The Kristen Ann Carr Fund Establishes An Additional Endowed Fellowship and Welcomes, Dr. Olayode Babatunde as its Inaugural Fellow
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The Kristen Ann Carr Fund (KACF) is proud to announce the latest endowment for a third sarcoma fellowship, the Adult Medical Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK).
Already in place are two existing endowments for our Pediatric Surgical Fellowship (since 1994) and Pediatric Medical Oncology Fellowship (since 2008), which have funded over 40 Fellows at Memorial Sloan Kettering resulting in a legion of doctors who treat patients around the country with more information and expertise than before we began this endeavor. These doctors, now experts in sarcoma, practice at over 30 hospitals and care facilities across the country.
“This new endowment, funded with $1.5 million, is due to our dedicated donors and event sponsors and all the thanks and credit goes to them” said KACF Trustee and Kristen’s mom, Barbara Carr. “They have been the driving force behind our programs for the past 30 years, allowing us to continue to grow and provide the opportunity for more research which will lead to continued better care and outcomes for patients and their families.” Carr continued.
Dr. Olayode Babatunde has been selected as our first Adult Medical Oncology Fellow. He stated “The utilization of emerging technologies excite and inspire me to pursue a career in oncology. My objective is to complement meaningful patient care with a career in understanding the underlying pathophysiology driving malignancies. Towards that end, my long-term career goal is to become a clinician-scientist in Sarcoma and other rare malignancies.”
Under the clinical mentorship of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Chief Sarcoma Medical Oncologist Dr. William Tap, Dr. Babatunde is examining the safety and tolerability of the combination of mirdametinib and palbociclib in patients with progressing metastatic dedifferentiated liposarcoma. This study is aimed to improve an understanding of senescence and how suppression of MAPK drive senescence and correlate with clinical efficacy. Since starting his fellowship, Dr. Babatunde has continued to develop an interest in drug development, which has assisted in his current research focusing on understanding the determinants of therapy-induced senescence in liposarcoma cancer.
Dr. Tap noted, “The prestigious KACF Fellowships are highly coveted. By supporting the most promising physician-researchers in sarcoma research and care at MSK, The Kristen Ann Carr Fund is generously seeding advances that will positively impact people with sarcoma and their families for decades to come.”