of the anti-cancer agent, limonene, and implications for breast cancer prevention. She initially received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Hillsdale College in Michigan before going on to complete a Masters in Science in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Arizona. Her Masters thesis examined the development and validation of a novel assay to quantify limonene in human fat biopsy samples. Dr. Miller began her R25 training in March 2011 and selected Sherry Chow, PhD (medicine), as her primary mentor. Patricia Thompson, PhD, will also serve on her mentoring team. Dr. Miller’s R25 research project is to determine the feasibility of utilizing metabolomic profiling of plasma to noninvasively assess the metabolic effect of limonene, a putative cancer chemopreventive and to help elucidate its mechanisms of action. Dr. Miller will apply her significant GC-MS experience from her graduate project and will develop skill in analytical chemistry methods as in bioinformatics. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Imperial College in London for analytical technique and Bonnie Lafleur, PhD (epidemiology and biostatistics), for bioinformatic analysis.

Joshua Williams, PhD. Dr. Williams completed his doctoral studies in February 2010 at the University of Arizona, where he studied Drug Development and Design. His dissertation work focused on folate metabolism in human skin and therapeutic implications for the treatment and prevention of disease. Dr. Williams initially received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with honors from the University of Arizona. Prior to pursuing doctoral studies, he worked in industry as a formulation engineer for ImaRx, Inc., where he developed and tested novel formulations of cancer therapeutics, and as a Coordinator of Analytical Services for Niadyne, Inc., where he designed, conducted and analyzed in vivo experiments on the absorption and metabolism of micronutrients in murine and human skin. Dr. Williams then sought to further a career in academic research, which led to his postdoctoral research under Marek Romanowski, PhD (Engineering), in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona. This research focuses on demonstrating a folate-specific mechanism to target human ovarian carcinoma cells to facilitate intracellular molecular manipulation via spectrally-controlled content release from plasmon resonant nanostructures. Following the completion of his postdoctoral research with Dr. Romanowski, Dr. Williams will begin his R25 training in July 2011. He has selected Georg Wondrak, PhD (pharmacology and toxicology), and Steven Stratton, PhD (Medicine), to serve as his primary mentors. Dr. Williams’ R25 research will examine whether UV induced reactive carbonyl species in skin may be therapeutically targeted for effective chemoprevention of NMSC.