Students are immersed in their research projects under the guidance and mentorship of faculty members located at CHLA and/or USC. A rich educational program includes visit to centers of emerging sciences, social activities, interactions with faculty, trainees, and cancer survivors, and  a dynamic interactive curriculum of selected topics in oncology, career development, research skills, research communication, and responsible conduct of research. Students further enhance their skills through presenting a poster of their work and an oral presentation of their project to a faculty meeting at the end of the summer.

Students are encouraged to present their work at local, national, and international scientific conferences and to publish their project as a peer-reviewed scientific paper. Through follow-up, we have found that many SORFites developed successful medical careers that include cancer research and recent disciplines. 

Below are publications and presentations authored and co-authored by SORFites with their SORF mentors. 

Bold is the SORFite and underlined is/are their mentor(s):

Full length, peer-reviewed papers from SORFites 2009-2025: 

1. 1. Sandoval ZE, Schmidt RJ, Bhutada JS, Shillingford N, Zhou S. A novel tek::Gab2 gene fusion in pediatric angiosarcoma of pelvic soft tissue: A case report and literature review. Pediatr Dev Pathol, 2025. PMID: 39248342
   2. Pawan SJ, Rich JM, Malewar S, Patel D, Muellner M, Hwang D, Lei X, Cen S, Triche T, Goldkorn A, Mohamed P, Oberai A, Duddalwar V. Deep learning-based detection and segmentation of osseous metastatic prostate cancer lesions on computed tomography. European Journal of Radiology Artificial Intelligence, 2025.
   3. Pawan SJ, Muellner M, Lei X, Desai M, Varghese B, Duddalwar V, Cen S. Novel hyperparameter optimization with a chain of dimension reduction and unsupervised clustering methods for radiomics data. MTI, 2025.
   4. Okabe A, Ho WLJ, Tao ML, Ye JC. Physician and software assessed cosmetic outcomes following whole breast or partial breast radiation therapy for breast cancer. Clin Breast Cancer, 2025. PMID: 40750450
   5. Kumar SS, Khandekar N, Dani K, Bhatt SR, Duddalwar V, D’Souza A. A scoping review of population diversity in the common genomic aberrations of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Oncology, 2025. PMID: 39250899
   6. Ho WLJ, Karipineni S, Ye JC. Factors associated with local control and toxicity of hypofractionated radiotherapy for early and late-stage ultracentral lung tumors. Clin Lung Cancer, 2025. PMID: 40750478
   7. Han J, Dallas J, Tang-Tan A, Lin M, Liu KQ, Liu Y, Brown S, Yu B, Ding L, Mack WJ, Attenello FJ. Comorbid depression is associated with non-routine discharge following treatment of unruptured cerebral aneurysms. J Clin Neurosci, 2025. PMID: 41033121
   8. Westermann CR, Davidson TB, Waters K, Margol AS, Cheung CC. Immune checkpoint inhibitors and endocrinopathies in pediatric brain tumor patients. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab, 2024. PMID: 39680426
   9. Tsung K, Liu KQ, Han JS, Deshpande K, Doan T, Loh YE, Ding L, Yang W, Neman J, Dou Y, Attenello FJ. Crispri screen of long non-coding rnas identifies linc03045 regulating glioblastoma invasion. PLoS Genet, 2024. PMID: 38857306
   10. Ragoonanan D, Abdel-Azim H, Sharma A, Bhar S, McArthur J, Madden R, Rahrig A, Bajwa R, Wang J, Sun V, Wright M, Lassiter R, Shoberu B, Kawedia J, Khazal SJ, Mahadeo KM, Pediatric Acute Lung I, Sepsis Investigators N. Retrospective analysis of veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in paediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation -a multicentre study. Lancet Reg Health Am, 2024. PMID: 38616918
   11. Kovach AE, Wengyn M, Vu MH, Doan A, Raca G, Bhojwani D. Ikzf1(plus) alterations contribute to outcome disparities in hispanic/latino children with b-lymphoblastic leukemia. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 2024. PMID: 38637852
