October 27, 2022
Indu Kohaar, an HJF scientist with the Center for Prostate Disease Research at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), recently received a Young Investigator Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF).
Dr. Kohaar’s research focuses on genetic determinants of aggressive prostate cancer in African American patients. Her mentors are Gyorgy Petrovics, Ph.D., from USU, and William Douglas Figg, Sr., PharmD, from the National Institutes of Health.
“I’m very grateful to my colleagues and others who have helped support my work,” said Dr. Kohaar. “This award will help to advance our research in the field by determining how the inherited genetic variants may contribute to prostate cancer health disparity and impact prostate tumor development and progression. This may lead to the development of genetic biomarker test to identify men at high risk of aggressive prostate cancer, that can be used to guide earlier screening and treatment stratification.”
The Young Investigator Awards were created in 2008 to identify a cohort of future research leaders in the field of prostate cancer research. Thirty-four researchers were named as recipients of the 2022 PCF Young Investigator Awards and a total of $7.2 million was granted to this next generation of promising cancer researchers.
“HJF is very proud of Dr. Kohaar and her work,” said Dr. Joseph Caravalho, President and CEO of HJF. “She is an excellent selection for this recognition, as her cutting edge research may very well impact how prostate cancer will be identified and managed in the years to come.”
PCF is the world’s leading philanthropic organization dedicated to funding life-saving prostate cancer research. Founded in 1993 by Mike Milken, PCF has been responsible for raising close to $1 billion in support of cutting-edge research by more than 2,200 research projects at 245 leading cancer centers in 28 countries around the world. Since PCF’s inception, and through its efforts, patients around the world are living longer, suffering fewer complications, and enjoying better quality of life. PCF is committed to creating a global public square for prostate cancer, in service to our mission of ending death and suffering from the disease. Learn more at pcf.org.