Puram honored for research on head and neck cancer

Sidharth V. Puram, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of otolaryngology and director of the Division of Head and Neck Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a 2022 Clinical Scientist Development Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. He is one of 16 early-career physician-scientists recognized for clinical research likely to have a strong impact on human health, including the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. The award also supports young scientists as they transition to independent research careers.

Puram received the award for his research titled “Deciphering Immunotherapy Resistance in Head and Neck Cancer Using Single Cell Genomics and Spatial Techniques.” The project will investigate how head and neck cancers develop resistance to immunotherapy, a type of cancer treatment that harnesses the immune system to attack cancer cells. He will study the heterogeneity of these tumors and how the tumor’s gene expression may differ throughout the 3D structure of the tumor.

Puram also is a surgeon who treats patients at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. He specializes in head and neck cancer treatment and reconstruction, including mucosal disease, thyroid cancer, salivary gland disease, tumors related to human papilloma virus (HPV), and skin cancers of the head and neck.

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