   12. Hultquist H, Rodriguez A, Ferreira JE, Placek A, Miller KP, Wood BL, Bhojwani D, Kapoor N, Raca G, Gaynon P, Kovach AE. Development of second genetically distinct t-lymphoblastic leukemia in a pediatric patient. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 2024. PMID: 38736199
   13. Ha JH, Borzage MT, Vanstrum EB, Doyle EK, Upreti M, Tamrazi B, Nelson M, Bluml S, Johal MS, McComb JG, Chu J, Durham S, Krieger MD, Moats RA, Chiarelli PA. Quantitative noninvasive measurement of cerebrospinal fluid flow in shunted hydrocephalus. J Neurosurg, 2024. PMID: 38564811
   14. Flyer BE, Vanstrum EB, Chapman N, Ha JH, Al-Husseini JK, Chu JK, McComb JG, Durham SR, Krieger MD, Chiarelli PA. Surgical management of pediatric spinal aneurysmal bone cysts: Patient series. J Neurosurg Case Lessons, 2024. PMID: 38252929
   15. Vassantachart A, Olch A, Jones M, Marques C, Ronckers C, Constine L, Maduro J, de Boer C, Wong K. A comprehensive review of 30 years of pediatric clinical trial radiotherapy dose constraints. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 2023. PMID: 36880707
   16. Vanstrum EB, Choi JS, Bensoussan Y, Bassett AM, Crowson MG, Chiarelli PA. Machine learning analysis of physical activity data to classify postural dysfunction. Laryngoscope, 2023. PMID: 37083112
   17. Pinto N, Naranjo A, Ding X, Zhang FF, Hibbitts E, Kennedy R, Tibbetts R, Wong-Michalak S, Craig DW, Manojlovic Z, Hogarty MD, Kreissman S, Bagatell R, Irwin MS, Park JR, Asgharzadeh S. Impact of genomic and clinical factors on outcome of children >/=18 months of age with stage 3 neuroblastoma with unfavorable histology and without mycn amplification: A children’s oncology group (cog) report. Clin Cancer Res, 2023. PMID: 36749880
   18. Oh A, Bhardwaj L, Cacciamani G, Desai MM, Duddalwar VA. Cost-effectiveness of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for diagnosis and active surveillance of complex cystic renal lesions. Urol Pract, 2023. PMID: 36777990
   19. MacDonald M, Poei D, Leyba A, Diep R, Chennapan K, Leon C, Xia B, Nieva JJ, Hsu R. Real world prognostic utility of platelet lymphocyte ratio and nutritional status in first-line immunotherapy response in stage iv non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer Treat Res Commun, 2023. PMID: 37611343
   20. Gettleman BS, Padilla AN, Kumar S, Wren TAL, Miller J, Pawel BR, Tolo VT, Christ AB. Use of surgical adjuvants does not decrease recurrence of aneurysmal bone cysts in surgical intervention with pediatric patients. J Ped Orthopaed, 2023. PMID: 37815299
   21. Doan A, Huang HKT, Hadar AJ, Malvar J, Rushing T, Raca G, Kovach AE, Freyer DR, Parekh C, Stokke J, Posch LC, Dao J, Bhojwani D, Gaynon P, Orgel E. Efficacy and safety of flag-ida as front-line therapy in de novo paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia population. Br J Haematol, 2023. PMID: 37129267
   22. Diep R, MacDonald M, Cooper R, Grzegorczyk A, Rakocevic R, Chang CF, Uy A, Cowgill N, Nieva JJ. Biopsy method and needle size on success of next-generation sequencing in nsclc: A brief report. JTO Clin Res Rep, 2023. PMID: 37090100
   23. Dani KA, Rich J, Kumar SS, Cen H, Duddalwar VA, D’souza A. Comprehensive systematic review of biomarkers in metastatic renal cell carcinoma: Predictors, prognostics, and therapeutic monitoring. . Cancers (Basel), 2023. PMID: 37894301
   24. Chen SY, Mack SJ, Stein JE, Kelley-Quon LI, Kim ES. Intercostal nerve cryoablation is associated with reduced opioid use in pediatric oncology patients. J Surg Res, 2023. PMID: 36427448
   25. Chen SY, Lee WG, Laifman E, Mack SJ, Zhou S, Kim ES. A single center experience with bilateral wilms tumor. Am Surg, 2023. PMID: 37208897
   26. Chen SY, Laifman E, Mack SJ, Zhou S, Stein JE, Kim ES. Epidural analgesia is associated with reduced inpatient opioid consumption and length of stay after wilms tumor resection. J Surg Res, 2023. PMID: 37267703
   27. Chang C-F, Diep R, MacDonald M, Rakocevic R, Nieva J. Seize the opportunity with small tissue samples: The tailor teaches! JTO Clin Res Rep, 2023.
