Bro. Jelani C. Zarif, [Kappa Delta Lambda, ’08] was recently announced as one of 11 inaugural researchers in the National Cancer Institute’s ‘Cancer Moonshot’ scholars. The cohort, presented today by the White House, will receive $5.4 million in federal funding to support innovative approaches to cancer research, prevention, and treatment – specifically in underrepresented communities throughout the United States.

According to the White House, the Cancer Moonshot Scholars program is designed to support early-career scientists, researchers, and innovators from diverse backgrounds, including from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences research workforce.  The Biden-Harris Administration intends to fund up to 30 additional Cancer Moonshot Scholars by 2025.

“We are at our best when we capitalize on the diversity of the nation’s skills, talents, and viewpoints to solve the complex problems in cancer research, and the Cancer Moonshot Scholars program is a critical step in that direction of equity,” said NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities Director Dr. Sanya A. Springfield.

Bro. Zarif is the Robert E. Meyerhoff Endowed Professor and Assistant Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and is also a member of the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. The Zarif laboratory studies molecular mechanisms by immune cells within the tumor microenvironment that ultimately promote tumor growth, therapeutic resistance, and metastasis. The Zarif laboratory also focuses on discovering and investigating new biomarkers that may be expressed on myeloid cells that could predict clinical response to standard-of-care treatments for prostate cancer. He is also an adjunct professor at Morgan State University in Baltimore City. 

A Chicago native, Dr. Zarif obtained both his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Jackson State University and then earned his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Michigan State University.  He then completed two post-doctoral fellowships at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has been the recipient of several research awards, including the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s Young Investigator award, The Patrick C. Walsh Prostate Cancer Research Fund, the Department of Defense Translational Research award, and the NCI K22 Career Transition award.