IARC Postdoctoral Fellowships awarded to two young scientists to work on childhood cancer

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is pleased to announce that two postdoctoral scientists have been awarded IARC Postdoctoral Fellowships fully funded by Children with Cancer UK.

These two postdoctoral scientists joined IARC in recent months. Dr Caroline De Aguiar Pires Poubel, from Brazil, started in September 2023 in the Epigenomics and Mechanisms Branch, and Dr Shiny Lizia Manohar, from India, started in November 2023 in the Nutrition and Metabolism Branch.

Dr Poubel holds a PhD in molecular biology and bioinformatics from the Brazilian National Cancer Institute. Her Children with Cancer UK-funded research study aims to identify epigenetic changes at gene enhancers to discover early biomarkers and mechanisms in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). It is hoped that the knowledge generated by this work will help to guide translational research for future interventions aimed at improving child health, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr Manohar holds a doctorate in clinical nutrition and is passionate about research in paediatric nutrition and noncommunicable diseases. Her research project, “Investigating the role of dietary diversity on the risk and prognosis of cancer in children”, aims to develop and validate a dietary diversity score questionnaire for children in order to investigate associations between dietary diversity, cancer risk, and prognosis in children in low- and middle-income countries. This research could help global organizations and policy-makers to focus on dietary diversification and thus initiate preventive strategies for cancer in children.

Read more about the IARC Fellowship Programme 

Read more about Children with Cancer UK