   28. Cen HS, Dandamudi S, Lei X, Weight C, Desai M, Gill I, Duddalwar V. Diversity in renal mass data cohorts: Implications for urology ai researchers. Oncology, 2023. PMID: 38104555
   29. Ahmidouch M, Tangella N, Finley SD. Agent-based modeling of tumor-immune interactions reveals determinants of final tumor states; deposited. BioRxiv, 2023.
   30. Yuan E, Liu K, Lee J, Tsung K, Chow F, Attenello FJ. Modulating glioblastoma chemotherapy response: Evaluating long non-coding RNA effects on DNA damage response, glioma stem cell function, and hypoxic processes. Neurooncol Adv, 2022. PMID: 36105389
   31. Waxer JF, Wong K, Modiri A, Charpentier AM, Moiseenko V, Ronckers CM, Taddei PJ, Constine LS, Sprow G, Tamrazi B, MacDonald S, Olch AJ. Risk of cerebrovascular events among childhood and adolescent patients receiving cranial radiation therapy: A pediatric normal tissue effects in the clinic normal tissue outcomes comprehensive review (also, acknowledged marjorie jones, who designed figure 1). Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 2022. PMID: 36057476
   32. Vassantachart A, Jones M, Olch AJ, Marques C, Ronckers C, Constine LS, Maduro JH, II, Wong K. A survey of pediatric clinical trial radiotherapy dose constraints. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 2022.
   33. Vanstrum EB, Borzage MT, Ha J, Chu J, Upreti M, Moats RA, Lai LM, Chiarelli PA. Development of an ultrafast brain mr neuronavigation protocol for ventricular shunt placement. J Neurosurg, 2022. PMID: 35901769
   34. Tsui J, Martinez B, Shin MB, Allee-Munoz A, Rodriguez I, Navarro J, Thomas-Barrios KR, Kast WM, Baezconde-Garbanati L. Understanding medical mistrust and hpv vaccine hesitancy among multiethnic parents in los angeles. J Behav Med, 2022. PMID: 35107656
   35. Shah R, Mohamed D, Ramos-Platt LM, Grikscheit TC, Zhou S, Wong KK, Mascarenhas L. Diffuse anaplastic wilms tumor in a child with lama2-related muscular dystrophy. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol, 2022. PMID: 35731920
   36. Robison NJ, Su JA, Fang MJ, Malvar J, Menteer J. Cardiac function in children and young adults treated with mek inhibitors: A retrospective cohort study. Pediatr Cardiol, 2022. PMID: 35233653
   37. Kim HN, Ogana H, Sanchez V, Nichols C, Kim YM. Pi3k targeting in non-solid cancer. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol, 2022. PMID: 36243854
   38. de Armas S, Huertas-Ayala C, Chan RY, Chi YY, Huh WW, Termuhlen A, Gaynon PS, Kovach AE, Doan A. Survival of pediatric hodgkin lymphoma patients treated with doxorubicin, bleomycin, vincristine, etoposide, prednisone, and cyclophosphamide (abve-pc) versus doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (abvd) at a single institution. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 2022. PMID: 35187850
   39. Cooper RA, Chai Y, Nieva J. Effect of sponsor on enrollment criteria in non-small cell lung cancer clinical trials. J Cancer Policy, 2022. PMID: 35605888
   40. Sta Maria NS, Khawli LA, Pachipulusu V, Lin SW, Zheng L, Cohrs D, Liu X, Hu P, Epstein AL, Jacobs RE. Spatio-temporal biodistribution of (89)zr-oxine labeled hulym-1-a-bb3z-car t-cells by pet imaging in a preclinical tumor model. Sci Rep, 2021. PMID: 34302002
   41. Ruan Y, Kim HN, Ogana HA, Wan Z, Hurwitz S, Nichols C, Abdel-Azim N, Coba A, Seo S, Loh YE, Gang EJ, Abdel-Azim H, Hsieh CL, Lieber MR, Parekh C, Pal D, Bhojwani D, Durden DL, Kim YM. Preclinical evaluation of a novel dual targeting pi3kdelta/brd4 inhibitor, sf2535, in b-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Front Oncol, 2021. PMID: 34926269
   42. Moke DJ, Luo C, Millstein J, Knight KR, Rassekh SR, Brooks B, Ross CJD, Wright M, Mena V, Rushing T, Esbenshade AJ, Carleton BC, Orgel E. Prevalence and risk factors for cisplatin-induced hearing loss in children, adolescents, and young adults: A multi-institutional north american cohort study. Lancet Child Adolesc Health, 2021. PMID: 33581749
   43. Gong E, Perin L, Da Sacco S, Sedrakyan S. Emerging technologies to study the glomerular filtration barrier. Front Med (Lausanne), 2021. PMID: 34901088
   44. Cohen-Cutler S, Wong K, Mena V, Sianto K, Wright MA, Olch A, Orgel E. Hearing loss risk in pediatric patients treated with cranial irradiation and cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 2021. PMID: 33677052
