Ann C. Mertens CCSS Career Development Award

The Ann C. Mertens CCSS Career Development Award (CDA) creates an opportunity for early career investigators and trainees with an interest and aptitude in childhood cancer survivorship research to develop and complete an initial research study within the CCSS. This serves as a foundation for the development of a career path focused on survivorship research.

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2023
2023
2023

2026 Award Recipients

JUNIOR FACULTY | CHRONIC DISEASE

Impact of Changes in Physical Activity on Accumulation of Chronic Conditions in Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A Report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

Awardee: Lauren Appell, MD, MS, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Primary Mentor: Ellen van der Plas, PhD

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | GENETICS

Genetic Liability and Risk Prediction for Psychiatric Symptoms in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Awardee: Sarah Benstock, PhD, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Primary Mentor: Tara Brinkman, PhD

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000

Previous Award Recipients

2025

JUNIOR FACULTY | CANCER CONTROL

Evaluating the Need for Dyadic Intervention Adaptation in the Health Insurance Navigation Tools (HINT) Intervention

Awardee: Echo Warner, PhD, College of Nursing, University of Utah

Primary Mentor: Anne Kirchhoff, PhD, MPH

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | SECOND MALIGNANCY

Accelerated Aging and Risk of Subsequent Neoplasms in Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Awardee: Amy Berkman, MD, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Primary Mentor: Melissa Hudson, MD

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000

TRAINEE | GENETICS

Genetic Variants, Treatment Exposures and their Associations with the Development of Colorectal Cancer as a Subsequent Malignant Neoplasm in Long-term Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Awardee: Han-Wei Wu, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Primary Mentors: Chaya Moskowitz, PhD

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2024

JUNIOR FACULTY | PSYCHOLOGY

The Association Between Opioid-Restricting Policies and Pharmacologic Pain Management

Awardee: Xin Hu, PhD University of Virginia

Primary Mentor: Xu Ji, PhD

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | SECOND MALIGNANCY

Impact of Radiotherapy Breast Dose and Dose-volume Metrics on Subsequent Breast Cancer in Female Childhood Cancer Survivors: A Report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

Awardee: Taylor Meyers, MS University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Primary Mentor: Rebecca Howell, PhD

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000

TRAINEE | CANCER CONTROL AND PSYCHOLOGY

Impact of Neurocognitive Impairment on Financial Hardship in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Awardee: Daniel Zheng, MD, MHS Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia/University of Pennsylvania

Primary Mentors: Sogol Mostoufi-Moab, MD, MSCE and Paul Nathan, MD, MSc, FRCP(C)

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2023

JUNIOR FACULTY | CHRONIC DISEASE

Prevalence of Gonadal Failure and Infertility in Survivors of Childhood Brain Tumors

Awardee: Rebecca Ronsley, MD, FRCPC, Seattle Children’s Hospital

Primary Mentor: Eric Chow

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | PSYCHOLOGY

The Impact of Sleep Trajectories on Neurocognitive Functioning in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Awardee: Chiara Papini, PhD, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Primary Mentor: Tara Brinkman

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000

TRAINEE | PSYCHOLOGY

Longitudinal Patterns and Predictors of Cancer Fears in Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Awardee: Perri Tutelman, PhD, University of Calgary

Primary Mentor: Fiona Schulte

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2022

JUNIOR FACULTY | CHRONIC DISEASE

Health Outcomes in Older Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Awardee: Rusha Bhandari, MD, MS, City of Hope

Primary Mentor: Kiri Ness

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

JUNIOR FACULTY | GENETICS

Genetic modification of chemotherapy-associated subsequent malignant neoplasms

Awardee: Gordon Watt, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering

Primary Mentor: Jonine Bernstein

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | CANCER CONTROL AND INTERVENTION

Financial hardship among long-term survivors of childhood cancer

Awardee: Tim Ohlsen, MD, Seattle Children’s Hospital

Primary Mentors: Eric Chow, Arti Desai

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2021

JUNIOR FACULTY | PSYCHOLOGY

Psychological distress, social functioning, and phenotypic aging in adult survivors of childhood cancer

Awardee: Kelly Rentscher, PhD, University of California Los Angeles

Primary Mentor: Kiri Ness

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | PSYCHOLOGY

The impact of physical activity and psychological distress on neurocognitive functioning over time