   45. Bhandari R, Scott E, Yeh MY, Wong K, Rushing T, Huh W, Orgel E. Association of body mass index with toxicity and survival in pediatric patients treated with cisplatin-containing regimens. Pediatr Hematol Oncol, 2021. PMID: 33170064
   46. Vanstrum EB, Borzage MT, Chu JK, Wang S, Rea N, McComb JG, Krieger MD, Chiarelli PA. Resolution of neonatal posthemorrhagic ventricular dilation coincident with patent ductus arteriosus ligation: Case report. J Neurosurg Pediatr, 2020. PMID: 32442964
   47. Nguyen S, Weng J, Sison J, Waxer J, Nimit D, Lam B, Marques C, Olch A, Ballas L, Chang E, Wong K. Volumetric modulated craniospinal irradiation workflow optimization through quantitative analytics: A single-institution case study comparing pediatric and adult settings. J Radiat Oncol 2020.
   48. Low JM, Lee NJH, Sprow G, Chlebik A, Olch A, Darrow K, Bowlin K, Wong KK. Scalp and cranium radiation therapy using modulation (scrum) and bolus. Advances in Radiation Oncology, 2020. PMID: 33083656
   49. Kim JW, Shah SN, Green S, O’Fee J, Tamrazi B, Berry JL. Tumour size criteria for group d and e eyes in the international classification system for retinoblastoma: Effects on rates of globe salvage and high-risk histopathologic features. Acta Ophthalmol, 2020. PMID: 31421017
   50. Gee KM, Rosenberg D, Kim ES. Normalization of serum lipase levels versus resolution of abdominal pain: A comparison of preoperative management in children with biliary pancreatitis. J Surg Res, 2020. PMID: 32278967
   51. Sanchez VE, Nichols C, Kim HN, Gang EJ, Kim YM. Targeting pi3k signaling in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Int J Mol Sci, 2019. PMID: 30669372
   52. Nguyen SM, Sison J, Jones M, Berry JL, Kim JW, Murphree AL, Salinas V, Olch AJ, Chang EL, Wong KK. Lens dose-response prediction modeling and cataract incidence in patients with retinoblastoma after lens-sparing or whole-eye radiation therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 2019. PMID: 30537543
   53. Isani MA, Jackson J, Barry WE, Mallicote MU, Rosenberg D, Stein JE, Jensen AR, Kim ES. Non-operative management is more cost-effective than immediate operation in perforated appendicitis patients with seven or more days of symptoms. J Surg Res, 2019. PMID: 30909067
   54. Gopalakrishnan R, Matta H, Choi S, Natarajan V, Prins R, Gong S, Zenunovic A, Narasappa N, Patel F, Prakash R, Chaudhary V, Sikri V, Chitnis SD, Kochegarov A, Wang D, Falat M, Kahn M, Keerthipati PS, Sharma N, Lenka J, et al. A novel luciferase-based assay for the detection of chimeric antigen receptors. Sci Rep, 2019. PMID: 30760795
   55. Berry JL, Lee R, Patel L, Le BHA, O’Fee J, Jubran R, Kim JW. Posterior vitreous detachment and the associated risk of retinal toxicity with intravitreal melphalan treatment for retinoblastoma. Ocul Oncol Pathol, 2019. PMID: 31367584
   56. Webb MW, Sun J, Sheard MA, Liu WY, Wu HW, Jackson JR, Malvar J, Sposto R, Daniel D, Seeger RC. Colony stimulating factor 1 receptor blockade improves the efficacy of chemotherapy against human neuroblastoma in the absence of t lymphocytes. Int J Cancer, 2018. PMID: 29665011
   57. Isani MA, Schlieve C, Jackson J, Elizee M, Asuelime G, Rosenberg D, Kim ES. Is less more? Laparoscopic versus open ladd’s procedure in children with malrotation. J Surg Res, 2018. PMID: 29937013
   58. Xu J, Ren X, Pathania AS, Fernandez GE, Tran A, Zhang Y, Moats RA, Shackleford GM, Erdreich-Epstein A. Pid1 increases chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in medulloblastoma and glioblastoma cells in a manner that involves nfkappab. Sci Rep, 2017. PMID: 28400607
   59. Wong KK, All S, Waxer J, Olch AJ, Venkatramani R, Dhall G, Davidson TB, Zaky W, Finlay JL. Radiotherapy after high-dose chemotherapy with autologous hematopoietic cell rescue: Quality assessment of head start iii. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 2017. PMID: 28379644
   60. Sison J, Tran H, Margol A, Tiwari N, Garcia KM, Cotter J, Kiehna E, Olch AJ, Wong K. Palliative care options for a young adult patient with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. Cureus, 2017. PMID: 29057192
   61. Rwigema J-CM, Lamiman K, Reznik RS, Lee NJH, Olch A, Wong KK. Palliative radiation therapy for superior vena cava syndrome in metastatic wilms tumor using 10xfff and 3d surface imaging to avoid anesthesia in a pediatric patient—a teaching case. Advances in Radiation Oncology, 2017.
   62. Chen TW, Sison J, Lee B, Olch AJ, Chang A, Giebeler A, Wong K. A dosimetric comparison of intensity-modulated proton therapy, volumetric-modulated arc therapy, and 4π non-coplanar intensity-modulated radiation therapy for a patient with parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma. Cureus, 2017.
   63. Wong K, Opimo AB, Olch AJ, All S, Waxer JF, Clark D, Cheng J, Chlebik A, Erdreich-Epstein A, Krieger MD, Tamrazi B, Dhall G, Finlay JL, Chang EL. Re-irradiation of recurrent pineal germ cell tumors with radiosurgery: Report of two cases and review of literature. Cureus, 2016. PMID: 27239400
   64. Lamiman K, Wong KK, Tamrazi B, Nosrati JD, Olch A, Chang EL, Kiehna EN. A quantitative analysis of craniopharyngioma cyst expansion during and after radiation therapy and surgical implications. Neurosurg Focus, 2016. PMID: 27903114
   65. Swaminathan S, Klemm L, Park E, Papaemmanuil E, Ford A, Kweon SM, Trageser D, Hasselfeld B, Henke N, Mooster J, Geng H, Schwarz K, Kogan SC, Casellas R, Schatz DG, Lieber MR, Greaves MF, Muschen M. Mechanisms of clonal evolution in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nat Immunol, 2015. PMID: 25985233
   66. Yu CY, Desai B, Ji L, Groshen S, Jadvar H. Comparative performance of pet tracers in biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer: A critical analysis of literature. Am J Nucl Med Mol Imaging, 2014. PMID: 25250207
   67. Venkatramani R, Shoureshi P, Malvar J, Zhou S, Mascarenhas L. High dose alkylator therapy for extracranial malignant rhabdoid tumors in children. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 2014. PMID: 24789740
   68. Kotecha R, Venkatramani R, Jubran RF, Arkader A, Olch AJ, Wong K. Clinical outcomes of radiation therapy in the management of langerhans cell histiocytosis. Am J Clin Oncol, 2014. PMID: 23466581
   69. Kamath S, Arkader A, Jubran RF. Outcomes of children younger than 24 months with langerhans cell histiocytosis and bone involvement: A report from a single institution. J Pediatr Orthop, 2014. PMID: 25387157
   70. Erdreich-Epstein A, Robison N, Ren X, Zhou H, Xu J, Davidson TB, Schur M, Gilles FH, Ji L, Malvar J, Shackleford GM, Margol AS, Krieger MD, Judkins AR, Jones DT, Pfister SM, Kool M, Sposto R, Asgharzadeh S. Pid1 (nyggf4), a new growth-inhibitory gene in embryonal brain tumors and gliomas. Clin Cancer Res, 2014. PMID: 24300787
   71. Shin B, Venkatramani R, Borker P, Olch A, Grimm J, Wong K. Spatial accuracy of a low cost high resolution 3d surface imaging device for medical applications. International Journal of Medical Physics, Clinical Engineering and Radiation Oncology, 2013.