Awardee: Christina Sharkey, PhD, Children’s National Hospital

Primary Mentor: Kristina Hardy

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2020

JUNIOR FACULTY | GENETICS

Long-term cost-effectiveness of cancer predisposition syndrome identification strategies in survivors of pediatric leukemia, brain tumors or bone/soft tissue sarcomas

Awardee: Catherine Goudie, MD, McGill University Health Center

Primary Mentor: Paul Nathan

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | CHRONIC DISEASE

Development and validation of a prediction model for end-stage renal disease in childhood cancer survivors

Awardee: Natalie Wu, MD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Primary Mentor: Eric Chow

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2019

JUNIOR FACULTY | GENETICS

Genetic risk prediction profiles for fracture risk among childhood cancer survivors

Awardee: Cindy Im, PhD, University of Alberta

Primary Mentor: Yutaka Yasui

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | CHRONIC DISEASE

Enhancing heart model of current CCSS age-specific computational phantoms by defining cardiac substructures and dose reconstruction

Awardee: Suman Shrestha, MS, MSc, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center

Primary Mentor: Rebecca Howell

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2018

JUNIOR FACULTY | PSYCHOLOGY

Chronic pain in adult survivors of childhood cancer: Utilization of the CCSS mHealth platform in assessing pain and wearable technology

Awardee: Nicole Alberts, PhD, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Primary Mentor: Greg Armstrong

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | CHRONIC DISEASE

Long-term follow-up of survivors of osteosarcoma

Awardee: Kerri Becktell, Medical College of Wisconsin

Primary Mentor: Cindy Schwartz

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000

TRAINEE | CHRONIC DISEASE

The impact of chronic health conditions on sexual dysfunction in female childhood cancer survivors

Awardee: Kari Bjornard, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Primary Mentor: Kiri Ness

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2017

JUNIOR FACULTY | CHRONIC DISEASE

Medulloblastoma and PNET outcomes across three decades of diagnosis

Awardee: Ralph Salloum, MD, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Primary Mentor: Maryam Fouladi

Direct Costs Awarded: $30,000

TRAINEE | PSYCHOLOGY

Psychological distress, neurologic morbidity and functional independence among adult survivors treated with CNS-directed therapies

Awardee: Stefanie Vuotto, PhD, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Primary Mentor: Tara Brinkman

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2015

JUNIOR FACULTY | CHRONIC DISEASE

Impact of radiation dose to the pancreas on subsequent risk of diabetes mellitus

Awardee: Danielle Novetsky Friedman, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering

Primary Mentor: Charles Sklar

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

JUNIOR FACULTY | CHRONIC DISEASE

Using the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale to characterize the burden of chronic conditions

Awardee: Adam Esbenshade, MD, Vanderbilt University

Primary Mentor: Kirsten Ness

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | CHRONIC DISEASE

Financial hardship among long-term survivors of childhood cancer

Awardee: Douglas Fair, MD, University of Utah

Primary Mentor: Anne Kirchhoff

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2014

JUNIOR FACULTY | GENETICS

Epigenomic profiling of metabolic outcomes in childhood leukemia survivors

Awardee: Philip Lupo, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine

Primary Mentor: Smita Bhatia

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

JUNIOR FACULTY | SECOND MALIGNANCIES

Radiation dose reconstruction methods for intensity modulated radiation therapy

Awardee: Rebecca Howell, PhD, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center

Primary Mentor: Marilyn Stovall

Direct Costs Awarded: $20,000

TRAINEE | PSYCHOLOGY AND CANCER CONTROL

Mental healthcare service availability and utilization among childhood cancer survivors

Awardee: Giselle Perez, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital

Primary Mentor: Elyse Park

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000

TRAINEE | PSYCHOLOGY

Cognitive and academic difficulties in survivors of head/neck rhabodomyosarcoma

Awardee: Melissa Schapiro, MD, St. Louis Children’s Hospital

Primary Mentor: Robert Hayashi

Direct Costs Awarded: $3,000
2013

JUNIOR FACULTY | CHRONIC DISEASE

Overall risk of chronic endocrine disorders in adult survivors of childhood cancer

Awardee: Sogol Mostoufi-Moab, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Primary Mentor: Mary Leonard

Direct Costs Awarded: $50,000

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Ann C. Mertens CCSS Career Development Award

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2026 Award Recipients

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