   72. Orgel E, Zung L, Ji L, Finklestein J, Feusner J, Freyer DR. Early cardiac outcomes following contemporary treatment for childhood acute myeloid leukemia: A north american perspective. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 2013. PMID: 23441080
   73. Ruccione KS, Mudambi K, Sposto R, Fridey J, Ghazarossian S, Freyer DR. Association of projected transfusional iron burden with treatment intensity in childhood cancer survivors. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 2012. PMID: 22190481
   74. Orgel E, Jain S, Ji L, Pollick L, Si S, Finlay J, Freyer DR. Hearing loss among survivors of childhood brain tumors treated with an irradiation-sparing approach. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 2012. PMID: 21796767
   75. Arkader A, Yang CH, Tolo VT. High long-term local control with sacrectomy for primary high-grade bone sarcoma in children. Clin Orthop Relat Res, 2012. PMID: 22139710
   76. Bavishi S, Wong K, Delgardo T, Marachelian A, Khatua S. Successful radiation therapy for supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor and epidermolysis bullosa simplex. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 2010. PMID: 19760773
   77. Joo J, Christensen L, Warner K, States L, Kang HG, Vo K, Lawlor ER, May WA. Gli1 is a central mediator of ews/fli1 signaling in ewing tumors. PLoS One, 2009. PMID: 19859563
   78. Butturini AM, Jacob M, Aguajo J, Vander-Walde NA, Villablanca J, Jubran R, Erdreich-Epstein A, Marachelian A, Dhall G, Finlay JL. High-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell rescue in children with recurrent medulloblastoma and supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors: The impact of prior radiotherapy on outcome. Cancer, 2009. PMID: 19402050

Conference Presentations from SORFites 2017-2025:

1. 1. Wu A, Rosario-Rivera JM, Wang J, Breunig J, Liang G, Erdreich-Epstein A. Modelling combination therapy for pediatric diffuse midline gliomas. In: TSRI Science Day 2025; 2025 June 18; CHLA; 2025.
   2. Watase C, Wang B, Lu R. Investigating the impact of intercellular communication on murine hematopoietic stem cell differentiation. In: JABSOM Biomedical Sciences Symposium; 2025.
   3. Wang J, Ren X, Mahdi M, Shackleford GM, Erdreich-Epstein A. Elucidating the function of pid1 within the hippo pathway in medulloblastoma. In: All-School Dean & Department Chair Meeting; 2025. Poster.
   4. Tekkey TK, Vu MH, Costales C, Gaynon PS, Kovach AE. Fever at presentation in pediatric leukemia and its role as an indicator of induction readmissions In: ASPHO; 2025.
   5. Tekkey TK, Ji J, Deardorff MA, Krieger MD, Tamrazi B, Greenwald J, Wong K, Erdreich-Epstein A. Rare combination of pediatric posterior fossa ependymoma group a, constitutional kmt2d ala2497val variant and congenital solitary kidney. In: SNO Annual Meeting; 2025 November 20–23; Honolulu, Hawaii; 2025.
   6. Sheth Bhutada J, Bravo F, Cairns M, Nie Q, Bookstein A, Po J, Hughes Halbert C, Cockburn M, Iqbal S, Freyer DR. Early-onset gastric cancer: A comparison of metastatic and locoregional disease. In: ASCO Annual Meeting; 2025 May 28; Chicago, Illinois; 2025.
   7. Rallos E, Carrel S, Li M, Al-Zubeidy B, Zavala D, Gonzalez E, Baugh A, Castanon S, Hsu R, Sidiropoulos D, Ma Y, Press M, Roussos-Torres E. The association between social deprivation and immune suppression in hispanic/latinx patients with breast cancer In: AACR; 2025.
   8. Pham D, Nosrati A, Hu J. Hidradenitis suppurativa and squamous cell carcinoma: A southern california-based multi-center retrospective analysis. In: Surgery, editor. NorCal Derm Conference; 2025 April 25–27; Santa Rosa, CA; 2025.
   9. Pan G, Leyba A, Hsu R, Nieva J. Evaluating the impact of sarcopenia on overall survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. In: Midwest Clinical and Translational Research Meeting, Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research: CSCTR; 2025.
   10. Moore HG, Marin P, Kaslander J, Ochoa-Dominguez CY, Banegas M, Miller K. Navigating housing instability during cancer treatment: Qualitative insights from young adult cancer patients. In: American Society of Preventative Oncology; 2025 April 6–8; Philadelphia, PA; 2025.
   11. Lai F, Huang M. Identification of therapeutic vulnerabilities in myc-amplified medulloblastoma. In: Rutgers Brain Tumor Symposium; 2025. Oral Presentation.
   12. Kohli R. The rold of the fasting mimicking diet in regulating wilms tumor cancer stem cell self-renewal. In; 2025 October 31; 2025.
   13. Herfarth N, Ren X, Robinson S, Pathania A, Burch C, Mahdi M, Shackleford GM, Erdreich-Epstein A. Defining the post-translational ubiquitination landscape of pid1. In: Virginia Health Sciences (VHS) Research Day 2025 November 21, 2025; Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences; 2025.
   14. Dievenich Braes F, Rebbe R, Tamrazi B, Chiarelli P, Wong K, Ji J, Deardorff MA, Erdreich-Epstein A. Rare co-occurrence of a clival chordoma and tetralogy of fallot in a pediatric patient: A role for t-box transcription factors? In: SNO Annual Meeting; 2025 November 20–23; Honolulu, Hawaii; 2025.
   15. Dievenich Braes F, Luo Y, Vasileva E, Lekk I, Amatruda J. In vivo modeling of a novel tek::Gab2 fusion oncogene reveals targetable oncogenic signaling pathways in angiosarcoma. In: Medical & Dental Student Research Day at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine; *Awarded “Dr and Mrs Jeffrey Gross Award for Excellence in Research Achievement”; 2025. Poster.
   16. Bali K, Higa Y, Huynh L, Tian L, Yu J, Graham N. Optimizing immunolabeling strategies in preparation for magnetic activated cell sorting for chimeric antigen receptor-natural killer and multiple myeloma cells. In: AACR Annual Meeting; 2025 2025 Apr 25–30; Chicago, IL; 2025. p. 2182–2182.
   17. Zhang A, Matsuo K, Roman L. Clinical characteristics of patients with cervical cancer undergoing fertility-sparing surgery with cervical excision and lymph node evaluation. In: Western Association of Gynecologic Oncology; 2024.
   18. Wolfson HC, Mohacsi S, Pai J, Xiong S, Nelson V, Konganige S, Ghani U, Pinski J. Interim analysis and feasibility of the effects of virtual reality on pain and anxiety in cancer patients undergoing bone marrow biopsy. In: ASH; 2024.
   19. Wang J, Ren X, Mahdi M, Shackleford GM, Erdreich-Epstein A. Elucidating the function of pid1 within the hippo pathway in medulloblastoma. In: Corcoran Lecture; 2024. Poster.
   20. Wang J, Han HR, Vassantachart A, Bonney PA, Bian SX, Ye JC. Postoperative radiotherapy for malignant cord compression treated in a public and private hospital. In: ASTRO; 2024.
   21. Tran E, Nocera L, Kolatkar A, El-Khoueiry A, Thomas J, Kuhn P, Zeng A, Kai M, Karuturi M, Nieva J. Quantified kinematics and wearable sensors to predict serious adverse events in patients undergoing cancer therapy trials. In: AACR Annual Meeting; 2024.
   22. Rodriguez A, Doan A, Aljudi A, Rolf N, O’Gorman M, Wood B, Kovach A. Flow cytometry is a reproducible adjunct to cytomorphology of cerebrospinal fluid for acute leukemia. In: American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO); 2024.
   23. Pham D, Hu J. Squamous cell carcinoma in hidradenitis suppurativa patients. In: AMA Research Challenge; 2024. Poster.
   24. Pastard W, Kaplan C, Lam C, Solano L, Axeen S., Thacker J, Saluja S, Schneberk T, Tsui J. Stool-based colorectal cancer screening during the covid-19 pandemic in a safety-net setting: A mixed-methods study. In: Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, AACR; 2024. Poster.
   25. Okabe A, Ho WL, Tao ML, JC. Y. Comparison of physician vs. Software assessed cosmetic sores following breast conservation therapy. In: American Society for Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting 2024; 2024. Poster.
   26. Okabe A, Ho WL, Tao ML, JC. Y. Cosmetic outcomes following whole breast or partial breast radiation therapy for breast cancer: A single institutional experience. In: American Society for Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting 2024; 2024. Poster.
   27. Lee H, Pang K, Yeo C, Kim A, Kang I, Yoo S, Wong K, Ma L. Gender and ethnic-based differences in h-index amongst us medical physicists. In: Korean American Medical Association Scientific Convention; 2024.
   28. Karnwal A, Chau B, Chang B, Tsotras MP, Yeo C, Olch AJ, Wong K. Nth slice eraser: An automated algorithm to ease editing workflow of organ contours generated by artificial intelligence. Cureus, 2024. PMID: 39677271
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   53. Kam L, Peng C-C, Berry J, Xu L. Multiplexed bead-based extracellular vesicle profiling of aqueous humor from uveal melanoma eyes. In: AMA Conference; 2023.
   54. Islam E, Pang K, Wong K. Using a bibliometric analysis to select productive research mentors. In: Korean American Medical Association (KAMA); 2023.
   55. Islam E, Pang K, Chang A, Wong K. A step-by-step guide on how to select a productive research mentor using a bibliometric analysis. In: Bangladesh Medical AssociaLon of North America (BMANA); 2023.
   56. Ghoreifi A, Kumar S, Le J, Sheybaee MF, Huang D, Djaladat H, Duddalwar V. Subcutaneous fat area as a risk factor for parastomal hernia following cystectomy and ileal conduit: Data from the pubmic trial. In: Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) Annual Meeting; 2023.
   57. Diep R, MacDonald M, Cooper RA, Grzegorczyk A, Rakocevic R, Chang C, Nieva J. Comparative analysis of lung cancer biopsies on success of next-generation sequencing. In: Western Student and Resident Medical Research Conference; 2023 January 19–21; Carmel, California; 2023.
   58. Cen H, Dandamudi S, Lei X, Weight C, Desai M, Gill I, Duddalwar V. Diversity in renal mass data cohorts: Implications for urology ai researchers. In: American Urological Association Annual Meeting; 2023 April 28 – May 1; Chicago, IL; 2023.
   59. Carrel S, Li M, Al-Zubeidy B, Zavala D, Nazarian A, Gonzalez E, Baugh A, Castanon S, Ye S, Hwang J, Chute H, Maldonado Torres S, Hsu R, Sidiropoulos D, Ma Y, Press M, Roussos-Torres E. Disparities in suppressive immunity in hispanic/latina patients with hormone receptor positive breast cancer. In: AACR special conference in cancer research: advances in breast cancer research; 2023.
   60. Afvari S, Cockburn MG. Skin self-examination materials: A review and recommendations. In: American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting; 2023.
   61. Waxer J, Wong K, Modiri A, Charpentier A, Moiseenko V, Ronckers C, Taddei P, Constine L, Sprow G, Tamrazi B, MacDonald S, Olch A. Risk of cerebrovascular events among childhood and adolescent patients receiving cranial radiotherapy: A pentec normal tissue outcomes comprehensive review (awarded 1st place for best literature-based award). In: Kaiser Permanente Research Week; 2022.
   62. Vassantachart A, Jones M, Olch A, Marques C, Ronckers C, Constine L, Maduro J, Wong K. A survey of pediatric clinical trial radiotherapy dose constraints. In: ASTRO; 2022; 2022. p. e490–e491.
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   64. Takeda M, Wengyn M, Bhojwani D, Gu Z, Wood B, Raca G, Kovach A. Distinct immunophenotypic features of novel genetic subtypes of pediatric b-lymphoblastic leukemia are recognizable in a clinical setting and can help direct molecular testing (oral presentation). In: Society for Pediatric Pathology (SPP), Spring Meeting; 2022.
   65. Pastard W, Kaplan C, Saluja S, Tsui J. Impact of initial sars-cov-2 pandemic on cancer screeninings: Perspectives from los angeles dhs clinics. In: Drexel Discovery Day; 2022. Poster.
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Students receive subsistence while in the summer program (in 2025 it is $600/full week). Travel to/from Los Angeles and partial housing assistance are also provided to qualifying students. Student who continue their projects through the school year will be supported based on documentation, up to a total of 15 weeks equivalent. Partial support is also available for students who travel to present their project at a  scientific conference.

Summer 2026 applications are accepted from Nov 1, 2025

Early application/admission deadline: Dec 7, 2025 11:59PM PST

• •   acceptance is in Jan 2026; early students have priority in choice of project

Regular application deadline: Jan 4, 2026, 11:59PM PST

• •   acceptance is in Feb 2026

Apply online at: SORF 2026 Application

SORF is funded by a prestigious NIH R25 Cancer Research Education Grant for Research Experiences, philanthropic funds, and institutional support.